Compare the2023 Jeep Grand CherokeeVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

The Jeep Grand Cherokee 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.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk/Overland/Summit helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the Grand Cherokee and the Santa Fe 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, available all wheel drive, around view monitors and driver alert monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Grand Cherokee its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 36 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Santa Fe has not been fully tested, yet.

There are almost 3 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Grand Cherokee’s warranty.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Grand Cherokee has a standard 160-amp alternator (240-amp - Grand Cherokee optional). The Santa Fe’s 150-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Grand Cherokee has a standard 850-amp battery. The Santa Fe only offers a 760-amp battery.

The Grand Cherokee has more powerful engines than the Santa Fe:

As tested in Consumer Reports the Jeep Grand Cherokee V6 is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe 4 cyl.:

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee running on electricity gets better mileage than the Santa Fe:

The Grand Cherokee 4xe can travel with zero emissions for 26 miles. The Santa Fe can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Grand Cherokee V8’s fuel efficiency. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Grand Cherokee 4xe’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Grand Cherokee’s standard fuel tank has 4.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe (23 vs. 18.8 gallons).

The Grand Cherokee 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.

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

The Grand Cherokee’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Santa Fe are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Grand Cherokee has larger standard tires than the Santa Fe (245/70R17 vs. 235/60R18). The Grand Cherokee Summit’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Santa Fe (275/45R21 vs. 255/45R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Grand Cherokee Summit offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Santa Fe’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Grand Cherokee has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Grand Cherokee 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.

The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Grand Cherokee offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Santa Fe’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Grand Cherokee offers an optional automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Grand Cherokee’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Grand Cherokee has vehicle speed sensitive 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 a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Grand Cherokee’s wheelbase is 7.8 inches longer than on the Santa Fe (116.7 inches vs. 108.9 inches).

For greater off-road capability the Grand Cherokee has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Santa Fe (8.4 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Grand Cherokee to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Air Suspension’s minimum ground clearance is 2.7 inches higher than on the Santa Fe (10.9 vs. 8.2 inches).

The front grille of the Grand Cherokee 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.

The Grand Cherokee offers available computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Grand Cherokee has .1 inches more front shoulder room and .4 inches more rear headroom than the Santa Fe.

The Grand Cherokee has a much larger cargo volume than the Santa Fe with its rear seat up (37.7 vs. 36.4 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Grand Cherokee. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Grand Cherokee’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Santa Fe’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Santa Fe is only 3500 pounds. The Grand Cherokee 4x4 offers up to a 7200 lbs. towing capacity.

The Grand Cherokee 4WD with optional equipment can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Grand Cherokee can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Santa Fe can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The engine in the Grand Cherokee is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Santa Fe. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy, the Grand Cherokee 4xe/Limited/Trailhawk/Overland/Summit offers an optional passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster), outside mirror angle and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Grand Cherokee’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Santa Fe does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Grand Cherokee’s standard 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 Santa Fe’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. The Grand Cherokee Overland/Summit’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches.

The Grand Cherokee’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.

The Grand Cherokee’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Hyundai only offers heated mirrors on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.

The Grand Cherokee’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Santa Fe offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Optional air conditioned front and rear seats keep the Grand Cherokee’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats in the rear.

The Grand Cherokee Overland Lux Tech/Summit has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Santa Fe.

The Grand Cherokee has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee outsold the Hyundai Santa Fe by 87% during 2022.