Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa Fe HybridVS 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Grand Cherokee have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Hybrid 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Santa Fe Hybrid. But it costs extra on the Grand Cherokee.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Grand Cherokee have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Santa Fe Hybrid has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid 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 and available 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 Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 126 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Grand Cherokee has not been tested, yet.

The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Hybrid 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 Hybrid’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 Santa Fe Hybrid has 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 Hybrid’s reliability 52 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.

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

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

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid higher (7 out of 10) than the Jeep Grand Cherokee (5 to 7). This means the Santa Fe Hybrid produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Grand Cherokee every 15,000 miles.

The Santa Fe Hybrid stops much shorter than the Grand Cherokee:

The Santa Fe Hybrid Blue’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 65 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Cherokee Laredo’s standard 70 series tires.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited handles at .79 G’s, while the Grand Cherokee Overland 4x4 pulls only .60 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

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

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

The design of the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid amounts to more than styling. The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Hybrid get better fuel mileage.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 1.3 inches more front headroom, 2.8 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more front hip room, 2.6 inches more rear legroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Grand Cherokee.

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Hybrid easier. The Santa Fe Hybrid’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29 inches, while the Grand Cherokee’s liftover is 33 inches.

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

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid 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.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Grand Cherokee.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling the transmission and speed with the brake pedal. With its available fully controlled system, the driver just activates it and it parks autonomously, 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 does not offer parking by remote control.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid will be $3274 to $17017 less than for the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Consumer Reports® chose the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Jeep Grand Cherokee isn't recommended.