Compare the2025 Subaru OutbackVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Outback 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 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Subaru Outback 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 Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Outback has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the Outback and the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Outback is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

	Outback	Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	158	296

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Subaru Outback is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

	Outback	Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	28	61
Chest Movement	.5 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	101 lbs.	164 lbs.
Hip Force	247 lbs.	415 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	116	148
Spine Acceleration	51 G’s	54 G’s
Hip Force	635 lbs.	736 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	14 inches
HIC	146	376
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	44 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The Subaru Outback 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 Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 5 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

Engine

The Outback XT/Wilderness’ standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 19 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 258) than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Car and Driver the Outback XT/Wilderness 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

	Outback	Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid
Zero to 60 MPH	5.8 sec	7.5 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	15.8 sec	20.4 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	6.5 sec	7.5 sec
Quarter Mile	14.6 sec	15.7 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	96 MPH	90 MPH

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Outback lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

Both the Outback and Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The Outback has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The Outback has 6.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (18.5 vs. 12.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Transmission

The Outback has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

The Outback’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid are solid, not vented.

Tires and Wheels

The Outback Wilderness/Onyx XT has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

Suspension and Handling

The Outback Wilderness executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited (27.2 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Outback’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s (36.1 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Outback has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (8.7 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Outback to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Outback Wilderness’ minimum ground clearance is 1.3 inches higher than on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (9.5 vs. 8.2 inches).

Chassis

The Subaru Outback may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 750 pounds less than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid.

The front grille of the Outback 2.5i uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Cargo Capacity

The Outback has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid with its rear seat folded (75.6 vs. 72.1 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Outback. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

The Outback’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s (2700 vs. 2000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid is only 2000 pounds. The Outback offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Outback is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The Outback offers a remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Outback Limited/Wilderness/Touring/Onyx Edition’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 Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Outback’s available exterior PIN entry system (not available on Outback Base). The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Blue Link can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Outback has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Outback’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Subaru Outback and the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Subaru Outback outsold the Hyundai Santa Fe by 23% during 2023.