Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 Audi Q5

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 are reminded to check the back seat. The Q5 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Hyundai Santa Fe 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 Q5 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

With its standard Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, the Hyundai Santa Fe is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Audi Q5, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

The Santa Fe’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Q5 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the Q5 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, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Hyundai Santa Fe is safer than the Q5:

The Hyundai Santa Fe achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Q5 last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023.

The Santa Fe comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Q5’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Audi covers the Q5. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Q5 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Audi only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Q5.

There are almost 3 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Audi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 80 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi is ranked 31st, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Audi With 77 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Hyundai higher than Audi.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Audi vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 8 places higher in reliability than Audi.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 76 more horsepower (277 vs. 201) and 75 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 236) than the Q5 40 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 16 more horsepower (277 vs. 261) and 38 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 273) than the Q5 45 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Q5 requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 3.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Q5 Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 14.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe higher (7 out of 10) than the Audi Q5 (5 to 7). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Q5 every 15,000 miles.

An eight-speed automatic (SMG) is standard on the Hyundai Santa Fe, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for the Q5.

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the Q5:

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Calligraphy has standard 21-inch wheels. The Q5’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Santa Fe’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Q5 doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 1 inch wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Q5.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Q5 45 TFSI Premium Plus pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is .8 feet tighter than the Q5 40/45 TFSI’s (37.9 feet vs. 38.7 feet). The Santa Fe’s turning circle is 1.5 feet tighter than the Q5 55 TFSI e’s (37.9 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe XRT has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Q5 45 TFSI (8.3 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The design of the Hyundai Santa Fe amounts to more than styling. The Santa Fe has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .294 Cd. That is significantly lower than the Q5 (.33 to .34) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Santa Fe get better fuel mileage.

The front grille of the Santa Fe uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Q5 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Santa Fe has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Q5 can only carry 5.

The Santa Fe has 1.5 inches more front headroom, 3.4 inches more front legroom, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, 1.3 inches more rear headroom, 4.3 inches more rear legroom and 1.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Q5.

The Santa Fe’s cargo area provides more volume than the Q5.

Maximum trailer towing in the Audi Q5 is limited to 4400 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 4500 lbs. towing capacity.

While the Q5 55 TFSI e can only tow 2000, any Santa Fe can tow a minimum of 3500 pounds.

Standard Trailer Sway Assist on the Santa Fe 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 Q5 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe’s standard Proximity Key allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless Start standard on the Q5 only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Santa Fe has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Q5 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Santa Fe XRT/Limited/Calligraphy has a 115-volt a/c outlet, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Q5 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, 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 Q5 Prestige’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

The Santa Fe is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Q5 doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Audi Q5/SQ5 by 77% during 2023.