Compare the2025 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2025 GMC Terrain

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 GMC Terrain doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe and Terrain 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 Terrain’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 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 Terrain 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 GMC Terrain has not been tested.

The Santa Fe’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Terrain doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Santa Fe and the Terrain have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The Hyundai Santa Fe weighs 745 to 1040 pounds more than the GMC Terrain. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year and unlimited miles longer than the Terrain’s (7/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

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. GMC only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Terrain.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Santa Fe has a standard 150-amp alternator. The Terrain’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

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 GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 39 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 20th, 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 GMC With 8 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Hyundai higher than GMC.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 10 places higher in reliability than GMC.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 102 more horsepower (277 vs. 175) and 127 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 184) than the Terrain FWD’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 102 more horsepower (277 vs. 175) and 108 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 203) than the Terrain AWD’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

The Santa Fe has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Terrain FWD’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 14.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Santa Fe has 2.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Terrain AWD’s standard fuel tank (17.7 vs. 15.6 gallons).

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 Terrain doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

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

For better traction, the Santa Fe Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Terrain (255/45R20 vs. 235/65R17).

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 Terrain’s standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Limited’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Terrain’s optional 55 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 Terrain. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Terrain.

The Santa Fe has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Santa Fe flat and controlled during cornering. The Terrain’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

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 Terrain doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 3.3 inches longer than on the Terrain (110.8 inches vs. 107.5 inches).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe has a 1.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Terrain (7 vs. 5.8 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Santa Fe XRT’s minimum ground clearance is 2.5 inches higher than on the Terrain (8.3 vs. 5.8 inches).

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

The Santa Fe has 1.1 inches more front headroom, 3.8 inches more front legroom, 1.2 inches more front hip room, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, 1.4 inches more rear headroom, 3.1 inches more rear legroom, 3.9 inches more rear hip room and 2.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Terrain.

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

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

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Terrain’s (3500 vs. 800 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the GMC Terrain AWD is only 1500 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 Terrain doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Terrain 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 Terrain doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches. The Terrain’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

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

Both the Hyundai Santa Fe and GMC Terrain offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Santa Fe offers available power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Terrain’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

The Hyundai Santa Fe stands out above the GMC Terrain 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 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 Terrain 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 Terrain doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Santa Fe, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the GMC Terrain by 34% during 2024.