Hyundai Santa Fe vs. Kia Sorento prices and features
- Base Sorento LX costs $33,500; Sorento Hybrid is $40,000; Sorento PHEV $49,500
- Base Hyundai Santa Fe SE costs $36,000; Santa Fe Hybrid SEL costs $38,000
- AWD costs $1,800 more on Santa Fe, or between $1,500-$2,000 on Sorento
- Best picks: Kia Sorento EX Hybrid, Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid SEL
- Both models have an industry-leading 5-year/60,000-mile warranty
Which Kia Sorento should I buy? How much is a fully loaded Kia Sorento?
The Sorento comes in base LX, S, EX, SX, a few X-Line trims, and a range-topping X-Pro. The LX and SX only come with front-wheel drive, while the X-badged models have AWD standard. Then there’s the Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid grades that Kia simplifies for our simpleton’s sake to EX and SX Prestige. The price delta spans $20,000. Woof.
A 12.3-inch touchscreen comes standard with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but we’d step up at least to the EX trim, and once there, we’d step over to the Sorento Hybrid. It’s only $900 more than a gas-only EX and adds heated front seats, synthetic leather upholstery, second-row captain’s chairs, and blind-spot monitors into the mix.
The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid is about a $7,500 jump over the Hybrid AWD and even with the top SX Prestige trim and its Bose audio and cooled front seats it’s not really cost-justified with its 32-mile range.
Which Hyundai Santa Fe should I buy? How much is a fully loaded Hyundai Santa Fe?
Sold in SE, SEL, XRT, Limited, and Calligraphy versions, the Santa Fe comes well equipped and stretches into luxury territory with the $50,000 Calligraphy model and its nappa leather and twin wireless charging pad. It’s the only Santa Fe that gets second-row captain’s chairs to turn it into a six-passenger vehicle.
The base SE has twin 12.3-inch digital displays that include a touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for about $36,000. We’d step up to the SEL for another $2,500 for heated front seats that are power adjustable and covered in synthetic leather, as well as a wireless smartphone charger. Since the Hybrid SEL costs just $1,000 more and is still priced under $40,000, that’s our recommended pick.
The XRT comes standard with all-wheel drive and, like the Sorento X-badged models, it adds a more rugged look with 18-inch wheels and all-terrain tires.
Advantage: The base Sorento, but the Santa Fe Hybrid packs the most value.
Hyundai Santa Fe vs. Kia Sorento styling
- The Santa Fe boxes up retro SUV style with a look as much Land Rover as Lego
- The Sorento’s exterior and its toothy quarter windows are less unified
- The Santa Fe has a smarter, more streamlined interior
Is the Kia Sorento a good-looking SUV?
A 2024 refresh boxed out the edges and made the dog-bone grille appear more vertical for that retro SUV style that’s all the rage. Vertical headlights and amber running lights, as well as a broad lower grille, bridge the differences between the EV9 and the Telluride three-row SUVs in the Kia family. The odd tooth in the quarter window remains, and likely will until its 2026 redesign. The interior follows the broad expanse of the front face, with a thin haptic climate panel flanked by temperature knobs below the 12.3-inch touchscreen that’s curved toward the driver. It’s busier than the Santa Fe but smartly packaged and with bits of flair that distinguish it, like textured aluminum door panels.
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe a good-looking SUV?
It’s playful and plucky, retro and modern, and looks as much like a Land Rover as a Lego truck. It’s tall and upright, and broad and boxy, with angular wheel flares cut into its slab-like sides. The LED headlights and taillights sport H-shaped designs repeated not only across the light bar in the grille and the dumbbell-like shape of the lower grille, but all over its equally stylish interior. In addition to the 12.3-inch touchscreen curved into the digital display, the wide and low dash features twin gloveboxes and a climate panel with dials and buttons. The tiered center console stretches wide and eats into some kneeroom, but it can wirelessly charge two phones simultaneously. It’s bigger, bolder, and better than the Sorento.
Advantage: The Sante Fe.
Hyundai Santa Fe vs. Kia Sorento size and cargo space
- The Santa Fe is a half-inch longer but 3.0 inches taller than the Sorento
- The Santa Fe has more cargo room and headroom than the Sorento
- Both models seat seven passengers or six with second-row captain’s chairs
The main difference between these two three-row models is the Santa Fe has more cargo space and a bit more roominess inside for passengers. The Sorento, however, can be equipped with captain’s chairs in the second row on most trims, whereas Hyundai only allows it on the top Calligraphy trim.
Both models have wide door openings that make getting into the second and third rows easy. The Santa Fe has 42.3 inches of rear legroom versus 41.7 inches in the Sorento, and the Santa Fe benefits from an inch more headroom. Hybrid models only shave about a half-inch of legroom due to the battery pack’s placement under and behind the front seats. Levers and pull bars adjust either the three-seat bench or the available captain’s chairs, but some rivals have push-button mechanisms that are easier for smaller hands. Available power-folding on the captain’s chairs simplifies things, especially from the cargo hold, but on the seat itself in the Santa Fe it can be a tricky dance of sliding and reclining to restore the right position after getting in back.
How big are the third rows and cargo areas of the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento?
The Santa Fe has about an inch more legroom than the Sorento in the wayback, but both models come with cupholders and available USB ports to keep all family members dialed in. In practice, they’re both more carpool third rows than road-trip rows, but a family of five with tweens and under could fit fine for weekend getaways. The 50:50-split third row seats collapse easily into the floor with pull straps that also collapse the head rests. The 14.6 cubic feet of space behind the third row in the Santa Fe grows to 40.5 cubes with the seats down, versus 12.6 and 38.5 cubic feet in the Sorento. There’s enough room to stack a carry-on for each passenger in the Santa Fe but doing so in the Sorento would block any views through the rear window.
