Compare the2025 Hyundai Santa Fe HybridVS 2025 Subaru Ascent

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Ascent have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Ascent’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.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Ascent have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Santa Fe Hybrid has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Ascent’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Ascent’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe Hybrid 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Subaru covers the Ascent. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Ascent ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Ascent’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe Hybrid 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. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Ascent.

There are over 31 percent more Hyundai dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe Hybrid’s warranty.

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 Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 12th.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Hybrid gets better mileage than the Ascent:

Regenerative brakes improve the Santa Fe Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Ascent doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Santa Fe Hybrid’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. The Ascent doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

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

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid higher (6 out of 10) than the Subaru Ascent (4). This means the Santa Fe Hybrid produces up to 12.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Ascent every 15,000 miles.

The Santa Fe Hybrid stops shorter than the Ascent:

For better traction, the Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Ascent (255/45R20 vs. 245/60R18).

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Ascent Onyx/Limited/Touring/Bronze’s 50 series tires.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Ascent’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’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 Ascent doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy Hybrid AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Ascent Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Santa Fe Hybrid is 6.6 inches shorter than the Ascent, making the Santa Fe Hybrid easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 2.2 inches more front legroom, .6 inches more rear headroom, 2.9 inches more rear legroom and 1.5 inches more third row headroom than the Ascent.

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard Sinking Seat third row seat, which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Ascent doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

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

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Ascent doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Santa Fe Hybrid uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Ascent 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 Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Ascent doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The power windows standard on both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Ascent have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Fe Hybrid is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Ascent prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Ascent’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

On a hot day the Santa Fe Hybrid’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Ascent can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console for two separate devices. Wireless charging costs extra on the Ascent, and only charges one device.

The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Ascent doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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

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

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Subaru Ascent by over two to one during 2024.