Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa Fe HybridVS 2023 Kia Niro

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Niro have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Niro’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.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Niro doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The Santa Fe Hybrid offers an optional Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Niro only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Niro have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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 and driver alert monitors.

The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid weighs 831 to 1156 pounds more than the Kia Niro. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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 Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 126 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Niro has not been tested, yet.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s corrosion warranty is 2 years and unlimited miles longer than the Niro’s (7/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 87 more horsepower (226 vs. 139) and 63 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 195) than the Niro’s 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is faster than the Kia Niro:

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 6.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Niro (17.7 vs. 11.1 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid stops shorter than the Niro:

For better traction, the Santa Fe Hybrid has larger tires than the Niro (235/65R17 vs. 205/60R16). The Santa Fe Hybrid Blue’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Niro (235/65R17 vs. 225/45R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Hybrid Blue has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Niro. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited’s 19-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the Niro Touring.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s wheelbase is 1.8 inches longer than on the Niro (108.9 inches vs. 107.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe Hybrid is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 2.7 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Niro.

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe Hybrid has a 1.9 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Niro (8.2 vs. 6.3 inches), allowing the Santa Fe Hybrid to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has .7 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front legroom, 12.1 inches more front hip room, 2.9 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear legroom, 3.3 inches more rear hip room and 2.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Niro.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Santa Fe Hybrid’s rear seats recline. The Niro’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Niro with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 22.8 cubic feet). The Santa Fe Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Niro with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 63.7 cubic feet).

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Santa Fe Hybrid’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Niro doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The Niro has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Assist on the Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Niro doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s front power windows 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 Niro’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. The Niro SX’s rear windows don’t close automatically.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Niro’s standard projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe Hybrid to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Niro doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats are only available on the Niro EX/SX/Touring. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Niro.

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

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Niro EX/SX/Touring offers wireless charging.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited 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 Niro doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Both are recommended, but Consumer Reports® chose the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Kia Niro by over four to one during 2022.