Compare the2026 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2026 Subaru Ascent

Both the Santa Fe and Ascent 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 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 and Ascent have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Santa Fe 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 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 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe is safer than the Subaru Ascent:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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

There are over 33 percent more Hyundai dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it 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 Ascent’s 530-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 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 14 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 11th.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 17 more horsepower (277 vs. 260) and 34 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 277) than the Ascent’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Hyundai Santa Fe is faster than the Subaru Ascent:

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

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Santa Fe’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. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Ascent doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe 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 higher (6 out of 10) than the Subaru Ascent (4). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 12.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Ascent every 15,000 miles.

The Santa Fe stops much shorter than the Ascent:

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

The Santa Fe Limited’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 Limited/Touring’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe Calligraphy has standard 21-inch wheels. The Ascent’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Santa Fe 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’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 HTRAC AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Ascent Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

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

The front grille of the Santa Fe 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 has 2.2 inches more front legroom, .6 inches more rear headroom, 3.7 inches more rear legroom and 1.5 inches more third row headroom than the Ascent.

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

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 30.4 inches, while the Ascent’s liftover is 32 inches.

The Santa Fe 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’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’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 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 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 and the Ascent have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Fe 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 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’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.

The Hyundai Santa Fe stands out above the Subaru Ascent by offering not one, but two Qi-compatible phone chargers. This convenience helps travelers with multiple devices to keep powered up on-the-go. Wireless charging eliminates lost or cluttered charging cables and one of them provide more flexibility.

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 Ascent doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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

According to iSeeCars.com the 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe retains 51.69% of its original value after 5 years, more than the 50.27% resale value of the 2026 Subaru Ascent after five years, which can save the Hyundai’s owner up to $3371 in depreciation.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Subaru Ascent, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Santa Fe 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 in its category.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Subaru Ascent by over three to one during 2025.