Advantage: Santa Fe, and minimal space is taken by hybrid components.
Hyundai Santa Fe vs. Kia Sorento performance specs and towing
- Sorento still uses a base 191-hp 2.5-liter inline-4 with an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
- Santa Fe employs a 277-hp 2.5-liter turbo-4 also shared with the Sorento
- Hybrids have a 227-hp 1.6-liter turbo-4 with a motor and 6-speed auto
- Sorento PHEV swaps in a 66.9-kw motor with the turbo-4 for a total of 261 hp
How fast is the Hyundai Santa Fe? Is the Santa Fe 4WD?
The Santa Fe comes with two powertrain choices and an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic that routes power to the front wheels or all four wheels for an extra $1,800. The 2.5-liter turbo-4 makes 277 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque that provides plenty of power at speed even if it’s not quick off the line. The 8-speed can dance around a bit in low gears under light throttle, but Sport mode lengthens those shifts at the expense of fuel economy.
A MacPherson front strut setup and an independent rear suspension create a smooth and quiet ride, especially in the Hybrid model, but the size and shape of the bigger SUV results in handling that leans into corners and bounds over bumps. Keep the inputs steady and it’s a steady cruiser comfy enough to induce naps in the rear seats.
How is the Santa Fe Hybrid?
It’s the best version of the Santa Fe. Hyundai fits a 47.7-kw motor between a 1.6-liter turbo-4 and 6-speed automatic transmission that evenly doles out the powertrain’s 231 hp and 271 lb-ft. It’s quicker and more responsive than the turbo-4, with an electric boost off the line and ample power on tap otherwise. The handoff from motor to engine power is virtually unnoticeable, except at low speeds when unaccustomed drivers might notice a shift from first to second even when it’s running on EV power only. Another neat trick from the 6-speed is how in Sport mode the column-mounted paddle shifters let the driver control the shift points, mostly, but in the other modes those paddles turn into four levels of regenerative braking.
How fast is the Kia Sorento? Is the Kia Sorento 4WD?
The Sorento has four powertrain choices, including a base 2.5-liter inline-4 rated at 191 hp and 181 lb-ft that’s too noisy and unrefined for the Sorento’s status as a family hauler. The same 2.5-liter turbo-4 used in the Santa Fe makes 281 hp and is more refined and responsive than the base 2.5. Still, the 8-speed can be slow to downshift into passing gears so we’d appreciate paddle shifters on every model, not just the top SX Prestige.
It’s not as heavy as the newer, larger Santa Fe but it’s also not as refined, even with the same MacPherson-front and independent rear suspension. Still, we’d recommend the Sorento Hybrid for the same reasons as in the Santa Fe.
How are the Kia Sorento Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid?
The Sorento Hybrid uses the same system as in the Santa Fe Hybrid. It gets loud above 3,500 rpm, and road and wind noise disrupts the cabin at low speeds in electric power with the engine off, more so than in the Santa Fe Hybrid it seems, but it’s still the recommended powertrain if you’re leaning Sorento.
The Sorento PHEV asks a lot for its $7,500 upcharge, and it doesn’t deliver that much savings versus the Hybrid EX or SX Prestige with AWD. A 66.9-kw mother and larger 14-kwh battery pack provide up to 32 miles of electric range with standard all-wheel drive, so you could handle most around-town jobs without triggering the engine. It’s quieter, quicker, and more powerful but for the 20% increase in price, you’d have to log many local miles to make sense of the extra cents. A long-term argument could be made, however, since the EPA estimates you’d save $1,250 annually over the Sorento Hybrid AWD, all factors the same.
Hyundai Santa Fe vs. Kia Sorento gas mileage
- The base Sorento gets 23 mpg city, 31 highway, 26 combined; AWD lowers it to 23/28/25 mpg
- The turbo-4 in the Santa Fe FWD gets 24 mpg combined versus the Sorento’s 23
- Hybrids rate at 36 mpg combined with FWD, 34 mpg combined with AWD
- Sorento PHEV gets 32 miles of EV range, the equivalent of 79 mpg, or 34 mpg combined on gas alone
Advantage: The Sorento, for PHEV potential.
Hyundai Santa Fe vs. Kia Sorento safety
- Both models earn a Top Safety Pick from the IIHS
- The Sorento earned a five-star NHTSA rating but, oddly, the Santa Fe got four
- Both have standard automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, blind-spot monitors, and rear cross-traffic alerts
How safe is the Kia Sorento?
It earned a top five-star crash rating from the NHTSA and the IIHS gave it a Top Safety Pick even though it scored only a “Marginal” rating on the updated front-crash test. That’s not unusual.
In addition to the excellent standard driver-assist systems mentioned above, Kia offers a sophisticated highway driving-assist system with automatic lane changes and longer intervals to keep your hands off the wheel. Options include parking sensors, blind-spot cameras, and a surround-view camera system.
How safe is the Hyundai Santa Fe?
It earned the same TSP nomination from the IIHS, but the NHTSA gave it an unusual four-star crash rating for its frontal protection. Expect Hyundai to remedy that for its popular family hauler. The options are the same as the Sorento’s, except parking sensors come standard.
Advantage: Kia Sorento.
Which is better: Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe?
As you can see, these fraternal twins are far more alike than different. While the Hyundai Santa Fe benefits from a fresher style and excellent packaging in its roomier cabin, it earns a TCC Rating of 6.5 out of 10 that comes up just short of the Kia Sorento’s 6.7 out of 10. (Read more about how we rate cars.) The Sorento’s higher safety rating lifts it, as does its more value-oriented trim and base engine offering, even though we’d recommend the hybrid version of either.