Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 Nissan Rogue

Both the Santa Fe and Rogue have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Rogue’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

Both the Santa Fe and the Rogue have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe is safer than the Nissan Rogue:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe is safer than the Nissan Rogue:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Santa Fe is 2.4% to 3.2% less likely to roll over than the Rogue.

The Santa Fe comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Rogue’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Nissan covers the Rogue. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Rogue ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Rogue’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Nissan doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Rogue.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Santa Fe has a standard 760-amp battery. The Rogue’s 720-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 57 more problems per 100 vehicles, Nissan is ranked 20th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 2 places higher in reliability than Nissan.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 80 more horsepower (281 vs. 201) and 86 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 225) than the Rogue’s 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Nissan Rogue:

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Santa Fe’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Rogue doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Santa Fe has 4.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Rogue (18.8 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Rogue:

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the Rogue:

For better traction, the Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Rogue (255/45R20 vs. 235/65R17).

The Santa Fe’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Rogue S’ standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Rogue SL/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Rogue S. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Rogue SL/Platinum.

The Santa Fe has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Rogue’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 2.4 inches longer than on the Rogue (108.9 inches vs. 106.5 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 2.3 inches wider in the front and 2.4 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Rogue.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Rogue SL AWD pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the Rogue SL AWD (26.7 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Santa Fe has 6.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Rogue (111.5 vs. 105.4).

The Santa Fe has .1 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front legroom, 3.4 inches more front hip room, 2 inches more front shoulder room, 3.2 inches more rear legroom, 2.9 inches more rear hip room and 2.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Rogue.

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume than the Rogue with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 31.6 cubic feet).

The Santa Fe’s cargo area is larger than the Rogue’s in almost every dimension:

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Rogue’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Nissan Rogue is only 1500 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Assist on the Santa Fe uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Rogue doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Rogue uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Rogue’s passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

The Santa Fe has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Rogue doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Rogue’s intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Rogue doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Rogue doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Rogue doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Nissan Rogue, based on reliability, safety and performance.