Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander

Both the Santa Fe and Outlander 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 Outlander’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.

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

Both the Santa Fe and the Outlander 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The Hyundai Santa Fe weighs 540 to 893 pounds more than the Mitsubishi Outlander. 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 Outlander has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

The Santa Fe’s 7 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Outlander runs out after 100,000 miles.

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 1 year and 6000 miles longer than Mitsubishi pays for maintenance for the Outlander (3/36,000 vs. 2/30,000).

There are almost 3 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Mitsubishi dealers, which makes it much 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 Mitsubishi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 29 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mitsubishi is ranked 16th.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 96 more horsepower (277 vs. 181) and 130 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 181) than the Outlander’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Hyundai Santa Fe is faster than the Mitsubishi Outlander:

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 Outlander doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Santa Fe has 3.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Outlander (17.7 vs. 14.5 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 Mitsubishi Outlander (6 to 7). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Outlander every 15,000 miles.

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the Outlander:

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Calligraphy has standard 21-inch wheels. The Outlander’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 Outlander; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

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 Outlander doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 4.3 inches longer than on the Outlander (110.8 inches vs. 106.5 inches).

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

For excellent aerodynamics, the Santa Fe has standard flush composite headlights. The Outlander has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

The Santa Fe has 26.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Outlander (152 vs. 125.5).

The Santa Fe has .5 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front legroom, 2.5 inches more front hip room, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, 2.4 inches more rear legroom, 1.6 inches more rear hip room, 2.2 inches more rear shoulder room, 3.2 inches more third row headroom, 11.3 inches more third row legroom, .6 inches more third row hip room and 2.3 inches more third row shoulder room than the Outlander.

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

The Santa Fe has a standard Sinking Seat third row seat, which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Outlander doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

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

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Outlander uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The power windows standard on both the Santa Fe and the Outlander 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 Outlander prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

On a hot day the Santa Fe’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Outlander can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Santa Fe’s standard Proximity Key allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Pushbutton Start standard on the Outlander only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle. Pushbutton Start is not available on the Outlander SE/Black Edition/SEL.

The Santa Fe’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Outlander’s power window, power lock and power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Santa Fe’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Mitsubishi only offers heated mirrors on the Outlander SE/Black Edition/SEL.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Outlander doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

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 Outlander 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 Outlander doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Mitsubishi Outlander by almost three to one during 2023.