Compare the2025 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2025 Land Rover Defender

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Land Rover Defender doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Santa Fe are reminded to check the back seat. The Defender doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Hyundai Santa Fe 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 Defender doesn’t offer knee airbags.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Hyundai Santa Fe achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Land Rover Defender has not been tested.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Defender doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

Both the Santa Fe and the Defender have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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 (built after November 2024) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Defender has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.

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 Defender’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Defender. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Defender ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Defender’s (7 vs. 6 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. Land Rover doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Defender.

There are over 4 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Santa Fe’s reliability 12 points higher than the Defender.

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 Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 52 more problems per 100 vehicles, Land Rover is ranked 23rd, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 70 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Hyundai higher than Land Rover.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 16 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 295) than the Defender P300’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Hyundai Santa Fe is faster than the Defender P400 3.0 turbo/supercharged 6-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe gets better mileage than the Defender 110/130:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Defender requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Defender doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the Defender:

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 Defender’s standard 65 series tires.

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 Defender doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Defender 110/130 pulls only .70 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3 seconds quicker than the Defender 110/130 (27.1 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 30.1 seconds @ .54 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is .1 feet tighter than the Defender 90’s (37.9 feet vs. 38 feet). The Santa Fe’s turning circle is 4.2 feet tighter than the Defender 110/130’s (37.9 feet vs. 42.1 feet).

The Hyundai Santa Fe may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 to 1450 pounds less than the Land Rover Defender.

The Santa Fe is 6.7 inches shorter than the Defender 110, making the Santa Fe easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Santa Fe is 9.7 inches shorter in height than the Defender, making the Santa Fe much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

The design of the Hyundai Santa Fe amounts to more than styling. The Santa Fe has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .294 Cd. That is significantly lower than the Defender (.38) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Santa Fe get better fuel mileage.

For excellent aerodynamics, the Santa Fe has standard flush composite headlights. The Defender has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

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 Defender doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD is quieter than the Defender 110/130 (68 vs. 69 dB).

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

The Santa Fe’s cargo area provides more volume than the Defender 110.

The Santa Fe’s cargo area provides more volume than the Defender 90.

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

The Santa Fe’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Defender’s swing out door blocks loading from the driver’s side.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Santa Fe’s power cargo door can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Santa Fe’s power cargo door can also be opened or closed by pressing a button. The Defender doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening cargo door.

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

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Santa Fe has standard extendable sun visors. The Defender doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Santa Fe’s sun-visors swivel front-to-side to block glare from the side windows. The Defender’s visors are fixed into the windshield header.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Defender doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Hyundai Santa Fe stands out above the Land Rover Defender by offering not one, but two Qi-compatible phone chargers. This convenience helps travelers with multiple devices to keep powered up on-the-go. Wireless charging eliminates lost or cluttered charging cables and two of them provide more flexibility. Both vehicles also offer Qi charging for the second row passengers.

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 Defender doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Santa Fe, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Land Rover Defender isn't recommended.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Santa Fe first among midsize suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Defender isn’t in the top three in its category.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Land Rover Defender by over four to one during 2024.