In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Santa Fe are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Model X doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Model X doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Santa Fe AWD’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Model X doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
The Santa Fe SEL Premium/Limited/Calligraphy has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Model X only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Fe’s standard rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Model X doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.
The Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy has a standard Blue Link, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model X doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Santa Fe and the Model X have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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, driver alert monitors and available all wheel drive.
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 Tesla Model X:
|
Santa Fe |
Model X |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
16% |
26% |
Neck Stress |
149 lbs. |
207 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
13 lbs. |
33 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
50/51 lbs. |
138/94 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.5 inches |
Neck Stress |
99 lbs. |
135 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 Hyundai Santa Fe is safer than the Tesla Model X:
|
Santa Fe |
Model X |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
61 |
101 |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
576 lbs. |
625 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 Model X has not been tested, yet.