Hyundai Santa Fe vs Toyota Crown Signia Comparison

The only thing these two family haulers have in common is hybrid power and pricing.

Seriously, the Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Crown Signia take two very different approaches to the near-premium SUV question. One has a turbocharged engine; the other goes naturally aspirated. The Hyundai has six seats; the Toyota, five. Mechanical all-wheel drive versus electric all-wheel drive. And of course, the shapes. Mike is repping the Santa Fe here, while I'm tasked with making a case for the low-slung, wagon-esque Crown Signia. Which one deserves your hard-earned money?

The vertical slab side shape means there is a ton of space inside too. The flat rear liftgate opens up to a large cargo area, especially with the third row of seats folded flat. The Santa Fe can easily out carry Crown Signia in terms of how much stuff can be crammed back there.

Comfort up front is about equal between the two vehicles, but in the rear seats, the Santa Fe wins hands down. Although, if regularly seating five individuals is required, the Santa Fe only has second-row captain’s chairs. To get a three-seat bench, a lower trim needs to be selected. There is that aforementioned third row though, that can be used in a pinch at the sacrifice of cargo capacity. When up, two more folks can sit back there, now trumping the Crown Signia. In fact, we’ve long touted how the third-row seats in the Santa Fe are more accommodating for adults than third row seats in many larger three-row SUVs.

The Santa Fe has two engine options, a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and the 1.6-liter turbo-four hybrid installed in our tester. Power is down a bit compared to the Toyota, rated at 231 horsepower. Torque is a healthy 271 lb-ft though, which we can’t compare on paper to the Crown Signia since Toyota rarely lists torque figures for the brand’s hybrid vehicles.

With a turbocharger and electric motor, low end power in the Santa Fe is robust and less engine effort is needed to get it moving. The Hyundai feels more powerful and smoother at the low end, which is great around the city. As speed builds the Santa Fe begins to feel slower than the Crown Signia as Toyota’s hybrid systems have better high-end power. Fuel economy is only slightly worse than the Toyota, and in our real-world testing, the gap was even smaller.

The Santa Fe has a traditional mechanical all-wheel drive system and integrates the 59-horsepower electric motor directly into the six-speed transmission. This means, unlike the Crown Signia, power form the engine is sent to the rear wheels, helping better distribute torque. Although neither of these are off-road specific SUVs, if one does plan to regularly drive on slippery surfaces, the Hyundai holds a major advantage, especially at speed.

The Santa Fe isn’t the best handler, especially compared to the car-like Crown Signia. Being less of a canyon carver isn’t much a problem as we feel this class should prioritize comfort over cornering ability. The Hyundai just feels soft though.

In isolation we hadn’t noticed it as much, but put up against the Crown Signia, body motions on the Santa Fe are far less controlled. The suspension keeps moving longer after hitting a bump as there is much more pronounced rebound. When bumps get larger though, the Santa Fe dispatches them much better than the Crown Signia, and the Santa Fe has excellent sound isolation, making for a quieter ride.

To push the mid-size people hauler more premium, Hyundai ups the ante on the Santa Fe Calligraphy, equipping it with Nappa leather seats. Many of the surfaces that would regularly encountered hands are of a soft touch material, but the rest of the bits and pieces in the Hyundai’s cabin are merely okay. There’s a bit too much plain-looking hard plastic. The interior is well laid out though, ergonomically designed, and modern. It just doesn’t feel as special as the Crown Signia’s.

As is a Hyundai hallmark, the Santa Fe does come loaded with a ton of equipment. Two wireless chargers, head-up display, surround view monitor, power second row seats, 110-volt outlet, 12-speaker Bose and the center console UV cleaner.

It’s important to note the Hyundai also has the better user interface on its large 12.3-inch touchscreen and programable driver information center. Most everything is handled with a few quick taps. There are a lot of physical controls below it as well, which are always welcome. It isn’t all perfect though, we both dislike how audio information cannot be displayed within the programable digital instrument cluster.

