Compare the2026 Ford Bronco SportVS 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

The Bronco Sport has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Santa Fe Hybrid 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, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Bronco Sport. But it costs extra on the Santa Fe Hybrid.

Both the Bronco Sport and the Santa Fe Hybrid 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 and available around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford Bronco Sport is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Bronco Sport is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

There are over 3 times as many Ford dealers as there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bronco Sport’s warranty.

The Bronco Sport has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Bronco Sport’s reliability 24 points higher than the Santa Fe Hybrid.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport third among small suvs in their 2025 Initial Quality Study. The Santa Fe Hybrid isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai With 14 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Ford higher than Hyundai.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2026 Auto Issue reports that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 1 place higher in reliability than Hyundai.

The Bronco Sport Badlands’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 19 more horsepower (250 vs. 231) and 9 lbs.-ft. more torque (280 vs. 271) than the Santa Fe Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Bronco Sport is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid:

Both the Bronco Sport and Santa Fe Hybrid have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The Bronco Sport has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The Bronco Sport has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the Ford Bronco Sport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Santa Fe Hybrid.

The Bronco Sport stops much shorter than the Santa Fe Hybrid:

The Bronco Sport offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Santa Fe Hybrid; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport Base/Big Bend has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Santa Fe Hybrid (7.8 vs. 7 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Bronco Sport’s minimum ground clearance is 1.8 inches higher than on the Santa Fe Hybrid (8.8 vs. 7 inches).

The Ford Bronco Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 750 to 950 pounds less than the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid.

The Bronco Sport is 1 foot, 5.1 inches shorter than the Santa Fe Hybrid, making the Bronco Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Bronco Sport Badlands offers available computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Bronco Sport has .4 inches more front headroom and 1.1 inches more rear headroom than the Santa Fe Hybrid.

The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume than the Santa Fe Hybrid with its rear seat up (32.5 vs. 14.6 cubic feet).

An optional locking center console keeps your small valuables safer in the Bronco Sport. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

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

The Bronco Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Santa Fe Hybrid’s (2200 vs. 2000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is only 2000 pounds. The Bronco Sport offers up to a 2700 lbs. towing capacity.

If the windows are left open on the Bronco Sport the driver can close all of them from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Santa Fe Hybrid can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Bronco Sport’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Bluelink can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Bronco Sport’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Bronco Sport’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Santa Fe Hybrid’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Bronco Sport offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Santa Fe Hybrid doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Ford Bronco Sport and the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance.