Certified Benz & Beemer Compares 2013 Ford Edge VS 2013 Hyundai Santa Near Scottsdale, AZ

The Edge Limited offers an optional collision warning system, which detects an impending crash through forward mounted sensors and flashes a bright light and sounds a loud, distinctive tone to warn the driver to brake or maneuver immediately to avoid a collision. The system also pre-charges the brakes to begin deceleration more quickly. The Santa Fe Sport doesn't offer a collision warning system.

The Edge SEL/Limited/Sport’s optional blind spot warning system uses digital cameras monitored by computer to alert the driver to moving objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. The Santa Fe Sport doesn’t offer a system to reveal objects in the driver’s blind spots.

To help make backing safer, the Edge SEL/Limited/Sport’s optional cross-path warning system uses wide-angle radar in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Santa Fe Sport doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

The Edge offers optional SYNC, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Santa Fe Sport doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Edge and the Santa Fe Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding and available all wheel drive.

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, results indicate that the Ford Edge is safer than the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport:

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

For its top level performance in frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates the Edge as a “Top Pick” for 2013, a rating only granted to 142 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Santa Fe Sport has not been tested, yet.

There are almost 7 times as many Ford dealers as there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Edge’s warranty.

The Edge has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Santa Fe Sport doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2012 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford 8th in reliability, above the industry average. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 9th.

The Edge has more powerful engines than the Santa Fe Sport:

As tested in Consumer Reports the Ford Edge turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 4 cyl.:

On the EPA test cycle the Edge ECOBoost 4 cyl. gets better fuel mileage than the Santa Fe Sport 4 cyl. FWD (21 city/30 hwy vs. 21 city/29 hwy). The Edge ECOBoost 4 cyl. gets better fuel mileage than the Santa Fe Sport 2.0T FWD (21 city/30 hwy vs. 20 city/27 hwy).

The Edge FWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe Sport (18 vs. 16.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Edge AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Santa Fe Sport (19 vs. 16.4 gallons).

The Edge has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Santa Fe Sport doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Edge’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Santa Fe Sport are solid, not vented.

The Edge stops shorter than the Santa Fe Sport:

For better traction, the Edge Sport’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Santa Fe Sport (265/40R22 vs. 235/65R17).

The Edge Sport’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Santa Fe Sport 2.0T’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Edge Sport has standard 22-inch wheels. The Santa Fe Sport’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Edge’s wheelbase is 4.9 inches longer than on the Santa Fe Sport (111.2 inches vs. 106.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Edge is 1.2 inches wider in the front and .6 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Santa Fe Sport.

The Edge Sport AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Santa Fe Sport pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Edge Sport AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.9 seconds quicker than the Santa Fe Sport (27 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

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

The Edge has .4 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more rear headroom, .2 inches more rear legroom, .7 inches more rear hip room and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Santa Fe Sport.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the Edge SEL/Limited/Sport’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Santa Fe Sport doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults or children, the Edge SEL/Limited/Sport offers an optional power rear liftgate, which opens and closes completely automatically by pressing a button on the key fob. The Santa Fe Sport doesn’t offer a power liftgate.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the available exterior keypad. The Santa Fe Sport doesn’t offer an exterior keypad entry system.

The Edge’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Santa Fe Sport’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Edge SEL/Limited/Sport’s optional wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

To keep a safe, consistent following distance, the Edge Limited offers an optional Adaptive Cruise Control, which alters the speed of the vehicle without driver intervention. This allows the driver to use cruise control more safely without constantly having to disengage it when approaching slower traffic. The Santa Fe Sport doesn’t offer an adaptive cruise control.

To help keep rear passengers entertained, the Edge SEL/Limited/Sport offers optional rear seat controls for the radio. The Santa Fe Sport doesn’t offer rear seat audio controls.