Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2025 Subaru Outback

Both the Santa Fe and Outback 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 Outback’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.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Outback only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The Santa Fe has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Outback’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Fe has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Outback and its not available on the Base and the Outback’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

Both the Santa Fe and the Outback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Hyundai Santa Fe is safer than the Outback:

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 Outback’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 Subaru covers the Outback. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Outback ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

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

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. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Outback.

There are over 31 percent more Hyundai dealers than there are Subaru 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 Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 12th.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 95 more horsepower (277 vs. 182) and 135 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 176) than the Outback 2.5i’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 17 more horsepower (277 vs. 260) and 34 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 277) than the Outback XT/Wilderness’ standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Outback XT/Wilderness requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe higher (7 out of 10) than the Subaru Outback (6 to 7). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Outback every 15,000 miles.

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

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the Outback:

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the Outback (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Santa Fe Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Outback (255/45R20 vs. 225/65R17).

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 Outback’s standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Limited’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Outback Onyx/Limited/Touring’s 60 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 Outback. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the Outback Onyx/Limited/Touring.

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 Outback doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 2.7 inches longer than on the Outback (110.8 inches vs. 108.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 2.7 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Outback.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Outback Wilderness pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Santa Fe has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Outback can only carry 5.

The Santa Fe has 43 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Outback (152 vs. 109).

The Santa Fe has 1 inch more front headroom, 1.5 inches more front legroom, 1 inch more front hip room, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, 2.8 inches more rear legroom, .1 inches more rear hip room and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Outback.

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

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

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Outback’s (3500 vs. 2700 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Subaru Outback is only 3500 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 Outback doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Outback 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.

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 Outback doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The power windows standard on both the Santa Fe and the Outback have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Fe is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Outback prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

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

The Santa Fe has a standard Proximity Key that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless Access and Start costs extra on the Outback and isn’t available on the Outback Base.

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 Outback’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Santa Fe’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Outback Premium/Limited/Wilderness/Touring/Onyx.

Both the Santa Fe and the Outback offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Santa Fe has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Outback doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Santa Fe XRT/Limited/Calligraphy has a 115-volt a/c outlet, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Outback doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

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 Outback doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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