Compare the2024 Volvo XC40 RechargeVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC40 Recharge 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 XC40 Recharge’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The Volvo XC40 Recharge 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 XC40 Recharge has a standard Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WHIPS allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The XC40 Recharge has standard Post-impact braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Both the XC40 Recharge 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, 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, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The XC40 Recharge’s corrosion warranty is 5 years longer than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s (12 vs. 7 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the XC40 Recharge for 1 year and 4000 miles longer than Hyundai pays for maintenance for the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (4/40,000 vs. 3/36,000).

The XC40 Recharge Single Motor’s standard electric motor produces 52 lbs.-ft. more torque (310 vs. 258) than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The XC40 Recharge Twin Motor’s optional electric motors produces 141 more horsepower (402 vs. 261) and 236 lbs.-ft. more torque (494 vs. 258) than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Car and Driver the XC40 Recharge Twin Motor electric motors is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the XC40 Recharge gets better mileage than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid running on electricity:

On the EPA test cycle the XC40 Recharge gets better mileage than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid running its gasoline engine:

The XC40 Recharge can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 254 to 293 miles. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has to start its internal combustion engine after only 31 miles.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volvo XC40 Recharge higher (10 out of 10) than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (7). This means the XC40 Recharge produces up to 11.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the XC40 Recharge’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

The XC40 Recharge stops shorter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

For better traction and acceleration, the XC40 Recharge has larger rear tires than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (255/45R19 vs. 235/55R19).

The XC40 Recharge’s standard 235/50R19 front and 255/45R19 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series front and 45 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s standard 55 series tires. The XC40 Recharge Ultimate’s 235/45R20 front and 255/40R20 rear tires have a lower 45 series front and 40 series rear profile than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XC40 Recharge Ultimate has standard 20-inch wheels. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

The XC40 Recharge AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XC40 Recharge AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited (26.3 seconds @ .7 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

The XC40 Recharge is 1 foot, 2.2 inches shorter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, making the XC40 Recharge easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the XC40 Recharge. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The XC40 Recharge’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the XC40 Recharge the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The XC40 Recharge’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the XC40 Recharge to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The XC40 Recharge offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the XC40 Recharge Plus/Ultimate has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer cornering lights. The XC40 Recharge Ultimate also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The XC40 Recharge’s standard 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.

The XC40 Recharge is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.