Hyundai Santa Fe vs. Toyota Highlander Review

Handling
With their comparable turning circles, the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Toyota Highlander most definitely handle about the same into and out of tight spots.

Drivetrain
The Toyota Highlander has a bigger engine than the Hyundai Santa Fe. Note that smaller engines are often cheaper to fix, but a smaller engine usually has to work a little harder. The Hyundai Santa Fe could learn a lesson or two from the Toyota Highlander regarding pickup. The Toyota Highlander packs quite a punch compared to the Hyundai Santa Fe when it comes to torque, which is roughly equivalent to acceleration.

Utility
Neither the Toyota Highlander nor the Hyundai Santa Fe has a marked advantage in terms of seating capacity. Towing is significantly more the Santa Fe's forte than it is the Toyota Highlander's.

Convenience
You'll likely take the Toyota for a fill-up roughly as often as the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Comfort
While the front cabin in the Toyota offers a bit more head room than the Hyundai Santa Fe, there honestly isn't much of a difference. The Toyota Highlander offers more head- and leg-room to your passengers than the Hyundai Santa Fe does.

Dimensions
The Toyota Highlander's tank is about the same size as the Santa Fe's, though the Hyundai's is a tad bigger. The Santa Fe and the Toyota Highlander compete for the same parking spaces.

Cost
The destination charge is a standard charge for transporting the vehicle from its point of origin to the dealer. It costs about the same to get the Hyundai Santa Fe to the dealership as the Highlander. As far as gas mileage, the Toyota Highlander and the Santa Fe don't differ much. The Hyundai Santa Fe won't tax your gasoline budget considerably more than the Toyota Highlander will. The Santa Fe is considerably less costly than the Toyota Highlander with respect to MSRP.

Warranty
The basic after-sale protection that comes with the Toyota Highlander isn't quite as generous as the Hyundai Santa Fe's.