Compare the2024 Subaru ForesterVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Forester have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Subaru Forester has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Forester has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the Forester and the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Forester is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

	Forester	Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	186	296
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Leg Forces (l/r)	105/93 lbs.	222/167 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 Subaru Forester is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

	Forester	Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.6 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	122 lbs.	164 lbs.
Hip Force	389 lbs.	415 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	670 lbs.	736 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	121	376
Spine Acceleration	40 G’s	44 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Forester the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 54 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has not been fully tested, yet.

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J.D. Power and Associates rated the Forester third among compact suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 6 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

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The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Forester lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

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The Forester has 4.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (16.6 vs. 12.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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The Forester has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a CVT.

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The Forester stops shorter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

	Forester	Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid
70 to 0 MPH	167 feet	176 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	125 feet	Motor Trend

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The Forester Wilderness has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

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The Forester Limited handles at .82 G’s, while the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Forester Limited executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

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The Subaru Forester may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 900 to 950 pounds less than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid.

The Forester is 5.7 inches shorter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, making the Forester easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Forester uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

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The front step up height for the Forester is 2 inches lower than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (15.5” vs. 17.5”). The Forester’s rear step up height is 1.1 inches lower than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s (17.25” vs. 18.3”).

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The Forester has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid with its rear seat folded (74.2 vs. 72.1 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Forester. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

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Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid is limited to 2000 pounds. The Forester offers up to a 3000 lbs. towing capacity.

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The engine in the Forester is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

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The Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s exterior PIN entry system. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Blue Link can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Forester has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Forester’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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Both are recommended, but Consumer Reports® chose the Subaru Forester as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.