Compare the2024 Mitsubishi Eclipse CrossVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 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 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 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 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the Eclipse Cross. But it costs extra on the Santa Fe.

Both the Eclipse Cross and the Santa Fe have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

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 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe:

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

As tested in Consumer Reports the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe 4 cyl.:

On the EPA test cycle the Eclipse Cross gets better mileage than the Santa Fe:

The Eclipse Cross 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 doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Eclipse Cross stops shorter than the Santa Fe:

For better maneuverability, the Eclipse Cross AWD’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Santa Fe’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Eclipse Cross has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Santa Fe (8.5 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Eclipse Cross to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 550 pounds less than the Hyundai Santa Fe.

The Eclipse Cross is 9.4 inches shorter than the Santa Fe, making the Eclipse Cross easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Eclipse Cross’ standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Hyundai only offers heated mirrors on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.