Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa Fe HybridVS 2023 Mercedes GLA

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Mercedes GLA doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and GLA 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 GLA’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.

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 Hybrid are reminded to check the back seat when a sensor determines the back seat is occupied. The GLA doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The GLA doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

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 GLA.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLA.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the GLA have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid weighs 584 to 843 pounds more than the Mercedes GLA. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe Hybrid 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the GLA. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the GLA ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

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

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe Hybrid for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the GLA.

There are over 2 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe Hybrid’s warranty.

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 49 points higher than the GLA.

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 Mercedes vehicles. With 4 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Hyundai higher than Mercedes.

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 Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 47 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is ranked 18th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 11 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 5 more horsepower (226 vs. 221) than the GLA’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Hybrid gets better mileage than the GLA:

Regenerative brakes improve the Santa Fe Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The GLA doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 4.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLA (17.7 vs. 13.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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 Mercedes GLA (5). This means the Santa Fe Hybrid produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the GLA every 15,000 miles.

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid stops shorter than the GLA:

The Santa Fe Hybrid has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The GLA’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s wheelbase is 1.5 inches longer than on the GLA (108.9 inches vs. 107.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe Hybrid is 1.7 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than the track on the GLA.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 2.2 inches more front headroom, 3.1 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front hip room, 3.2 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 2.8 inches more rear legroom and 3.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLA.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the GLA with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 19 cubic feet). The Santa Fe Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the GLA with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The GLA has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Assist on the Santa Fe Hybrid 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 GLA doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLA only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

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

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Santa Fe Hybrid has standard extendable sun visors. The GLA doesn’t offer extendable visors.

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the GLA. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the GLA.

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 GLA.

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 GLA’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

The Santa Fe Hybrid will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Santa Fe Hybrid will retain 50.72% to 50.86% of its original price after five years, while the GLA only retains 45.43% to 45.49%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid will be $3632 to $7398 less than for the Mercedes GLA.

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 Mercedes GLA isn't recommended.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Mercedes GLA by over 8 to one during 2022.