Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 Buick Envision

Both the Santa Fe and Envision have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Envision’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

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 Envision doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the Envision have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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.

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 Envision has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

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 Envision’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Buick covers the Envision. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Envision ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Envision’s (7/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

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. Buick doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Envision.

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 Buick vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, Buick is ranked fifth.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Buick vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 1 place higher in reliability than Buick.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 49 more horsepower (277 vs. 228) and 53 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 258) than the Envision’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Envision requires mid-grade for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 51.4 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Envision (17.7 vs. 16.1 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Santa Fe has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Envision. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

The Santa Fe offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Envision doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Envision:

For better traction, the Santa Fe Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Envision (255/45R20 vs. 245/45R20).

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

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer than on the Envision (110.8 inches vs. 109.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Envision.

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

The Santa Fe has 51.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Envision (152 vs. 100.4).

The Santa Fe has 1.5 inches more front headroom, 3.9 inches more front legroom, 1.4 inches more front hip room, 2.8 inches more front shoulder room, 1.7 inches more rear headroom, 3 inches more rear legroom, 7.5 inches more rear hip room and 2.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Envision.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Santa Fe’s middle and third row seats recline. The Envision’s rear seats don’t recline.

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

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Santa Fe’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Envision doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Envision’s (3500 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Buick Envision is only 1500 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 4500 lbs. towing capacity.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches. The Envision’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Envision doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

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 Envision Avenir’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

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

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Buick Envision by almost three to one during 2023.