Compare the2025 Hyundai Santa Fe HybridVS 2025 Ford Bronco

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Ford Bronco doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Bronco 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 Bronco’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.

The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Bronco doesn’t offer knee airbags.

With its standard Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Ford Bronco, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

	Santa Fe Hybrid	Bronco
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
	Crossing Child - DAY
12 MPH	AVOIDED	-10 MPH
25 MPH	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
	Crossing Adult - NIGHT
12 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
12 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	-3 MPH
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	-10 MPH
	Parallel Adult - NIGHT
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	-21 MPH
37 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	-22 MPH
Warning Issued-Brights	2.1 sec	1 sec
37 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	-8 MPH
Warning Issued-Low beams	1.4 sec	.6 sec

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 - in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, outperforming the Ford Bronco which scored only an “Acceptable” in these critical safety features.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Bronco doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Fe Hybrid has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Only the Bronco Big Bend/Outer Banks/Badlands/Stroppe/Raptor/Heritage offers Cross Traffic Alert and the Bronco’s Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Santa Fe Hybrid uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Bronco uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Bronco have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and 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 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is safer than the Ford Bronco:

	Santa Fe Hybrid	Bronco
	Driver
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	28%	28%
Neck Stress	273 lbs.	364 lbs.

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

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Santa Fe Hybrid is much safer than the Bronco:

	Santa Fe Hybrid	Bronco
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh/hip Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Leg/foot Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
	Rear Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Chest Rating	GOOD	MARGINAL
Thigh Rating	GOOD	GOOD

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Santa Fe Hybrid, with its four-star roll-over rating, is 7.1% to 8.2% less likely to roll over than the Bronco, which received a three-star rating.

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 Bronco is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

Warranty

The Santa Fe Hybrid comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Bronco’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe Hybrid 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Ford covers the Bronco. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Bronco ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Bronco’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe Hybrid for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Ford doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Bronco.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 17 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is ranked 9th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Ford With 41 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Hyundai higher than Ford.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 3 places higher in reliability than Ford.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is faster than the Ford Bronco turbo V6 (automatics tested):

	Santa Fe Hybrid	Bronco
Zero to 60 MPH	7.8 sec	8.4 sec
Quarter Mile	16 sec	16.5 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	88.7 MPH	83.5 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Hybrid gets better mileage than the Bronco 4-Door:

			MPG
Santa Fe Hybrid
FWD	Auto	1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	36 city/35 hwy
AWD	Auto	1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	35 city/34 hwy
Bronco 4-Door
AWD	Manual	2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	18 city/22 hwy
		Badlands 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	17 city/18 hwy
		Sasquatch 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	16 city/18 hwy
AWD	Auto	3.0 turbo V6	15 city/16 hwy
		2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	18 city/22 hwy
		Outer Banks 2.7 turbo V6	19 city/21 hwy
		Sasquatch 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	17 city/19 hwy
		Big Bend 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	17 city/19 hwy
		Badlands/Stroppe 2.7 turbo V6	17 city/18 hwy
		Badlands 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	17 city/17 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the Santa Fe Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Bronco doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Bronco requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Bronco. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid higher (6 out of 10) than the Ford Bronco (5 to 6). This means the Santa Fe Hybrid produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Bronco every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the Bronco.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Santa Fe Hybrid	Bronco
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	12.2 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	12.1 inches

The Santa Fe Hybrid stops much shorter than the Bronco:

	Santa Fe Hybrid	Bronco
70 to 0 MPH	179 feet	221 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	121 feet	144 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	141 feet	168 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Santa Fe SEL Hybrid’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Bronco Big Bend’s standard 75 series tires. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Bronco’s optional 70 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Santa Fe SEL Hybrid has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Bronco Base. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the Bronco Outer Banks.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Ford Bronco has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Santa Fe Hybrid flat and controlled during cornering. The Bronco’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy Hybrid AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Bronco Raptor pulls only .68 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy Hybrid AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3.4 seconds quicker than the Bronco 4-Door (27.5 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 30.9 seconds @ .51 average G’s).

Chassis

Unibody construction lowers the Santa Fe Hybrid’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Bronco doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Santa Fe Calligraphy Hybrid AWD is quieter than the Bronco Outer Banks 4-Door:

	Santa Fe Hybrid	Bronco
Full-Throttle	73 dB	80 dB
70 MPH Cruising	68 dB	71 dB

Passenger Space

The Santa Fe Hybrid has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Bronco can only carry up to 5.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 42.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Bronco 4-Door (151 vs. 108.2).

Cargo Capacity

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s cargo area provides more volume than the Bronco 2-Door.

	Santa Fe Hybrid	Bronco
Third Seat Folded	40.5 cubic feet	n/a
Third Seat Removed	n/a	20.6 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	79.6 cubic feet	52 cubic feet

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Santa Fe Hybrid’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Bronco doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Bronco’s swing out door blocks loading from the passenger’s side.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s power cargo door can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Santa Fe Hybrid’s power cargo door can also be opened or closed by pressing a button. The Bronco doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening cargo door.

Servicing Ease

The Santa Fe Hybrid uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Bronco uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy, the memory seats and mirrors make it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Bronco doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Bronco doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Bronco doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy’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 Bronco’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard power window controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Bronco’s available power window controls are spread out on the center console where they can’t be seen without the driver completely removing his eyes from the road.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard Proximity Key allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Push Button Start standard on the Bronco only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle. Push Button Start is not available on the Bronco Big Bend/Outer Banks/Badlands/Stroppe/Raptor/Heritage.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Bronco’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard rear wiper. The Bronco Soft Top doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

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 Santa Fe Hybrid’s headlights were rated “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Bronco’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Santa Fe Hybrid to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Bronco doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Bronco’s power mirror controls are on the center console where they can’t be seen without the driver completely removing his eyes from the road.

When the Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Bronco’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid and Ford Bronco offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Santa Fe Hybrid offers available power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Bronco’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats are only available on the Bronco Big Bend/Outer Banks/Badlands/Stroppe/Raptor/Heritage. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy also has standard heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Bronco.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Bronco doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Santa Fe Hybrid 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 Bronco Big Bend/Outer Banks/Badlands/Stroppe/Raptor/Heritage.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Bronco offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Santa Fe Hybrid has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Bronco doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console for two separate devices. Only the Bronco Outer Banks/Badlands/Wildtrak/Raptor offers wireless charging and it costs extra.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Bronco doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Model Availability

The Santa Fe Hybrid is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Bronco doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Ford Bronco isn't recommended.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Santa Fe Hybrid first among midsize suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Bronco isn’t in the top three.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Ford Bronco by 8% during 2024.

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