Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 Cadillac XT4

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe 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 Cadillac XT4 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe and XT4 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 XT4’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 XT4 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the XT4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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 weighs 461 to 793 pounds more than the Cadillac XT4. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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 XT4 has not yet been fully 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 XT4’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Cadillac covers the XT4. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the XT4 ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the XT4’s (7 vs. 6 years).

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. Cadillac only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the XT4.

There are over 48 percent more Hyundai dealers than there are Cadillac dealers, which makes it 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 Cadillac vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 52 more problems per 100 vehicles, Cadillac is ranked 23rd, below the industry average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Cadillac vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 5 places higher in reliability than Cadillac.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 42 more horsepower (277 vs. 235) and 53 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 258) than the XT4’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Hyundai Santa Fe is faster than the Cadillac XT4:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The XT4 requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 1.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the XT4 FWD’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 15.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Santa Fe has 1.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the XT4 AWD’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 16.3 gallons).

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 XT4. 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 XT4 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 XT4:

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the XT4:

For better traction, the Santa Fe Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the XT4 (255/45R20 vs. 245/45R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Calligraphy has standard 21-inch wheels. The XT4’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 XT4 doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer than on the XT4 (110.8 inches vs. 109.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 1.4 inches wider in the front and 1.9 inches wider in the rear than the track on the XT4.

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a greater minimum ground clearance than the XT4 (7 vs. 6.7 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Santa Fe XRT’s minimum ground clearance is 1.6 inches higher than on the XT4 (8.3 vs. 6.7 inches).

The Santa Fe has standard seating for 7 passengers; the XT4 can only carry 5.

The Santa Fe has 50.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the XT4 (152 vs. 101.3).

The Santa Fe has 1.7 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front legroom, 2 inches more front hip room, 2.5 inches more front shoulder room, 2.3 inches more rear headroom, 2.8 inches more rear legroom, 5.1 inches more rear hip room and 3 inches more rear shoulder room than the XT4.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Santa Fe’s middle and third row seats recline. The XT4’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Santa Fe’s cargo area provides more volume than the XT4.

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Santa Fe’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The XT4 doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the XT4’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Cadillac XT4 is only 3500 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 XT4’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 XT4 doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

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 XT4 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 XT4 Premium Luxury/Sport’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Cadillac XT4 by almost six to one during 2023.