The Crown Signia is the visual antithesis to the boxy Santa Fe. Toyota has other SUVs for those who admire the shape of their fridge, anyway. The low roofline emphasizes the Signia’s width and length: it’s actually a couple inches longer than the Hyundai, even if it only offers two rows. I’m a big fan of Toyota’s latest design language because it is immediately distinctive. Yes, the hammerhead front-end treatment works better on some vehicles than others—looking at you, new RAV4—but this is one of the better ones to my eyes. Yes, even with the cheese grater grille.

Naturally, opting for the Signia means making some practicality sacrifices at the altar of style. It’s still pretty darn capacious with six feet of load floor when you fold the rear seats flat, and its load floor is ever so slightly lower than the Hyundai’s. Nonetheless, the angled rear glass does mean that if you’re regularly carrying big items, the Santa Fe will haul it all better.

While the Crown Signia is a strictly two-row affair, it is a spacious one. The rear seats have plenty of head and legroom for adults, though the seat cushion is a little low; you’ll have to sit all manspread to get full support. Meanwhile the front seats are far, far more comfortable than the flat squabs over in the Hyundai. I prefer the Toyota’s large pano glass roof, which lets in a ton of light and is power operated.

The Crown is only available with one powertrain: Toyota’s ultra-common 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid setup, seen in everything from the Camry to the Sienna, and a few Lexus models too. This setup is good for a combined 240 horsepower, just edging ahead of the Hyundai.

It’s fascinating how different these two seemingly similar setups differ in operation. The Toyota is quicker to urge its gas component into action, and that 2.5 is one of the rumbliest, grumbliest four-pots out there. It’s the least premium part of the Signia experience. Because of the constant drone from the engine, the Toyota seems like it’s working harder. And in a way, it is: in our real-world acceleration tests, the Crown soundly beat the Santa Fe. Despite that, it’s also more fuel efficient, though the gap closed up in our test loop. Still, you’re talking mid-to-high 30s in mpg terms, and the great thing about Toyota’s hybrid systems is that number tends to stay pretty consistent no matter how you drive.

Like most of the unibody Toyota hybrids, this one doesn’t actually send any engine power to the back axle. It’s electronic AWD, with a dedicated rear motor. This is fine for most folks’ use—nobody is taking these on anything gnarlier than a cottage drive—but it does limit ultimate traction in slippery situations.

The Crown is easily the better handler here. What would you expect of a low-slung wagon? There’s good body control and excellent handling of irregular surfaces. The big 21-inch alloy wheels do make for slightly sharper impacts on larger bumps, but nothing unreasonable. The steering has more consistent weighting and positive feedback, making it easier to trust the Crown and place it clearly on the road.

With its excellent manners, I’m a little disappointed Toyota won’t drop the Hybrid Max powertrain in this thing. A 350-horsepower, four-wheel steer wagon? Sign me up!

No doubt about it: the Crown’s cabin is the swankier of these two. The saddle tan leather looks and feels good, and it covers plenty in the well-designed cabin. Toyota also employs lots of actual physical controls—not just a touch panel, ahem—which makes it a cinch to operate in colder weather with gloves. You know, like right now.

Also, I have to give credit to Toyota for having the best wireless charger slot, even if it is only one instead of two. If you prefer a regular shifter position like I do, the cupholders are also placed better in here.

Toyota’s infotainment is a solid mid-packer these days, but I’ll admit it isn’t as slick as Hyundai’s. The main menu is just a little too basic, but the flip side there is you’ll rarely be spending time stuck in sub-menus. I also really like Toyota’s instrument cluster solution, allowing for three driver selected layouts. I said it in the main comparison and I’m complaining about it here too; what’s with separating out the trip and fuel economy?

Safety is a big selling feature of the Crown, with the majority of the assists all bundled under the standard Safety Sense 3.0+ suite. I don’t like Toyota’s nanny-like PDA, and the front cross-traffic alert can seem intrusive, but I’d rather have the option of both than not. Also, Toyota’s see-through 360-camera is cool, and as a fun Easter egg, you can change the car color!

We've said it before and we'll say it again: the Hyundai Santa Fe remains an excellent family hauler. Just not in this trim. At this price point the Calligraphy has the features but doesn't feel special enough to bridge the gap between mainstream and premium. The Crown Signia nails that brief better, and while we'd have to make do with one less seat and less cargo space, it'd be our pick.

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