Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 Dodge Hornet

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 Dodge Hornet doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe and Hornet 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 Hornet’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.

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 Hornet doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Santa Fe and Hornet have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Santa Fe has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Hornet’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Santa Fe and the Hornet have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, 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 Hornet 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 Hornet’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 Dodge covers the Hornet. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Hornet ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Hornet’s (7 vs. 5 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. Dodge doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Hornet.

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 Dodge vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 139 more problems per 100 vehicles, Dodge is ranked 34th, below the industry average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Dodge vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 10 places higher in reliability than Dodge.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 9 more horsepower (277 vs. 268) and 16 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 295) than the Hornet GT’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

The Santa Fe has 6.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet R/T’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 11.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Santa Fe has 4.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet GT’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 13.5 gallons).

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe higher (7 out of 10) than the Dodge Hornet (6 to 7). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Hornet 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 Hornet doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

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

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the Hornet:

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the Hornet (235/60R18 vs. 215/60R17). The Santa Fe Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Hornet (255/45R20 vs. 235/40R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Hornet GT. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Hornet.

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 Hornet doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 7 inches longer than on the Hornet (110.8 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 2.4 inches wider in the front and 2.8 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Hornet.

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Hornet R/T (7 vs. 6.1 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Santa Fe XRT’s minimum ground clearance is .2 inch higher than on the Hornet GT (8.3 vs. 8.1 inches).

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 Hornet doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD is quieter than the Hornet GT:

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

The Santa Fe has 54 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Hornet (152 vs. 98).

The Santa Fe has 2.3 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front legroom, 2.2 inches more front hip room, 3.8 inches more front shoulder room, 2.4 inches more rear headroom, 4.3 inches more rear legroom, 1.4 inches more rear hip room and 3.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Hornet.

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

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

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

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Hornet’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Dodge Hornet is only 2000 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 4500 lbs. towing capacity.

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 Hornet doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Hornet doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Hornet doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

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 Hornet only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

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

When the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Hornet’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the Santa Fe and the Hornet offer available heated front seats. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy also has standard heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Hornet.

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 Hornet 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 Hornet’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 Hornet doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Dodge Hornet by over 14 to one during 2023.