Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2023 GMC Acadia

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 GMC Acadia doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe and Acadia 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 Acadia’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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Acadia doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

Both the Santa Fe and Acadia 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 Acadia’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 Acadia doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the Acadia 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, 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 Acadia 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 Acadia’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 GMC covers the Acadia. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Acadia ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Acadia’s (7/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

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. GMC only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Acadia.

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 GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 39 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 20th, 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 GMC With 8 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Hyundai higher than GMC.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 13 places higher in reliability than GMC.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 49 more horsepower (277 vs. 228) and 53 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 258) than the Acadia’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 Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Acadia 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 Acadia. 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 GMC Acadia (6 to 7). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Acadia 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 Acadia doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

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

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the Acadia:

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 Acadia SLE/SLT’s standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Limited’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Acadia’s optional 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Acadia AT4. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Acadia.

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 Acadia doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is .8 feet tighter than the Acadia’s (37.9 feet vs. 38.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe XRT has a 1.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Acadia (8.3 vs. 7.2 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Santa Fe is 3.2 inches shorter than the Acadia, making the Santa Fe easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Santa Fe has 8.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Acadia (152 vs. 143.8).

The Santa Fe has 1.1 inches more front headroom, 3.3 inches more front legroom, .8 inches more front hip room, .1 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear headroom, 2.6 inches more rear legroom, 1.6 inches more rear hip room, .5 inches more third row headroom and .3 inches more third row legroom than the Acadia.

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

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

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 Acadia doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Acadia’s (3500 vs. 1000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the GMC Acadia is only 4000 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 Acadia doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Acadia’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically.

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 Acadia can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Acadia’s intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

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 Acadia’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

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 Acadia doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the GMC Acadia by almost two to one during 2023.