Hyundai Santa Fe VS Kia Sorento
Hyundai Santa Fe
Likes
- Comfortable ride
- Good fuel economy
- Interesting styling
Dislikes
- Hybrid is $6500 more than the petrol Santa Fe
- Lower braked towing capacity than petrol or diesel Santa Fe
- Not a plug-in hybrid
Kia Sorento
Likes
- Excellent features and good value
- Comfortable and easy to drive
- Cool styling, but still practical
Dislikes
- No petrol four cylinder engine
- Airbags don’t fully cover third row
- Engines are thirsty
Summary
Hyundai Santa Fe
The Hyundai Santa Fe is a seven-seater SUV that slips in-between the enormous Palisade and mid-sized Tucson in Hyundai’s line-up.
And while it seemed to be the SUV that had everything, from unconventional good looks to cool tech, there’s never been a hybrid version despite rivals such as the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Kia Sorento hybrid being on the market... until now.
Yep, 'better late than never' isn’t just the motto of my punctuality-challenged family, it’s also the case with the Santa Fe Hybrid.
Read more about Hyundai Santa Fe
In many ways, the Santa Fe Hybrid makes up for its lateness with a drive experience better than the regular Santa Fe - and you’ll save fuel, too.
I’ll tell you how much fuel you’ll save below, along with how much more you’ll pay to own a Santa Fe Hybrid over a regular Santa Fe. I’ll also cover off its safety tech, standard features and practicality.Â
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 1.6L turbo |
| Fuel Type | Hybrid with Regular Unleaded |
| Fuel Efficiency | 6L/100km |
| Seating | 7 seats |
Kia Sorento
The Sorento is the mothership of Kia’s line-up. A big, seven-seater SUV which during the past decade has won over Aussie families for its spaciousness and practicality, its safety tech and the way it drives, while being great value for money.
Now the new-generation model has arrived looking leaner and meaner than the old Sorento. So, has it lost any of the charms which made it a winner, or has it only got better?
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 2.2L turbo |
| Fuel Type | Diesel |
| Fuel Efficiency | 6.1L/100km |
| Seating | 7 seats |
Verdict
Hyundai Santa Fe8/10
The Santa Fe Hybrid is a better Santa Fe to drive than the V6 petrol or the diesel variant. It’s also a lot more fuel efficient, but the value isn’t as great at this price. Also keep in mind that the Hybrid has a much lower braked towing capacity relative to the diesel and V6 petrol Santa Fes.
The Elite grade will save you money, and you’re not missing out on many luxuries.Â
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.
Kia Sorento8.4/10
Kia has done it again. The new-gen Sorento will be an instant family hit with its super-cool styling, modern cabin tech, practicality and space, while being great value for money. For such a modern SUV, there should have been a high-output four-cylinder petrol offered, as Mazda does with its CX-9. A superb engine like that, is what an SUV this great deserves.
The sweet spot in the range is the Sport+. Sure it doesn't have the remote parking feature of the GT-Line but it comes with a proximity key, privacy glass and leather seats.
Design
Hyundai Santa Fe8/10
There’s only one way to tell the hybrid version of the Santa Fe from the petrol and diesel variants - the wheels. The hybrid's wheels are smaller and have a sort of ‘cog’ design to them. I’m not a fan of the styling, but they’re supposed to be aerodynamic and save fuel.
Overall, I am a fan of the Santa Fe’s looks which were given a major change in 2020 with a completely different grille and interior.
I like the way Hyundai has moved away from giving all its cars the same face, with each model now having its own visual identity.
The Santa Fe’s wide, cat fish-like gaping mouth grille might not be for everybody, but it sure doesn’t look like the front of any other SUV on the market.
The rear of the Santa Fe is far more conservative but looks prestigious enough to stop short of the boredom threshold.
It’s far from boring inside with the dash sculptured into what appear to be rock pools, with geyser-like air vents and a floating centre console.
Again, no sign this is a hybrid in the cabin either, which is the way it should be, or will be when electric vehicles become the norm.
