Hyundai Santa Fe vs Hyundai Santa Fe Sport: which is more reliable?
The Hyundai Santa Fe and the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport are level on the federal record — 67/100 against 68/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Hyundai Santa Fe
- 11 model years scored
- 3,748 owner complaints on record
- about 62 complaints per year on the road
- 39 recall campaigns, 18 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (90/100) · worst 2025 (35/100)
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)
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 against Santa Fe Sport
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
- Engine — 1,901 complaints
- Power Train — 493 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 407 complaints
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- Engine — 720 complaints
- Service Brakes — 225 complaints
- Hydraulic — 154 complaints
Both nameplates have Engine as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Hyundai Santa Fe — avoid: 2017, 2025.
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport — avoid: 2017, 2018.
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 prices at about $40,800 and a Hyundai Santa Fe Sport at about $22,100 — the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is roughly $18,700 less, and they return 23.0 against 22.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe or the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport scores 68/100 against the Hyundai Santa Fe's 67/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Hyundai Santa Fe and Hyundai Santa Fe Sport years should I avoid?
Hyundai Santa Fe: 2017, 2025. Hyundai Santa Fe Sport: 2017, 2018. 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 and the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Santa Fe is Engine (1,901 complaints); on the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport it is Engine (720).
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe or the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe prices at about $40,800 and a Hyundai Santa Fe Sport at about $22,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.