Compare the2025 Toyota Land CruiserVS 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe

The Land Cruiser’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Land Cruiser are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Hyundai Santa Fe doesn’t offer height-adjustable rear seat belts.

The Toyota Land Cruiser has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Land Cruiser has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the Land Cruiser. But it costs extra on the Santa Fe.

Both the Land Cruiser and the Santa Fe have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear 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 and available around view monitors.

The Toyota Land Cruiser weighs 874 to 1102 pounds more than the Hyundai Santa Fe. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

There are over 47 percent more Toyota dealers than there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Land Cruiser’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota second in reliability, above the industry average. With 51 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 13th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in overall reliability. Hyundai is ranked 11th.

The Land Cruiser’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 49 more horsepower (326 vs. 277) and 154 lbs.-ft. more torque (465 vs. 311) than the Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Land Cruiser gets better fuel mileage than the Santa Fe XRT AWD (22 city/25 hwy vs. 19 city/26 hwy).

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

The Land Cruiser’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Santa Fe are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Land Cruiser has larger standard tires than the Santa Fe (245/70R18 vs. 235/60R18). The Land Cruiser’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Santa Fe (265/60R20 vs. 255/45R20).

The Toyota Land Cruiser’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Hyundai Santa Fe only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Land Cruiser has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Santa Fe; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Land Cruiser (except 1958) has an active front sway bar, which helps keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnects at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Land Cruiser’s wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer than on the Santa Fe (112.2 inches vs. 110.8 inches).

For greater off-road capability the Land Cruiser has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Santa Fe (8 vs. 7 inches), allowing the Land Cruiser to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Land Cruiser has 2.1 inches more rear hip room and 1.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Santa Fe.

The Land Cruiser has a much larger cargo volume than the Santa Fe with its rear seat up (37.5 vs. 14.6 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Land Cruiser. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Land Cruiser’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Santa Fe’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

The Land Cruiser’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Santa Fe’s (6000 vs. 3500 pounds).

The engine in the Land Cruiser is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Santa Fe. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The Land Cruiser’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Santa Fe does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Land Cruiser’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 Santa Fe’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Land Cruiser the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the Santa Fe can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Land Cruiser’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Santa Fe’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Toyota Land Cruiser has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors are only offered on the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy.

The Land Cruiser has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy.

The Land Cruiser has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.

The Toyota Land Cruiser has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the rear view mirror. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Hyundai charges extra for Homelink® on the Santa Fe.