The cabins of the Elite and Highlander are filled with leather and modern tech. It’s a plush place made even plusher on the Highlander with its Nappa leather upholstery.
The Santa Fe is a big, mid-sized SUV at 4.8m end-to-end, but it’s not as large as a Hyundai Palisade. That's huge at five metres long.
Kia Sorento9/10
The new-generation Sorento looks nothing like the last one… n-o-t-h-i-n-g like the last one. Well, apart from the rear, side window which has the same angle to it, which is an intentional nod to the previous model.
The outgoing version was premium and friendly looking, but its proportions seem bloated compared to the muscular, angular, new-generation Sorento.
It appears to have had an attitude change, too. Sure, this is a family SUV but there are muscle-car traits from the Camaro-style headlights flanking that cliff face of a grille, to the Mustang-esque tail-lights, with everything in between filled with sharp edges.
The cabin is even more striking with its cheese-grater textures in the dash and doors, the large centre console with chrome trim and rotary shifter.
The 10.25-inch media display, standard on the Sport grade and above, is the most interesting I’ve seen on any car I’ve tested.
The level of detail, thought and styling which has gone into it is obvious with its neon people, fonts and icons, incandescent light bulb effect for radio frequencies, and even the ‘streetlight’ mode for the navigation is intriguing. At the same time, it’s one of the easiest to use systems I’ve encountered.
The top-grade GT-Line steps up the premium look with its fully-digital instrument cluster and Nappa leather seats.
The materials feel high quality, while the fit and finish is superb.
The Sorento’s dimensions have changed slightly with the SUV now measuring 4810mm long (+10mm), 1900mm wide and 1700mm tall.
There are seven colours to pick from but only clear white doesn’t demand the $695 cost of the rest which include 'Silky Silver', 'Steel Grey', 'Mineral Blue', 'Aurora Black', 'Gravity Blue' or the 'Snow White Pearl' of the Sorento in my video above. Â
Practicality
Hyundai Santa Fe8/10
The Santa Fe is among only a handful of mid-sized SUVs offering seven seats. The third-row seats are really designed to be used occasionally. They’re flat and fairly hard and the passengers back there aren’t fully covered by the side curtain airbags.
The second row offers plenty of room. Enough, even for me at 191cm, to sit comfortably behind my driving position.
And if you’d like more space then the Highlander grade allows you can replace that bench seat with two captain’s chairs in the six-seat version.
Clever cabin storage spaces can be found throughout. I particularly like the floating centre console with an area underneath big enough for a small backpack, and the shelf above the glove box in the dash is also good for throwing a wallet or phone. Â
Big door pockets, cupholders and a deep centre console storage box are also on board.
For charging devices there are five USB ports (two up front, two in the second row, and one in the third), two 12-volt outlets (front seats and cargo area) and a wireless phone charger.
While there isn’t three-zone climate control. There are directional air vents in all three rows and the Elite and Highlander grades also come with pull-up sun shades for the rear windows.
As for the boot, most of the time you’ll probably have the third-row seats folded flat, and that’ll give you a cargo capacity of 571 litres.
Or, if you are using the third row there’s 130 litres of space left for you to use.
Kia Sorento9/10
The new Sorento has more space inside, a bigger boot and more charging outlets for devices.
Climbing into the third row is also easier now thanks to a wheelbase that’s been stretched by 35mm to 2815mm and a second row which slides further forward.
Even somebody my height (191cm/6'3") and with my impressive lack of co-ordination can get in. Watch the video to see how elegant I look doing it.
Legroom is excellent throughout and I can sit behind my driving position in the second row, and behind that in the third row without my knees touching any of the seatbacks.
You now have more boot space, too. With the third row in place there’s 187 litres (up by 45 litres), and with third row flat there’s 616 liters (up by 11 litres).
Cabin storage is also excellent. There are eight cupholders, plus, four bottle holders in the doors up front and back. You can have 12 drinks on the go and it only fits seven people.
