Compare the2023 Subaru ForesterVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Forester 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 Subaru Forester 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 Forester has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

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

Both the Forester 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, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

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

	Forester	Santa Fe
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	186	296
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Leg Forces (l/r)	105/93 lbs.	222/167 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 Subaru Forester is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe:

	Forester	Santa Fe
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.6 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	122 lbs.	164 lbs.
Hip Force	389 lbs.	415 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	670 lbs.	736 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	121	376
Spine Acceleration	40 G’s	44 G’s

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

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Forester the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Santa Fe has not been fully tested, yet.

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Forester’s reliability 20 points higher than the Santa Fe.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 6 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

Engine

As tested in Consumer Reports the Subaru Forester is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe 4 cyl.:

	Forester	Santa Fe
Zero to 60 MPH	9.2 sec	10 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	4.6 sec	6.4 sec
Quarter Mile	17.2 sec	17.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	85 MPH	83 MPH

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Forester lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Forester
	AWD	2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/33 hwy
		Wilderness 2.5 DOHC flat-4	25 city/28 hwy
Santa Fe
	FWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/28 hwy
		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

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Subaru Forester higher (7 out of 10) than the Hyundai Santa Fe (5 to 7). This means the Forester produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Santa Fe every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

The Forester has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a CVT.

Tires and Wheels

The Forester Wilderness has a standard 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

For better maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Santa Fe’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

Chassis

The Forester is 5.7 inches shorter than the Santa Fe, making the Forester easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Forester 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 front step up height for the Forester is 2 inches lower than the Santa Fe (15.5” vs. 17.5”). The Forester’s rear step up height is 1.1 inches lower than the Santa Fe’s (17.25” vs. 18.3”).

Cargo Capacity

The Forester has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Santa Fe with its rear seat folded (74.2 vs. 72.1 cubic feet).

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

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Forester 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.

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s 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.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Forester has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Forester’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.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Forester owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Forester will cost $395 less than the Santa Fe over a five-year period.

The Forester will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Forester will retain 54.16% to 57.43% 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 Subaru Forester will be $4000 to $8534 less than for the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Recommendations

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