Compare the2025 Mazda CX-70VS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-70 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 Mazda CX-70 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help 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.

The CX-70 Premium has a standard Secondary Collision Reduction System, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Santa Fe 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-70. But it costs extra on the Santa Fe.

Both the CX-70 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Mazda CX-70 weighs 787 to 1549 pounds more than the Hyundai Santa Fe. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda 4 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

The CX-70 has more powerful engines than the Santa Fe:

On the EPA test cycle the CX-70 running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Santa Fe:

The CX-70 PHEV can travel with zero emissions for 26 miles. The Santa Fe can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the CX-70’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The CX-70’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Santa Fe are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the CX-70 has larger standard tires than the Santa Fe (265/55R19 vs. 235/60R18). The CX-70 Premium’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Santa Fe (275/45R21 vs. 255/45R20).

The CX-70’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Santa Fe’s standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CX-70 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Santa Fe. The CX-70 Premium’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Santa Fe Calligraphy.

The CX-70 has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CX-70’s wheelbase is 13.9 inches longer than on the Santa Fe (122.8 inches vs. 108.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the CX-70 is 2.4 inches wider in the front and 2.2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Santa Fe.

The CX-70 has 30.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Santa Fe (141.6 vs. 111.5).

The CX-70 has .1 inches more front shoulder room and .3 inches more rear headroom than the Santa Fe.

The CX-70 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Santa Fe with its rear seat up (39.6 vs. 36.4 cubic feet). The CX-70 has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Santa Fe with its rear seat folded (75.3 vs. 72.1 cubic feet).

The CX-70’s cargo area is larger than the Santa Fe’s in almost every dimension:

The CX-70’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Santa Fe’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Santa Fe is only 3500 pounds. The CX-70 offers up to a 5000 lbs. towing capacity.

The engine in the CX-70 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Santa Fe. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The CX-70’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’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

The CX-70 has standard Advanced Keyless Entry and Start that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the vehicle, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy offers a Proximity Key.

The CX-70’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 SE/XRT/SEL’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the CX-70 Turbo S has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The CX-70’s 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.

The CX-70 Premium’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 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The CX-70 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Mazda CX-70 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy offers wireless charging.