Hyundai Santa Fe Sport vs Chevrolet Blazer: which is more reliable?
The Chevrolet Blazer is clearly ahead of the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport on the federal record: 83/100 against 68/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- 6 model years scored
- 1,266 owner complaints on record
- about 22 complaints per year on the road
- 22 recall campaigns, 12 safety-critical
- best year 2016 (93/100) · worst 2018 (37/100)
Chevrolet Blazer
- 7 model years scored
- 690 owner complaints on record
- about 23 complaints per year on the road
- 11 recall campaigns, 2 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (92/100) · worst 2020 (70/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Santa Fe Sport against Blazer
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- Engine — 720 complaints
- Service Brakes — 225 complaints
- Hydraulic — 154 complaints
Chevrolet Blazer
- Electrical System — 204 complaints
- Power Train — 181 complaints
- Engine — 181 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Santa Fe Sport's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Blazer's in Electrical System. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport — avoid: 2017, 2018.
Chevrolet Blazer: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024….
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe Sport prices at about $22,100 and a Chevrolet Blazer at about $40,800 — the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is roughly $18,700 less, and they return 22.0 against 24.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport or the Chevrolet Blazer more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Blazer scores 83/100 against the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport's 68/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Chevrolet Blazer carries about 23 complaints per year on the road against 22 for the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport.
Which Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and Chevrolet Blazer years should I avoid?
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport: 2017, 2018. Chevrolet Blazer: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and the Chevrolet Blazer?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is Engine (720 complaints); on the Chevrolet Blazer it is Electrical System (204).
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport or the Chevrolet Blazer cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe Sport prices at about $22,100 and a Chevrolet Blazer at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.