Then there are the charging points. The GT Line and the Sport+ have USB ports in the third and second row, and all grades have three USBs up front and two 12V outlets.
The GT-Line also includes wireless charging. There are directional air vents in all three rows. Nobody is going thirsty, or airless, or chargeless.
A special shout out needs to go to the Remote Smart Parking Assist feature of the GT-Line, too. The system makes the Sorento even more practical.
Price and features
Hyundai Santa Fe7/10
Hybrids cost more than their petrol and diesel equivalents, but how much more depends on whatever the car manufacturer decides you should pay.Â
Hyundai is charging $6500 extra for the Santa Fe hybrid over the petrol version and $3000 more than the diesel.Â
Also, for now, you can only get the Hybrid on the Elite and Highlander grades, the two most expensive levels in the Santa Fe line-up.
This means you’ll pay a list price of $63,000 for the Santa Fe Elite Hybrid and $69,550 for the Highlander Hybrid.
The standard features for the Elite Hybrid and Highlander hybrid are exactly the same as their petrol and diesel equivalents, except for the wheels. The hybrids have smaller 19-inch wheels (they’re 20-inch alloys on the regular Santa Fe) that Hyundai says are designed to be more aerodynamic.
So, along with those futuristic wheels, also coming standard on the Elite Hybrid are LED headlights and tail-lights, a gesture tailgate, privacy glass, proximity key with push-button start, a 10.25-inch media display, 12.3-inch instrument cluster, 10-speaker Harman Kardon stereo, leather upholstery, heated front seats with a power driver’s seat, dual-zone climate control, a wireless charger, sat nav, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The Highlander Hybrid has all of that, but adds Nappa leather upholstery, a power front passenger seat, ventilated front seats and heated window seats in the second row, a head-up display and a panoramic sunroof.
The Elite and Highlander are both seven seaters, but you can ask for six seats in the Highlander and have that second row bench seat replaced with two captain’s chairs.
Kia Sorento9/10
The new-generation Kia Sorento costs about $3K more than the previous model, but in return you’re given better features and the latest tech.
There are four grades in the Sorento range: the S, Sport, Sport + and top-of-the-range GT-Line. All grades can be had with a diesel or petrol engine. The catch is, only the diesel version is equipped with all-wheel drive, while the petrol variant is front-wheel drive only.
For the petrol line-up list prices start at $45,850 for the S, then steps up to $48,480 for the Sport, $52,850 for the Sport+, and $60,070 for the GT-Line. Want that in diesel? Just add $3000 to each price.
Kia does drive-away pricing almost permanently, which will save you money on rego and other on-road costs. At the time this was published you could buy a GT-Line diesel for $63,070 drive-away.
What do you get for the money?
Coming standard on the S grade are 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, cloth seats, and an 8.0-inch display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The Sport grade adds 18-inch alloy wheels, a big 10.25-inch display, sat nav, dual-zone climate, and a power adjustable driver’s seat, but it still has cloth seats.
Things are getting pretty spesh with the Sport+ grade. There’s all of the Sport’s features plus 19-inch alloy wheels, leather seats (heated up front), proximity key with push-button start, power tailgate, privacy glass, LED tail-lights and remote engine start.
And at the top of the tree is the GT-Line which adds 20-inch alloy wheels, quilted Nappa leather seats, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, mood lighting, 12-speaker Bose sound system, head-up display, a wireless phone charger, heated seats in the front and second row, and a panoramic sunroof.Â
By far the most impressive feature of the GT-Line is it's ability to park itself without anyone being in the car. Yup, you read that right. It's called 'Remote Smart Parking Assist' and it's for tight parking spaces.
It's astounding, and to see it work watch the video above where I demonstrate how easy to use and practical the feature is.
Under the bonnet
Hyundai Santa Fe8/10
The Santa Fe Hybrid is not a plug-in hybrid like the Mitsubishi Outlander or Kia Sorento. That means you don’t need to connect the battery to a power outlet to charge it. Instead, the battery charges on the go as you drive it, and through regenerative braking.
