Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Acadia 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 Acadia’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 Acadia 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 GMC Acadia, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Acadia |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-20 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Brights |
-21 MPH |
-17 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-22 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-22 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-16 MPH |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-16 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.1 sec |
1.9 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-16 MPH |
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Acadia have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, 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 GMC Acadia:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Acadia |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
32.5% |
35.9% |
Neck Stress |
105 lbs. |
159 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 safer than the Acadia:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Acadia |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
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 |
|
Chest Rating |
|
|
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
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 GMC Acadia:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Acadia |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
21 |
64 |
Chest Movement |
.6 inches |
.6 inches |
Hip Force |
203 lbs. |
372 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
60 |
113 |
Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
48 G’s |
Hip Force |
264 lbs. |
518 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
155 |
346 |
Spine Acceleration |
38 G’s |
48 G’s |
Hip Force |
507 lbs. |
721 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 Acadia is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.