Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 Lexus NX

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

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 NX’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Lexus covers the NX. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the NX ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the NX’s (7 vs. 6 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 2 years and 26000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the NX (3/36,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 3 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

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 Lexus vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 11 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lexus is ranked 6th.

As tested in Motor Trend the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Lexus NX:

Both the Santa Fe and the NX have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. All Santa Fes have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily. The NX 350h/450h+ doesn’t offer a way to disable start/stop.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The NX 350 requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 4.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the NX (18.8 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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

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

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the NX:

For better traction, the Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the NX (255/45R20 vs. 235/60R18).

The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the NX’s optional 50 series tires.

The Santa Fe has a standard space-saver spare (not available on Limited/Calligraphy AWD) so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the NX; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 3 inches longer than on the NX (108.9 inches vs. 105.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 1 inch wider in the rear than the track on the NX.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the NX 450h AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.7 seconds quicker than the NX 450h AWD (26.7 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

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

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a greater minimum ground clearance than the NX (8.2 vs. 7.7 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

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 NX (.35) 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 2.9 inches more front headroom, 3.1 inches more front legroom, 1.2 inches more front hip room, 2.8 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 5.6 inches more rear legroom, 3.8 inches more rear hip room and 4.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the NX.

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the NX with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 22.7 cubic feet). The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the NX with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 46.9 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 NX’s liftover is 30.8 inches.

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

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the NX’s (2000 vs. 0 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Lexus NX is only 2000 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

The power windows standard on both the Santa Fe and the NX have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Fe is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The NX prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

Consumer Reports rated the Santa Fe’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the NX’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

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

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 NX 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 NX 350h/450h+’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Insurance will cost less for the Santa Fe owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Santa Fe will cost $800 less than the NX 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 $7069 to $7140 less than for the Lexus NX.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Lexus NX, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Lexus NX by over two to one during 2022.