Under the bonnet is a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine and an electric motor. They have a combined output of 169kW/350Nm.
That’s pretty good grunt. Just as a comparison, the V6 makes 200kW/331Nm, while the diesel engine produces 148kW/440Nm.
If you’re planning on towing, then the diesel and petrol are clearly the better choices with their 2500kg braked towing capacity, compared to the hybrid’s 1650kg.
The Hybrid Santa Fe is also all-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic transmission shifts gears smoothly.
Kia Sorento7/10
As with the previous Sorento there’s a choice of a 3.5-litre petrol V6 or a turbo-diesel four-cylinder.
Essentially, they are the same engines from the previous model and the outputs are almost unchanged with the diesel making 148kW/440Nm, while the petrol produces 206kW/336Nm.
The transmission in the diesel variant is properly new. It’s an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. The eight-speed that comes in the petrol is an old-school traditional automatic transmission.Â
As mentioned earlier, if you want all-wheel drive then only the diesel version has it, while petrol Sorentos are front-wheel drive only.
The braked towing capacity for the petrol is 1898kg while the diesel can pull 1908kg.
Efficiency
Hyundai Santa Fe8/10
This is what it’s all about isn’t it? How much fuel does the Santa Fe Hybrid use?Â
Hyundai says this hybrid will use 6.0L/100km after a combination of open roads and urban driving. That is excellent, but if this was a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) that figure could be as low as 4.0L/100km.
Still, the Santa Fe hybrid is much more fuel efficient than the V6 variant which uses 10.5L/100km.
I took a look at the drive history of the Santa Fe Hybrid I tested at the end of the Australian launch.
According to the trip computer the car had travelled 967.2km and had used an average of 7.3L/100km.
About 500 of those kilometres were done by me with peak hour city traffic, country roads and motorways all in there. That’s great fuel efficiency, but a Santa Fe PHEV would do better.
As I said earlier, there’s no need to plug the Santa Fe into an external power supply to charge its lithium-ion battery, it’ll charge itself automatically through normal driving.
Kia Sorento7/10
Fuel consumption is down slightly in both diesel and petrol engines. Kia says the petrol engine should use 9.7L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads.
As for the diesel, Kia says it should use 6.1/100km. I drove the GT-Line diesel for a week, living with it like you will – school drop offs, shopping centres, city streets, motorways, you name it.
I put 195.1km on the clock and used 18.6 litres – that’s come out to be a very real-world 9.5L/100km.
Driving
Hyundai Santa Fe9/10
You’re not just getting better fuel economy in the hybrid version of the Santa Fe, you’re getting a better SUV to drive.Â
That’s what I found when I tested the Santa Fe Hybrid at its Australian launch. The ride is more comfortable and the steering feels more responsive and lighter than the V6 petrol or diesel Santa Fe, both of which I’ve driven extensively.
The better ride I think comes down to the stabilising effect of extra weight situated low from the batteries (they’re located under the driver). Hyundai told me the front suspension had been revised to deal with the added weight, too.
So, I feel the ride is now more comfortable, less jittery with a smidge more planted feeling to the handling.
The lighter and better steering feel may have something to do with having a smaller engine in the nose of the Santa Fe. The 1.6-litre four-cylinder weighs less than the 2.2-litre diesel engine and the V6 petrol. That lighter font end now has a more ‘pointable’ feeling.
That said, the electric motor would add more weight to the Santa Fe hybrid’s nose, too.
Another difference to the way the hybrid drives is the take-off acceleration. It’s quite sudden and forceful for a family SUV in this class and that’s due to the 350Nm of torque, available from 1000rpm.
That’s great for moving away out of a car space and quickly blending into traffic, or accelerating away from traffic lights.
Visibility as with the regular Santa Fe is excellent and parking is easy, too, given this isn’t a large SUV. Â
Kia Sorento8/10
We’ve test driven the diesel version of the Sorento in the GT-Line grade, as the diesel is likely to be the more popular choice. And once we get our hands on the petrol version, we’ll let you know what that’s like to pilot, too.
