Compare the2025 Volvo EX40VS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo EX40 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 EX40’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The Volvo EX40 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 EX40 has a standard Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WHIPS allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The EX40 has standard Post-impact braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Both the EX40 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, 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, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The EX40’s corrosion warranty is 5 years longer than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s (12 vs. 7 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the EX40 for 1 year and 4000 miles longer than Hyundai pays for maintenance for the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (4/40,000 vs. 3/36,000).

The EX40 Single Motor’s standard electric motor produces 52 lbs.-ft. more torque (310 vs. 258) than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The EX40 Twin Motor’s optional electric motors produces 141 more horsepower (402 vs. 261) and 236 lbs.-ft. more torque (494 vs. 258) than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The EX40 Twin Motor Performance’s standard electric motors produces 175 more horsepower (436 vs. 261) and 236 lbs.-ft. more torque (494 vs. 258) than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Car and Driver the EX40 Twin Motor electric motors is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the EX40 gets better mileage than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid running on electricity:

On the EPA test cycle the EX40 gets better mileage than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid running its gasoline engine:

The EX40 can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 260 to 296 miles. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has to start its internal combustion engine after only 31 miles.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volvo EX40 higher (10 out of 10) than the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (7). This means the EX40 produces up to 11.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the EX40’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

The EX40 stops shorter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid:

For better traction and acceleration, the EX40 has larger rear tires than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid (255/45R19 vs. 235/55R19).

The EX40’s standard 235/50R19 front and 255/45R19 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series front and 45 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s standard 55 series tires. The EX40 Ultra’s 235/45R20 front and 255/40R20 rear tires have a lower 45 series front and 40 series rear profile than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the EX40 Ultra has standard 20-inch wheels. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

The EX40 AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The EX40 AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited (26.3 seconds @ .7 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

The EX40 is 1 foot, 1.6 inches shorter than the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, making the EX40 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the EX40. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The EX40 has a standard 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 EX40’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.

If the windows are left open on the EX40 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The EX40’s standard Keyless Entry & Drive allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the vehicle, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Proximity Key standard on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

The EX40’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the EX40 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The EX40 offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the EX40 Ultra has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer cornering lights. The EX40 Ultra also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The EX40’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 Plug-In Hybrid has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The EX40 is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.