Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 Ford Escape

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

Safety

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Both the Santa Fe and Escape have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe 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 Escape’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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Santa Fe AWD’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Escape doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

Both the Santa Fe and the Escape have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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 Hyundai Santa Fe is safer than the Ford Escape:

	Santa Fe	Escape
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	16%	22.5%
Neck Stress	149 lbs.	185 lbs.
Neck Compression	13 lbs.	23 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	50/51 lbs.	188/315 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.5 inches
Neck Injury Risk	27%	36.3%
Neck Stress	99 lbs.	181 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, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe is safer than the Ford Escape:

	Santa Fe	Escape
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	61	197
Abdominal Force	164 lbs.	191 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	736 lbs.	816 lbs.

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Santa Fe is 1.4% to 2.7% less likely to roll over than the Escape.

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 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Escape is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2022.

Warranty

The Santa Fe comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Escape’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Ford covers the Escape. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Escape ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Escape’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Ford doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Escape.

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 Santa Fe’s reliability 22 points higher than the Escape.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 40 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is ranked 16th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 5 places higher in reliability than Ford.

Engine

The Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 10 more horsepower (191 vs. 181) than the Escape’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 31 more horsepower (281 vs. 250) and 31 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 280) than the Escape’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Ford Escape turbo 4 cyl.:

	Santa Fe	Escape
Zero to 60 MPH	6.2 sec	6.9 sec
Quarter Mile	14.6 sec	15.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	98.4 MPH	89.3 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Escape with the 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder engine requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Escape FWD’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 14.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Santa Fe has 3.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Escape AWD’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 15.7 gallons).

Transmission

The Santa Fe offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Escape doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Santa Fe 2.5T’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Escape:

	Santa Fe 2.5T	Escape
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	13 inches
Rear Rotors	12 inches	11.9 inches

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the Escape:

	Santa Fe	Escape
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	128 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	136 feet	137 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the Escape (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Escape (255/45R20 vs. 225/65R17).

The Santa Fe’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Escape’s standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Escape’s optional 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Escape. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Escape.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 2.2 inches longer than on the Escape (108.9 inches vs. 106.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 2.3 inches wider in the front and 3.2 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Escape.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Escape AWD pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.5 seconds quicker than the Escape (26.7 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Escape (8.2 vs. 7.3 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Passenger Space

The Santa Fe has 7.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Escape (111.5 vs. 104).

The Santa Fe has 1.2 inches more front headroom, 1.7 inches more front legroom, 2.3 inches more front hip room, 1.5 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear legroom, 3 inches more rear hip room and 2.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Escape.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Santa Fe’s rear seats recline. The Escape’s rear seats don’t recline.

Cargo Capacity

The Santa Fe has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Escape with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 65.4 cubic feet).

The Santa Fe’s cargo area is larger than the Escape’s in almost every dimension:

	Santa Fe	Escape
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	42.4”/77.4”	37.8”/68.5”
Max Width	54”	57.3”
Min Width	43.4”	41.4”
Height	31”	34.8”

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Santa Fe’s (except SE) optional rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Escape doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Santa Fe’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Escape doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Servicing Ease

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Escape uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The Santa Fe’s standard driver’s power window opens or closes with one touch of the window control, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths. The Escape’s standard driver’s power window switch has to be held the entire time to close it fully.

The Santa Fe has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Escape doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Santa Fe’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Escape’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Marginal.”

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Escape doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

When the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Escape’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the Santa Fe and the Escape offer available heated front seats. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Escape.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Escape doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Santa Fe has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Escape S doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the Santa Fe has standard rear a/c vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Escape S doesn’t offer rear vents.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Escape doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Escape Elite/Platinum’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Economic Advantages

The Santa Fe will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Santa Fe will retain 51.18% to 51.49% of its original price after five years, while the Escape only retains 49.35% to 49.88%.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Santa Fe, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Ford Escape isn't recommended.