Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In HybridVS 2023 Mercedes GLB

Both the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid and GLB have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Plug-In 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 GLB’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 Plug-In Hybrid are reminded to check the back seat when a sensor determines the back seat is occupied. The GLB doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The GLB doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

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

The Santa Fe Plug-In 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 GLB.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’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 GLB doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

Both the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid and the GLB 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid weighs 496 to 877 pounds more than the Mercedes GLB. 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 Plug-In Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The GLB has not been tested, yet.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The GLB’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

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

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

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe Plug-In 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 GLB.

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 Plug-In 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 Plug-In Hybrid’s reliability 49 points higher than the GLB.

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 Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 40 more horsepower (261 vs. 221) than the GLB’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid running on electricity gets better mileage than the GLB:

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the GLB:

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid can travel with zero emissions for 31 miles. The GLB can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid uses regular unleaded gasoline. The GLB requires premium, 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 Plug-In Hybrid higher (7 out of 10) than the Mercedes GLB (5). This means the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the GLB every 15,000 miles.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the GLB.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid is 1.6 inches wider in the front and 2 inches wider in the rear than on the GLB.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the GLB’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.4 feet).

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has .5 inches more front headroom, 3 inches more front legroom, 3.2 inches more front shoulder room, 1.4 inches more rear legroom and 3.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLB.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the GLB with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 5.1 cubic feet). The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the GLB with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 62 cubic feet).

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s cargo area is larger than the GLB’s in almost every dimension:

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

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The GLB has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Assist on the Santa Fe Plug-In 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 GLB doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

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

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

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

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

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

The Santa Fe Plug-In 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 GLB’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid will retain 49.58% to 49.67% of its original price after five years, while the GLB only retains 46.13% to 48.36%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid will be $4392 to $6680 less than for the Mercedes GLB.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mercedes GLB isn't recommended.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Mercedes GLB by over five to one during 2022.