For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Dodge Durango doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Durango have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Hybrid has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Durango’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Santa Fe Hybrid are reminded to check the back seat when a sensor determines the back seat is occupied. The Durango doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
With its standard Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Dodge Durango, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Durango |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
POOR |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
25 MPH Brights |
-21 MPH |
No Slowing |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.1 sec |
No Warning |
37 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.4 sec |
No Warning |
In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Dodge Durango has not been tested.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard Downhill Brake Control allow you to creep down safely. The Durango doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Durango.
The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Durango only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Durango have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Santa Fe Hybrid has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Durango’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.
The Santa Fe Hybrid’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Durango doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Durango have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is safer than the Dodge Durango:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Durango |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
28% |
34% |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.8 inches |
Neck Stress |
105 lbs. |
156 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is safer than the Durango:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Durango |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Restraints |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Neck Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head injury index |
76 |
119 |
Peak Head Forces |
0 G’s |
0 G’s |
Steering Column Movement Rearward |
1 cm |
9 cm |
Chest Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Max Chest Compression |
26 cm |
26 cm |
Hip & Thigh Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Femur Force R/L |
.5/.6 kN |
5.3/2.5 kN |
Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L |
0%/0% |
6%/0% |
Lower Leg Evaluation |
GOOD |
POOR |
Tibia index R/L |
.4/.39 |
1.53/.59 |
Tibia forces R/L |
1.5/1 kN |
1.9/1.4 kN |
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is safer than the Dodge Durango:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Durango |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
21 |
46 |
Chest Movement |
.6 inches |
1.1 inches |
Abdominal Force |
85 lbs. |
111 lbs. |
Hip Force |
203 lbs. |
236 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
34 G’s |
Hip Force |
264 lbs. |
446 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
155 |
194 |
Spine Acceleration |
38 G’s |
43 G’s |
Hip Force |
507 lbs. |
714 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Santa Fe Hybrid is 1.3% to 3.8% less likely to roll over than the Durango.
The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid (built after November 2024) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Durango is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.