Compare the2026 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2026 Subaru Outback

Both the Santa Fe and Outback 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 Outback’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.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Hyundai Santa Fe achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Subaru Outback has not been tested.

Both the Santa Fe and Outback 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 Outback’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Santa Fe and the Outback 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The Hyundai Santa Fe has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2026 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test, and a “Good” score in the revised vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention test. The Outback has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2026.

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 Outback’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 Outback. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Outback ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Outback’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 Outback’s 620-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 97 more horsepower (277 vs. 180) and 133 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 178) than the Outback 2.5i’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. 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 Outback XT/Wilderness’ standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Outback XT/Wilderness 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 Outback (5 to 6). This means the Santa Fe produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Outback every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Santa Fe’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Outback:

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the Outback:

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

The Santa Fe SE/SEL’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 Outback Wilderness’ standard 65 series tires. The Santa Fe Limited’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Outback XT’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 Outback Wilderness. The Santa Fe Calligraphy’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Outback XT.

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 Outback doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe’s wheelbase is 2.7 inches longer than on the Outback (110.8 inches vs. 108.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 2.4 inches wider in the front and 1.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Outback.

The Santa Fe offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the Outback can only carry 5.

The Santa Fe has 39.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Outback (152 vs. 112.3).

The Santa Fe has .1 inches more front headroom, 1.4 inches more front legroom, 1.5 inches more front hip room, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 2.8 inches more rear legroom and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Outback.

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 Outback 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’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Outback’s (3500 vs. 2700 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Subaru Outback is only 3500 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 4500 lbs. towing capacity.

The Santa Fe uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Outback 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 Outback doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

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

The power windows standard on both the Santa Fe and the Outback 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 Outback prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

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 Outback can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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

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

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