Compare the2024 Subaru ForesterVS 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe

The Forester 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 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Forester. But it costs extra on the Santa Fe.

Both the Forester and the Santa Fe 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, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Forester third among compact suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Santa Fe isn’t in the top three in its category.

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.

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Forester lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

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

The Forester 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 doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Forester Wilderness 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; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

For better maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 2.5 feet tighter than the Santa Fe’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.9 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Forester has a 1.7 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Santa Fe (8.7 vs. 7 inches), allowing the Forester to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Forester Wilderness’ minimum ground clearance is .9 inch higher than on the Santa Fe XRT (9.2 vs. 8.3 inches).

The Subaru Forester may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 850 to 900 pounds less than the Hyundai Santa Fe.

The Forester is 7.5 inches shorter than the Santa Fe, making the Forester easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Forester has a much larger cargo volume than the Santa Fe with its rear seat up (28.9 vs. 14.6 cubic feet).

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

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

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s exterior PIN entry system. The Santa Fe 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 Forester has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Forester’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 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Consumer Reports® chose the Subaru Forester as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Subaru Forester outsold the Hyundai Santa Fe by 16% during 2023.