Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 Lexus RX

Both the Santa Fe and RX 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 RX’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.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Santa Fe are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The RX doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The RX doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Santa Fe’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The RX doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the RX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Santa Fe its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The RX has not been tested, yet.

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 RX’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Lexus covers the RX. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the RX ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the RX’s (7 vs. 6 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 2 years and 26000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the RX (3/36,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 3 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

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 Lexus vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 11 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lexus is ranked 6th.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder FWD gets better fuel mileage than the RX 350 FWD (25 city/28 hwy vs. 22 city/29 hwy).

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The RX 350 requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the RX 350h/500h’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 17.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Santa Fe has a gallon more fuel capacity than the RX 350’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 17.8 gallons).

The Santa Fe offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The RX doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better traction, the Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the RX (255/45R20 vs. 235/60R19).

The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the RX’s optional 50 series tires.

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

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a greater minimum ground clearance than the RX 350 (8.2 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Hyundai Santa Fe may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 650 pounds less than the Lexus RX.

The Santa Fe is 4.1 inches shorter than the RX, making the Santa Fe easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Hyundai Santa Fe amounts to more than styling. The Santa Fe has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .33 Cd. That is lower than the RX (.35) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Santa Fe get better fuel mileage.

The Santa Fe has 1.7 inches more front headroom, 3 inches more front legroom, .8 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, 4.3 inches more rear legroom, .4 inches more rear hip room and 1.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the RX.

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the RX with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 29.6 cubic feet). The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the RX with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 46.2 cubic feet).

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the RX’s (2000 vs. 0 pounds).

The Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The RX doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Santa Fe has a standard rear wiper. The RX doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

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 RX Premium/Luxury/500h F Sport’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Santa Fe, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Lexus RX isn't recommended.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Lexus RX by 25% during 2022.