Compare the2024 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 Kia Sorento

Both the Santa Fe and the Sorento have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The Hyundai Santa Fe 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 Sorento has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 2 years and unlimited miles longer than the Sorento’s (7/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

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. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sorento.

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 Kia vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Kia is ranked fourth.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 86 more horsepower (277 vs. 191) and 130 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 181) than the Sorento LX/S’ standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe AWD gets better fuel mileage than the Sorento 2.5T AWD (20 city/28 hwy vs. 20 city/27 hwy).

For better stopping power the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Sorento:

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 Sorento LX’s standard 65 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 Sorento LX. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Sorento SX/SX Prestige.

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 Sorento doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Sorento (7 vs. 6.9 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Santa Fe XRT’s minimum ground clearance is .1 inch higher than on the Sorento X-Line (8.3 vs. 8.2 inches).

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

The Santa Fe has 46.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Sorento (152 vs. 105.3).

The Santa Fe has .8 inches more front headroom, 2.9 inches more front legroom, .9 inches more front hip room, .4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear legroom, .9 inches more third row headroom, .4 inches more third row legroom, .2 inches more third row hip room and .5 inches more third row shoulder room than the Sorento.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Santa Fe’s middle and third row seats recline. The Sorento’s third row seats don’t recline.

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

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Sorento’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds).

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sorento 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 Calligraphy has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Sorento doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

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. Only the Sorento S/EX/SX/Prestige offers a Smart Key.

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 Sorento doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Kia Sorento by 48% during 2023.