Compare the2024 Mercedes GLCVS 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes GLC 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 Hyundai Santa Fe doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The GLC’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The Mercedes GLC has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The GLC has standard NECK-PRO front head restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the NECK-PRO front head restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the GLC and the Santa Fe have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

The Mercedes GLC achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Santa Fe has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

The GLC’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 64 more horsepower (255 vs. 191) and 114 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 181) than the Santa Fe’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Mercedes GLC is faster than the Hyundai Santa Fe 4 cyl.:

	GLC	Santa Fe
Zero to 30 MPH	2.6 sec	3.6 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	6.6 sec	10 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	4.5 sec	6.4 sec
Quarter Mile	15.1 sec	17.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	94 MPH	83 MPH

On the EPA test cycle the GLC gets better mileage than the Santa Fe:

			MPG
GLC
	RWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	26 city/33 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	24 city/32 hwy
Santa Fe
	FWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/28 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/28 hwy
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/28 hwy
		2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	22 city/25 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the GLC’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Mercedes GLC higher (7 out of 10) than the Hyundai Santa Fe (5 to 7). This means the GLC produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Santa Fe every 15,000 miles.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Mercedes GLC, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Santa Fe.

For better stopping power the GLC’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Santa Fe:

	GLC	GLC	Santa Fe	Santa Fe 2.5T
Front Rotors	13.5 inches	14.6 inches	12.8 inches	13.6 inches
Rear Rotors	12.6 inches	12.6 inches	12 inches	12 inches

The GLC’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 are solid, not vented.

The GLC stops shorter than the Santa Fe:

	GLC	Santa Fe
60 to 0 MPH	112 feet	117 feet	Motor Trend

The GLC’s optional 285/40R20 rear 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 Calligraphy’s 45 series tires.

The GLC has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

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

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the GLC’s wheelbase is 4.2 inches longer than on the Santa Fe (113.1 inches vs. 108.9 inches).

The GLC 300 4MATIC handles at .87 G’s, while the Santa Fe Calligraphy AWD pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The GLC has .1 inches more front headroom, 1.5 inches more front hip room, .7 inches more rear headroom and 2 inches more rear hip room than the Santa Fe.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the GLC. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The GLC’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Santa Fe’s (5291 vs. 2000 pounds).

The engine in the GLC is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Santa Fe. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Santa Fe Limited/Calligraphy, the GLC has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The GLC’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Santa Fe’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the GLC the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Santa Fe can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The GLC’s standard Keyless-Go allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Proximity Key is only offered on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy, and doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

The GLC’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Santa Fe SE/XRT/SEL’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the GLC offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Santa Fe doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The GLC’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Hyundai only offers heated mirrors on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.

The GLC’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Santa Fe offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The GLC has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Mercedes GLC has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Santa Fe SEL/XRT/Limited/Calligraphy offers wireless charging.

Motor Trend selected the GLC as their 2017 Sport Utility of the Year. The Santa Fe has never been chosen.