Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 Infiniti QX50

Both the Santa Fe and QX50 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 QX50’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 QX50 doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

Both the Santa Fe and QX50 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 QX50’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

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 QX50 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the QX50 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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.

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 QX50:

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 QX50 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 QX50’s 4-year/60,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Infiniti covers the QX50. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the QX50 ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

There are over 4 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Infiniti dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Santa Fe has a standard 150-amp alternator. The QX50’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

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 Infiniti vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 25 more problems per 100 vehicles, Infiniti is ranked 14th.

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 Infiniti With 21 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Hyundai higher than Infiniti.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Infiniti vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 2 places higher in reliability than Infiniti.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 9 more horsepower (277 vs. 268) and 31 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 280) than the QX50’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Santa Fe’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The QX50 doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The QX50 requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 1.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the QX50 (17.7 vs. 16 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 Infiniti QX50 (6). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the QX50 every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the QX50:

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Calligraphy has standard 21-inch wheels. The QX50’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Santa Fe has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the QX50; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed.

The Santa Fe has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The QX50’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

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 QX50 doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

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 lower than the QX50 (.32) 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 QX50 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Santa Fe has standard seating for 7 passengers; the QX50 can only carry 5.

The Santa Fe has 47.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the QX50 (152 vs. 104.4).

The Santa Fe has .1 inches more front headroom, 4.7 inches more front legroom, .9 inches more front hip room, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, 3.6 inches more rear legroom, 1.1 inches more rear hip room and 1 inch more rear shoulder room than the QX50.

The Santa Fe’s cargo area provides more volume than the QX50.

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the QX50’s (3500 vs. 0 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Infiniti QX50 AWD is only 3000 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 QX50 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The power windows standard on both the Santa Fe and the QX50 have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Fe is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The QX50 prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

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 QX50 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 QX50 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Infiniti QX50 by over 13 to one during 2023.