Compare the2023 Ford Bronco SportVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Bronco Sport have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Santa Fe doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Ford Bronco Sport has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Bronco Sport has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Bronco Sport. But it costs extra on the Santa Fe.

Both the Bronco Sport and the Santa Fe have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, driver alert monitors and available rear parking sensors.

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

	Bronco Sport	Santa Fe
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	153	244
Neck Compression	54 lbs.	89 lbs.

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 and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Bronco Sport is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe:

	Bronco Sport	Santa Fe
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.9 inches	1.1 inches
Hip Force	205 lbs.	415 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	144	148
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	54 G’s
Hip Force	689 lbs.	736 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
HIC	255	376
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	44 G’s
Hip Force	512 lbs.	576 lbs.

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

Warranty

There are almost 4 times as many Ford dealers as there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bronco Sport’s warranty.

Reliability

The Bronco Sport has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport third among small SUVs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Santa Fe isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated below average.

Engine

The Bronco Sport’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 9 lbs.-ft. more torque (190 vs. 181) than the Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Ford Bronco Sport turbo 3 cyl. is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe 4 cyl.:

	Bronco Sport	Santa Fe
Zero to 30 MPH	3.3 sec	3.6 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	8.9 sec	10 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	5.3 sec	6.4 sec
Quarter Mile	16.9 sec	17.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	85 MPH	83 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Bronco Sport gets better mileage than the Santa Fe:

			MPG
Bronco Sport
	AWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	25 city/28 hwy
Santa Fe
	FWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/28 hwy
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/28 hwy
		2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	22 city/25 hwy

The Bronco Sport has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

The Bronco Sport stops shorter than the Santa Fe:

	Bronco Sport	Santa Fe
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	136 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Bronco Sport offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Santa Fe; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which has mileage and speed limitations, or roadside assistance and a tow-truck.

Suspension and Handling

The Bronco Sport has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Santa Fe (8.8 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Bronco Sport is 1 foot, 3.7 inches shorter than the Santa Fe, making the Bronco Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Bronco Sport uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Bronco Sport has .3 inches more front headroom and 2.7 inches more rear headroom than the Santa Fe.

Cargo Capacity

An optional locking center console keeps your small valuables safer in the Bronco Sport. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Bronco Sport’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Santa Fe’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

Ergonomics

If the windows are left open on the Bronco Sport the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Santa Fe can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Bronco Sport’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Blue Link can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Bronco Sport’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Santa Fe SE/XRT/SEL’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Bronco Sport offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Economic Advantages

The Bronco Sport will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Bronco Sport will retain 59.2% to 61.37% of its original price after five years, while the Santa Fe only retains 51.18% to 51.49%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford Bronco Sport will be $1793 to $8916 less than for the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Recommendations

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its December 2021 issue and they ranked the Ford Bronco Sport Outer Banks higher than the Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport first among small SUVs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Santa Fe isn’t in the top three in its category.