Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 Cadillac XT5

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 XT5 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe and XT5 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 XT5’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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Santa Fe’s standard Downhill Brake Control allow you to creep down safely. The XT5 doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

The Santa Fe has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Fe has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Only the XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers Rear Cross Traffic Alert and the XT5’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

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 XT5 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the XT5 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, rearview cameras, 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 XT5 is not a “Top Safety Pick” 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 XT5’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 XT5. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the XT5 ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the XT5’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 XT5.

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 XT5’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 40 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 271) than the XT5’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Hyundai Santa Fe is faster than the Cadillac XT5 V6:

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe gets better mileage than the XT5:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The XT5 with the 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder engine requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

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 XT5. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe higher (7 out of 10) than the Cadillac XT5 (6 to 7). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the XT5 every 15,000 miles.

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 XT5 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the XT5:

For better traction, the Santa Fe Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the XT5 (255/45R20 vs. 235/65R18).

The Santa Fe SE/SEL’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the XT5’s standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Limited’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the XT5’s optional 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Calligraphy has standard 21-inch wheels. The XT5’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 XT5 doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is .8 feet tighter than the XT5’s (37.9 feet vs. 38.7 feet). The Santa Fe’s turning circle is 1.1 feet tighter than the XT5 w/20” wheels’ (37.9 feet vs. 39 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe XRT has a greater minimum ground clearance than the XT5 (8.3 vs. 7.8 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Santa Fe has standard seating for 7 passengers; the XT5 can only carry 5.

The Santa Fe has 47.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the XT5 (152 vs. 104.5).

The Santa Fe has 1.4 inches more front headroom, 3.1 inches more front legroom, .4 inches more front hip room, 1.2 inches more front shoulder room, 2.2 inches more rear headroom, 3.3 inches more rear legroom, .1 inches more rear hip room and 1.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the XT5.

The Santa Fe’s cargo area provides more volume than the XT5.

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the XT5’s (3500 vs. 1000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Cadillac XT5 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 XT5’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Santa Fe’s headlights were rated “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the XT5’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The XT5 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 XT5 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 XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Cadillac XT5 by almost five to one during 2023.