You definitely won’t forget what's powering the diesel. It’s fairly noisy on the outside, but the cabin is well insulated so not much clatter finds its way in.
That’s just the start of what feels like a plush and premium driving experience.
The ride is excellent, comfortable and composed even on the crumbling city roads around where I live. The same roads I’ve driven Benz and BMW SUVs on and some of those don’t feel as good as the Sorento.
I’m serious. The Sorento’s body control is outstanding. It doesn’t wobble, doesn’t feel too bouncy, and provides a superb connection between the driver and the road. I can’t say the same for some much more expensive SUVs.
It’s down to the hard work Kia puts into getting its suspension right for Australia. Months before the Sorento came out in January 2020 Kia’s local engineers were driving it all over Australia, and through a process of trial and error found the right suspension that felt as good as they could get it. And they have nailed it.
So, along with the Sorento being comfortable on Aussie roads, it handles better than you’d expect something this large to.
I pushed it hard into corners I take all my test cars though, without the major lean or roll you’d experience in some large SUVS.
Steering is also a highlight. It’s accurate, smooth, and gave me a good feeling of connection with the road.
The diesel engine, while a bit noisy, is instantly responsive with no turbo lag and provides good acceleration. Only the diesel Sorento is all-wheel drive, so this is the pick if you’re planning to head on to dirt roads regularly.
Safety
Hyundai Santa Fe8/10
The regular Santa Fe scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2018. You don’t need me to tell you the world was a different place back then, as it was in terms of automotive safety requirements.
New advanced safety tech has been added to this SUV over the years and this Santa Fe hybrid comes equipped with all of it, too.Â
There’s AEB which works at intersections, too, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping assistance, rear occupant alert, auto high beam headlights and adaptive cruise control.
The forward AEB will bring the vehicle to a complete stop for cyclists and pedestrians at speeds between 10km/h and 65km/h or 75km/h for vehicles.
Above the speeds the vehicle will slow as much as possible in an attempt to avoid a collision.
The Highlander adds even more tech in the form of a surround view camera, blind spot monitor, and rear AEB.Â
This top grade also boasts remote parking that allows the you to drive the Santa Fe in or out of tight parking spots using the key fob as a remote control. It sounds incredible but it’s real. I’ve demonstrated this feature in the video above.
On a super serious note be aware that even though this is a three-row SUV, the curtain airbags don’t completely cover the third row windows.
The Santa Fe isn’t the only SUV with this airbag inadequacy - the Kia Sorento has the same problem.
Kia Sorento9/10
The Kia Sorento has yet to be crash tested, but it would be shocking if this new-gen SUV doesn't score the maximum five-star ANCAP rating, when the results come out.
All grades come with AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, rear cross-traffic alert and blind spot collision avoidance.
Then the GT-Line also has blind spot view monitor, which shows the view behind you on whichever side you’re indicating towards.
All Sorento also have seven airbags including one which pops up between the driver and front passenger.
Curtain airbags extend to the third row, but don’t completely cover the windows of those very back seats. This may make you reconsider whether you want to have children back there.
If you do, there are ISOFIX points and top tether mounts for the third-row seats, plus two more ISOFIX points and three top tethers mounts across the second row.
It’s good to see the Sorento has kept its full-sized spare wheel, which is under the car.
Ownership
Hyundai Santa Fe8/10
The Santa Fe Hybrid has the same warranty as the rest of the range at five years/unlimited km. The battery is covered by an eight-year/160,000km warranty, which is pretty standard for hybrids.
Servicing is required every 10,000km/12months, however, the costs were yet to be finalised at the time of publishing.
Kia Sorento9/10
The Sorento is covered by Kia’s seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty.
Servicing is recommended at 12 month/15,000km intervals and pricing is capped. You’re looking at about $3100 for the diesel and petrol variants over the seven years.