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 Jeep Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Grand Cherokee 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 Grand Cherokee’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.
With its standard Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Grand Cherokee |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-11 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-33 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.1 sec |
2 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-28 MPH |
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 Jeep Grand Cherokee has not been tested.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Grand Cherokee 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 Grand Cherokee’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Grand Cherokee 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, 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 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 Grand Cherokee:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Grand Cherokee |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
POOR |
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 |
Leg Forces L/R |
382/472 pounds |
495/607 pounds |
Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Rear Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
POOR |
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
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 Grand Cherokee is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.