Compare the2024 GMC AcadiaVS 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Acadia and the Santa Fe Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact 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, available all wheel drive, front parking sensors and driver alert monitors.

There are almost 2 times as many GMC dealers as there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC above average in initial quality. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated lower.

The Acadia’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 97 more horsepower (328 vs. 231) and 55 lbs.-ft. more torque (326 vs. 271) than the Santa Fe Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

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

The Acadia FWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe Hybrid (19.4 vs. 17.7 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe Hybrid (21.7 vs. 17.7 gallons).

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the GMC Acadia, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Santa Fe Hybrid.

For better traction, the Acadia has larger standard tires than the Santa Fe Hybrid (255/55R20 vs. 235/60R18). The Acadia Denali’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Santa Fe Hybrid (275/45R22 vs. 255/45R20).

The Acadia’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Santa Fe SEL Hybrid’s standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Acadia Denali offers optional 22-inch wheels. The Santa Fe Hybrid’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Acadia 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 Santa Fe Hybrid; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Acadia’s wheelbase is 10.1 inches longer than on the Santa Fe Hybrid (120.9 inches vs. 110.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Acadia is 3 inches wider in the front and 2.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Santa Fe Hybrid.

For greater off-road capability the Acadia AT4 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Santa Fe Hybrid (7.8 vs. 7 inches), allowing the Acadia to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Acadia has 1.5 inches more front headroom, 2.7 inches more front hip room, 2.5 inches more front shoulder room, 3.5 inches more rear hip room, 3.9 inches more rear shoulder room, .5 inches more third row headroom, 2.1 inches more third row legroom, 5.9 inches more third row hip room and 4.4 inches more third row shoulder room than the Santa Fe Hybrid.

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

Both the Acadia and the Santa Fe Hybrid offer second row automatic folding seats. The Acadia Denali’s third row seats also fold up or down at the press of a switch. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer automatic folding third row seats.

Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is limited to 2000 pounds. The Acadia offers up to a 5000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Acadia’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Santa Fe Hybrid has neither an oil pressure gauge nor a temperature gauge.

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

The Acadia’s standard 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 Hybrid offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Acadia has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy.