Both the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid and UX have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Plug-In 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 UX’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.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid. But it costs extra on the UX.
The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid offers an optional Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The UX 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 Plug-In Hybrid and the UX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 and driver alert monitors.
The Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid weighs 782 to 1032 pounds more than the Lexus UX. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
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 Plug-In Hybrid is safer than the Lexus UX:
|
Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid |
UX |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
16% |
33% |
Neck Stress |
149 lbs. |
371 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
13 lbs. |
17 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
50/51 lbs. |
376/433 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
244 |
290 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
27% |
36% |
Neck Stress |
99 lbs. |
163 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
89 lbs. |
94 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
222/167 lbs. |
345/566 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 post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid is safer than the Lexus UX:
|
Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid |
UX |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
44 G’s |
44 G’s |
Hip Force |
576 lbs. |
919 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 Plug-In Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The UX is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2022.