Compare the2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In HybridVS 2023 Kia Sportage PHEV

Both the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid and Sportage PHEV have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Plug-In 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 Sportage PHEV’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 Plug-In Hybrid and the Sportage PHEV 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, all wheel drive, 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 and available around view monitors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Sportage PHEV is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2022.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s corrosion warranty is 2 years and unlimited miles longer than the Sportage PHEV’s (7/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sportage PHEV.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s reliability 29 points higher than the Sportage PHEV.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sportage PHEV (12.4 vs. 11.1 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid is 1.2 inches wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than on the Sportage PHEV.

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s turning circle is 1.2 feet tighter than the Sportage PHEV’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.6 feet).

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has 3.4 inches more front headroom, 2.7 inches more front legroom, 2.7 inches more front hip room, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear headroom, 2.9 inches more rear hip room and 2.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sportage PHEV.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Sportage PHEV with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 34.5 cubic feet). The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Sportage PHEV with its rear seat folded (72.1 vs. 65.4 cubic feet).

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sportage PHEV 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 Plug-In Hybrid Limited’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Sportage PHEV’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Sportage PHEV’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Both the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid and the Sportage PHEV have standard heated front seats. The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Sportage PHEV.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid Limited 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 Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Insurance will cost less for the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid will cost $475 less than the Sportage PHEV over a five-year period.

The Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid will retain 49.58% to 49.67% of its original price after five years, while the Sportage PHEV only retains 45.04% to 45.21%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid will be $5239 to $7532 less than for the Kia Sportage PHEV.

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