Compare the2025 Hyundai Santa Fe HybridVS 2025 Lexus NX

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and NX 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 NX’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.

Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the NX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, driver alert monitors, 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 safer than the NX:

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 NX is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

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 NX’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe Hybrid 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Lexus covers the NX. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the NX ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the NX’s (7 vs. 6 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Santa Fe Hybrid for 2 years and 26000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the NX (3/36,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 3 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe Hybrid’s warranty.

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 Lexus vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lexus is ranked 8th.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 28 more horsepower (231 vs. 203) and 87 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 184) than the NX 250’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe Hybrid gets better mileage than the NX running its gasoline engine:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid uses regular unleaded gasoline. The NX 350 AWD requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 3.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the NX (17.7 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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 Lexus NX (5 to 6). This means the Santa Fe Hybrid produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the NX every 15,000 miles.

The Santa Fe Hybrid stops much shorter than the NX:

For better traction, the Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the NX (255/45R20 vs. 235/60R18).

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the NX’s optional 50 series tires.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The NX doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s wheelbase is 4.9 inches longer than on the NX (110.8 inches vs. 105.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe Hybrid is 1.4 inches wider in the front and .9 inches wider in the rear than the track on the NX.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (54% to 46%) than the NX’s (57.7% to 42.3%). This gives the Santa Fe Hybrid more stable handling and braking.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy Hybrid AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the NX 350 AWD pulls only .81 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 quicker than the NX 450h+ AWD (27.5 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

The design of the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid amounts to more than styling. The Santa Fe Hybrid has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .294 Cd. That is significantly lower than the NX (.35) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Santa Fe Hybrid get better fuel mileage.

The front grille of the Santa Fe Hybrid uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The NX doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Santa Fe Calligraphy Hybrid AWD is quieter than the NX 350 AWD (68 vs. 70 dB).

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

The Santa Fe Hybrid has 2.8 inches more front headroom, 3.4 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front hip room, 3.2 inches more front shoulder room, 2.1 inches more rear headroom, 5.4 inches more rear legroom, 2.4 inches more rear hip room and 4.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the NX.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s cargo area provides more volume than the NX.

The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the NX’s (2000 vs. 0 pounds).

The power windows standard on both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the NX have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Santa Fe Hybrid is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The NX prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

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

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. Wireless charging costs extra on the NX, and only charges one device.

The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited/Calligraphy has a 115-volt a/c outlet, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The NX doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

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 NX isn’t in the top three in its category.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the Lexus NX by 60% during 2024.