Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa Fe HybridVS 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Land Cruiser have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Land Cruiser’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 Hybrid are reminded to check the back seat when a sensor determines the back seat is occupied. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, which use forward mounted sensors to warn the driver of a possible collision ahead. If the driver doesn’t react and the system determines a collision is imminent, it automatically applies the brakes at full-force in order to reduce the force of the crash or avoid it altogether. The Land Cruiser doesn't offer collision warning or crash mitigation brakes.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Land Cruiser doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’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 Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Santa Fe Hybrid uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Land Cruiser uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Land Cruiser have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, 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 Hybrid comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Land Cruiser’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe Hybrid 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Land Cruiser. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Land Cruiser ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Land Cruiser’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe Hybrid for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Land Cruiser (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai above average in initial quality. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked fifth.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Hybrid gets better mileage than the Land Cruiser:

Regenerative brakes improve the Santa Fe Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Santa Fe Hybrid’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. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Santa Fe SEL Hybrid’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 Land Cruiser 1958’s standard 70 series tires. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Land Cruiser’s optional 60 series tires.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’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 Land Cruiser doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s turning circle is 2.1 feet tighter than the Land Cruiser’s (37.9 feet vs. 40 feet).

The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 600 pounds less than the Toyota Land Cruiser.

The Santa Fe Hybrid is 3.6 inches shorter than the Land Cruiser, making the Santa Fe Hybrid easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Santa Fe Hybrid is 8.4 inches shorter in height than the Land Cruiser, making the Santa Fe Hybrid much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the Santa Fe Hybrid’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Land Cruiser doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

The front grille of the Santa Fe Hybrid uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 5 inches more front headroom, 11.3 inches more front legroom, 1.1 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, 5.3 inches more rear headroom and 14.8 inches more rear legroom than the Land Cruiser.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Santa Fe Hybrid uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Land Cruiser 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.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Land Cruiser have standard heated front seats. The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Land Cruiser.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Land Cruiser.

The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Land Cruiser doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Santa Fe Hybrid is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.