Compare the2025 Hyundai Santa FeVS 2024 BMW X3

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe 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 BMW X3 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Santa Fe are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW X3 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Santa Fe and X3 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe 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 X3’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 the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Santa Fe are reminded to check the back seat. The X3 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Hyundai Santa Fe 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 BMW X3 has not been tested.

Both the Santa Fe and X3 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Santa Fe has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The X3’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Santa Fe and the X3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 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 is safer than the BMW X3:

	Santa Fe	X3
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	21	64
Abdominal Force	85 lbs.	153 lbs.
Hip Force	203 lbs.	275 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	60	133
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	45 G’s
Hip Force	264 lbs.	794 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	155	281
Spine Acceleration	38 G’s	43 G’s
Hip Force	507 lbs.	624 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The Santa Fe comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The X3’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Santa Fe 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than BMW covers the X3. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the X3 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 2 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are BMW dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Santa Fe’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 BMW vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 44 more problems per 100 vehicles, BMW is ranked 21st, below the industry average.

The Santa Fe’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 29 more horsepower (277 vs. 248) and 53 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 258) than the X3 s/xDrive30i’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Hyundai Santa Fe is faster than the X3 s/xDrive30i 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder:

	Santa Fe	X3
Zero to 30 MPH	2.7 sec	3.1 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	6.7 sec	7.7 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	4.2 sec	5 sec
Quarter Mile	15.2 sec	16 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	97 MPH	92 MPH

On the EPA test cycle the Santa Fe AWD gets better fuel mileage than the X3 M40i (20 city/28 hwy vs. 21 city/26 hwy).

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Santa Fe uses regular unleaded gasoline. The X3 requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Santa Fe offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The X3 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Santa Fe stops shorter than the X3:

	Santa Fe	X3
60 to 0 MPH	125 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend

For better traction, the Santa Fe Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the X3 (255/45R20 vs. 245/45R20).

The Santa Fe’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 X3 doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Santa Fe is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 1 inch wider in the rear than the average track on the X3.

The Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the X3 xDrive30i (27.1 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Santa Fe’s turning circle is 1.5 feet tighter than the X3’s (37.9 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Santa Fe XRT has a greater minimum ground clearance than the X3 (8.3 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Santa Fe to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The design of the Hyundai Santa Fe amounts to more than styling. The Santa Fe has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .294 Cd. That is lower than the X3 (.32 to .35) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Santa Fe get better fuel mileage.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD is quieter than the X3 M40i xDrive (68 vs. 69 dB).

The Santa Fe has standard seating for 7 passengers; the X3 can only carry 5.

The Santa Fe has 50.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the X3 (152 vs. 101.4).

The Santa Fe has .4 inches more front headroom, 4.1 inches more front legroom, 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, 2.1 inches more rear headroom, 5.9 inches more rear legroom and 2.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the X3.

The Santa Fe’s cargo area provides more volume than the X3.

	Santa Fe	X3
Third Seat Folded	40.5 cubic feet	n/a
Third Seat Removed	n/a	28.7 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	79.6 cubic feet	62.7 cubic feet

Maximum trailer towing in the BMW X3 is limited to 4400 pounds. The Santa Fe offers up to a 4500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Assist on the Santa Fe uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The X3 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The X3 doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Santa Fe’s standard Proximity Key allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Comfort Go standard on the X3 only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Santa Fe has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the X3 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Santa Fe XRT/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 X3 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The X3’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Hyundai Santa Fe and the BMW X3, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Santa Fe first among midsize suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The X3 isn’t in the top three in its category.

The Hyundai Santa Fe outsold the BMW X3 by 66% during 2024.