Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Bronco Sport 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 Sport’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 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 Ford Bronco Sport has not been tested.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Bronco Sport 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, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid weighs 724 to 1108 pounds more than the Ford Bronco Sport. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is safer than the Bronco Sport:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Bronco Sport |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
89 |
184 |
Neck Tension |
223 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-22 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.87 in |
.98 in |
Shoulder Force |
178 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.34 in |
1.42 in |
Pelvis Force |
1227 lbs. |
1383 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
64 |
142 |
Neck Tension |
112 lbs. |
178 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-45 lbs. |
45 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
-.87 in |
1.77 in |
Shoulder Force |
268 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.14 in |
1.34 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
580 lbs. |
1093 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 Sport is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.