Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 Volkswagen Atlas

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 Volkswagen Atlas doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe and Atlas 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 Atlas’ 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 Hyundai Santa Fe has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Atlas doesn’t offer knee airbags.

With its standard Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, the Hyundai Santa Fe is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Volkswagen Atlas, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

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 Atlas doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the Atlas have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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 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 Atlas’ 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Atlas. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Atlas ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

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

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 1 year and 16000 miles longer than Volkswagen pays for maintenance for the Atlas (3/36,000 vs. 2/20,000).

There are over 29 percent more Hyundai dealers than there are Volkswagen 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 Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 79 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is ranked 30th, below the industry average.

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 Volkswagen With 69 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Hyundai higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 16 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 8 more horsepower (277 vs. 269) and 38 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 273) than the Atlas’ 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Hyundai Santa Fe is faster than the Volkswagen Atlas:

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

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe higher (7 out of 10) than the Volkswagen Atlas (3). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Atlas 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 Atlas doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

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

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the Atlas:

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

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Atlas’ (37.9 feet vs. 40.5 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Atlas (7 vs. 6.3 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 inches higher than on the Atlas (8.3 vs. 6.3 inches).

The Santa Fe is 10.5 inches shorter than the Atlas, making the Santa Fe easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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 significantly lower than the Atlas (.33) 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 Atlas doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Santa Fe has 2.6 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more rear headroom and 4.7 inches more rear legroom than the Atlas.

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

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

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Atlas’ (3500 vs. 2000 pounds).

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 Atlas doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

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

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 Atlas SEL Premium R-Line’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Volkswagen Atlas by 38% during 2023.