Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 Dodge Hornet

Both the Santa Fe and Hornet 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 Hornet’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 Hornet 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, 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 Hornet 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 Hornet’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 Dodge covers the Hornet. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Hornet ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Hornet’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. Dodge doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Hornet.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Santa Fe has a standard 760-amp battery. The Hornet’s 700-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

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 25 points higher than the Hornet.

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 Dodge vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Dodge is ranked 8th.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 13 more horsepower (281 vs. 268) and 16 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 295) than the Hornet GT’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

The Santa Fe has 7.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet R/T’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 11.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Santa Fe has 5.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet GT’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 13.5 gallons).

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

For better stopping power the Santa Fe’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Hornet:

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the Hornet (235/60R18 vs. 215/60R17). The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Hornet (255/45R20 vs. 235/40R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Hornet GT.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 5.1 inches longer than on the Hornet (108.9 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a 2.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Hornet R/T (8.2 vs. 6.1 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Santa Fe’s minimum ground clearance is .1 inch higher than on the Hornet GT (8.2 vs. 8.1 inches).

The Santa Fe has 2.4 inches more front headroom, 2.4 inches more front legroom, 3.2 inches more front hip room, 3.4 inches more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear headroom, 3.7 inches more rear legroom, 2.8 inches more rear hip room and 3.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Hornet.

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

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Hornet with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 27 cubic feet). The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Hornet with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 54.7 cubic feet).

Maximum trailer towing in the Dodge Hornet is limited to 2000 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Assist on the Santa Fe uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Hornet doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning 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 Hornet doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Hornet 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 Hornet’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the Santa Fe and the Hornet 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 Hornet.

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

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

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