Compare the2023 Lincoln CorsairVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid

The Lincoln Corsair has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Corsair 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 Plug-In Hybrid 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.

Both the Corsair and the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid 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, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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

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 Lincoln Corsair is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

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

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

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Lincoln vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Lincoln 3 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

The Corsair’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 17 lbs.-ft. more torque (275 vs. 258) than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The Corsair Grand Touring’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 5 more horsepower (266 vs. 261) than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

On the EPA test cycle the Corsair Grand Touring running on electricity gets better mileage than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid running on electricity (83 city/72 hwy vs. 79 city/72 hwy MPGe).

On the EPA test cycle the Corsair Grand Touring running its gasoline engine gets better fuel mileage than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid running its gasoline engine (34 city/32 hwy vs. 33 city/32 hwy).

Both the Corsair and Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The Corsair has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The Corsair’s standard fuel tank has 3.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (16.2 vs. 12.4 gallons).

The Corsair 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 Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the Lincoln Corsair, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid.

The Corsair Grand Touring 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 Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Corsair stops much shorter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

For better traction, the Corsair’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (245/45R20 vs. 235/55R19).

The Corsair’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Corsair offers optional 20-inch wheels. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

The Corsair has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

The Corsair 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 Plug-In Hybrid’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Lincoln Corsair may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 100 to 700 pounds less than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid.

The Corsair is 7 inches shorter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, making the Corsair easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Corsair 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 Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Corsair uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Corsair. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid is limited to 2000 pounds. The Corsair offers up to a 3000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Corsair Grand Touring 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 Corsair can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Corsair has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Corsair offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, warning, turn signal and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Corsair’s front and rear power windows all 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 Plug-In Hybrid’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the Corsair 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 Plug-In Hybrid 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 Corsair’s exterior PIN entry system. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid 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 Corsair’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 Plug-In Hybrid’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Corsair Reserve offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Corsair’s standard 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 Plug-In Hybrid has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Corsair Reserve/Grand Touring offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid.

The Corsair’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

The Corsair is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Lincoln Corsair and the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance.