Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Both the Santa Fe and Grand Cherokee 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 Grand Cherokee’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.

Both the Santa Fe and the Grand Cherokee 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 and around view monitors.

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 Grand Cherokee has not been tested, yet.

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 Grand Cherokee’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 Jeep covers the Grand Cherokee. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Grand Cherokee ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

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

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Santa Fe have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the 5.7 V8 in the Grand Cherokee.

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 28 points higher than the Grand Cherokee.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Jeep vehicles. With 14 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Hyundai higher than Jeep.

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 Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 53 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 19th.

As tested in Motor Trend the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Grand Cherokee 4xe 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe gets better mileage than the Grand Cherokee running its gasoline engine:

Regardless of its engine, the Santa Fe’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. Jeep only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Grand Cherokee V6/4xe.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Grand Cherokee 4xe requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

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 Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the Grand Cherokee:

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 Grand Cherokee Laredo’s standard 70 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 Grand Cherokee Laredo.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Grand Cherokee Overland 4x4 pulls only .60 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 (26.7 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Grand Cherokee’s (37.4 feet vs. 38 feet).

The Hyundai Santa Fe may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 600 to 1450 pounds less than the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The Santa Fe is 5.1 inches shorter than the Grand Cherokee, making the Santa Fe easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Hyundai Santa Fe amounts to more than styling. The Santa Fe has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .33 Cd. That is lower than the Grand Cherokee (.357) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Santa Fe get better fuel mileage.

The Santa Fe has 4.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Grand Cherokee (111.5 vs. 107).

The Santa Fe has 1.3 inches more front headroom, 2.8 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more front hip room, 3.5 inches more rear legroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Grand Cherokee.

The front step up height for the Santa Fe is 2.7 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee (17.5” vs. 20.2”). The Santa Fe’s rear step up height is 3.2 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee’s (18.3” vs. 21.5”).

The Santa Fe has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Grand Cherokee with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 70.8 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Santa Fe easier. The Santa Fe’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29 inches, while the Grand Cherokee’s liftover is 33 inches.

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

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

The Santa Fe has a higher standard payload capacity than the Grand Cherokee (1411 vs. 1240 lbs.).

The Santa Fe has a higher maximum payload capacity than the Grand Cherokee (1411 vs. 1280 lbs.).

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 Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a locking fuel/charge port door.

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 Grand Cherokee Summit’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

Insurance will cost less for the Santa Fe owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Santa Fe will cost $210 less than the Grand Cherokee over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Santa Fe will be $6830 to $13617 less than for the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

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