Compare the2022 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2021 Lexus NX Series

Both the Santa Fe and NX Series 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 NX Series’ 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.

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 if they opened the rear door before starting out. The NX Series doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Compared to metal, the Santa Fe’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Lexus NX Series has a metal gas tank.

Both the Santa Fe and the NX Series have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Lexus covers the NX Series. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the NX Series ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the NX Series’ (7 vs. 6 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe for 2 years and 26000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the NX Series (3/36,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 3 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Santa Fe has a standard 760-amp battery. The NX Series’ 580-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Lexus vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai 10th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lexus is ranked 12th.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 46 more horsepower (281 vs. 235) and 53 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 258) than the NX 300’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder FWD gets better fuel mileage than the NX 300 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder 6 speed Auto FWD (25 city/28 hwy vs. 22 city/28 hwy).

Regardless of its engine, the Santa Fe’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. Lexus only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the NX Series 300h.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The NX 300 requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe has 4 gallons more fuel capacity than the NX Series Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 14.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Santa Fe has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the NX Series’ standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 15.9 gallons).

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the Lexus NX Series (3 to 7). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the NX Series every 15,000 miles.

An eight-speed automatic (SMG) is standard on the Hyundai Santa Fe, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the NX Series.

The Santa Fe offers an available 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 NX Series doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe 2.5T’s brake rotors are larger than those on the NX Series:

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the NX Series:

For better traction, the Santa Fe has larger standard tires than the NX Series (235/60R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the NX Series (255/45R20 vs. 235/55R18).

The Santa Fe’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 NX Series’ standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the NX Series F Sport’s 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 NX Series. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels optional on the NX Series.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 4.2 inches longer than on the NX Series (108.9 inches vs. 104.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 2.7 inches wider in the front and 3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the NX Series.

The Hyundai Santa Fe may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 100 to 300 pounds less than the Lexus NX Series.

The Santa Fe has 39.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the NX Series (111.5 vs. 71.6).

The Santa Fe has 3 inches more front headroom, 1.3 inches more front legroom, 2.4 inches more front hip room, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 5.6 inches more rear legroom, 2.4 inches more rear hip room and 3 inches more rear shoulder room than the NX Series.

The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the NX Series with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 17.7 cubic feet). The Santa Fe has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the NX Series with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 54.6 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Santa Fe easier. The Santa Fe’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29 inches, while the NX Series’ liftover is 31.2 inches.

The Santa Fe’s cargo area is larger than the NX Series’ in almost every dimension:

The Santa Fe’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the NX Series’ (2000 vs. 0 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Lexus NX 300h AWD is only 2000 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The NX Series doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Santa Fe’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The NX Series’ power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

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

Both the Santa Fe and the NX Series offer available heated front seats. The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the NX Series.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Santa Fe (except SE) offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The NX Series doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The NX Series 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 NX Series doesn’t offer an automated parking system.