2025 Buick Enclave vs 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe presented a bold departure from its predecessors, showcasing a design that was both boxy and elegant. This new aesthetic was a significant shift from the sleek, futuristic look of the Ioniq series, emphasizing storage capacity and premium appeal. The Santa Fe's exterior was enhanced by a sophisticated color palette and anodized-finish badging, while the interior offered a luxurious experience with premium materials and thoughtful design elements. Despite some hard materials in less visible areas, the overall feel was upscale, with features like a cocooning fabric headliner adding a touch of decadence.

In contrast, the 2025 Buick Enclave adopted a design reminiscent of the Envista, with a sharp front end and a more generic side profile. The Enclave's exterior featured fewer creases and a more upright profile, with standard 20-inch wheels on lower trims and 22-inch wheels on the Avenir trim. Inside, the Enclave offered a modern and premium feel, with a floating center console and a large curved display. The seats were trimmed in perforated leatherette, and while genuine leather was reserved for the top trim, the overall interior was elevated by thoughtful touches like contrast piping. However, the limited availability of a panoramic sunroof was a notable drawback.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe was equipped with a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, delivering 277 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque. It featured an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, with front-wheel drive standard and all-wheel drive optional, except for the XRT trim, which had AWD as standard. The Santa Fe offered various driving modes, including Normal, Sport, and Snow, with the XRT adding off-road capabilities. Fuel economy for the FWD base version was rated at 20 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, and 24 mpg combined, while the AWD and XRT models had slightly lower ratings. The Santa Fe Hybrid, available later in the model year, promised improved fuel efficiency with 36 mpg city and 35 mpg highway for FWD.

The 2025 Buick Enclave, on the other hand, came with a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine producing 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet of torque. It featured an eight-speed automatic transmission, with both FWD and AWD options available. The Enclave's fuel economy was slightly lower, with 23 mpg combined for FWD and 21 mpg for AWD. The Enclave could tow up to 5,000 pounds when properly equipped. While the Enclave offered Active Noise Cancellation for road noise, the engine noise cancellation was only standard on the top trim, leaving the lower trims with a louder engine experience. The Enclave's driving dynamics were more akin to a full-size vehicle, with loose steering at slower speeds, but this was not a significant concern for its target audience.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe featured a longer wheelbase and body compared to its predecessor, with most of the extra space dedicated to the cargo area. This design was inspired by the concept of "chabak," emphasizing car camping and tailgating. The Santa Fe's cargo area offered 14.6 cubic feet of space, expanding to 40.5 and 79.6 cubic feet with the third and second rows folded, respectively. The interior was spacious, with a choice of bench or captain's chairs for the second row, and various upholstery options depending on the trim. The Limited and Calligraphy models introduced a UV sanitization compartment in the glovebox, a unique feature for sterilizing small objects.

The 2025 Buick Enclave provided eight-way power adjustability for the driver's seat and six-way for the front passenger's seat. It featured captain's chairs in the second row, accommodating up to seven passengers. The Enclave's cargo space measured 22.9 cubic feet with all seats in place, expanding to 57.1 cubic feet with the third row folded, and 97.5 cubic feet with both rear rows folded. The Enclave offered a one-touch power feature for folding and sliding the second-row seats, and GM's AutoSense liftgate was standard, providing convenient access to the cargo area.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe boasted a curved panoramic display that elegantly integrated the digital gauge cluster and infotainment system. This display was standard on higher trims, offering intuitive controls, crisp graphics, and seamless smartphone integration with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Santa Fe also featured a 12-speaker Bose stereo, dynamic voice recognition, and a Wi-Fi hotspot. Hyundai's BlueLink system provided vehicle access and information, with upgraded functionality on higher trims. The Santa Fe also introduced Hyundai Pay and a biometric fingerprint scanner for added convenience and security.

The 2025 Buick Enclave featured a 30-inch ultrawide touchscreen that combined the infotainment display and digital gauge cluster. While the display was generally seamless, smartphone projection interrupted the cohesive design. The Enclave offered a 12-speaker Bose Premium audio system, with a 16-speaker Bose Performance system on the Avenir trim. Wireless charging and smartphone integration were standard, along with Google Built-In for native apps. The Enclave also provided a Wi-Fi hotspot and wired charging for all passengers.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe came equipped with a comprehensive suite of safety and driver-assistance features, including adaptive cruise control, forward collision-avoidance assist, blind-spot monitors, and lane-keep assist. Higher trims added features like a 360-degree camera system, remote automatic parking, and a head-up display. The Santa Fe was the first Hyundai vehicle to include driver monitoring, enhancing safety by tracking alertness and hand placement on the steering wheel.

The 2025 Buick Enclave offered a robust set of safety features, with blind-zone steering assist, intersection automatic emergency braking, and lane-keep assist newly standard for 2025. The Enclave also included HD Surround Vision, adaptive cruise control, and GM's Teen Driver technology. Super Cruise, GM's hands-free driving technology, was available on all trims, though it required a subscription after the initial three-year period. The 2024 Enclave had received favorable safety ratings, though the updated side crash-test rating was only "Acceptable."