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 Toyota Venza doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Venza 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 Venza’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 Toyota Venza has not been tested.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard Downhill Brake Control allow you to creep down safely. The Venza doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Fe Hybrid has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning with Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Only the Venza XLE/Nightshade/Limited offers Parking Support Brake.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Venza 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid weighs 518 to 728 pounds more than the Toyota Venza. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
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 Venza:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Venza |
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 |
|
Chest Rating |
|
|
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
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 Venza:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Venza |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
89 |
120 |
Neck Compression |
-22 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Torso Deflection Rate |
7 MPH |
7 MPH |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
64 |
542 |
Head Peak Forces |
no contact |
104 G’s |
Neck Tension |
112 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-45 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
-.87 in |
.94 in |
Shoulder Force |
268 lbs. |
290 lbs. |
Torso Deflection Rate |
5 MPH |
8 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
580 lbs. |
692 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
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 Venza is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.