2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport vs 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe presented a bold departure from its predecessors, embracing a boxy design that contrasted sharply with the sleek, futuristic aesthetics of the Ioniq series. This new look was not only about style but also function, as Hyundai's design chief, SangYup Lee, emphasized the practicality of a box shape for storage capacity. Despite its unconventional appearance, the Santa Fe managed to turn heads with its upscale and elegant presentation, enhanced by a sophisticated color palette and anodized-finish badging. The interior of the Santa Fe was equally impressive, offering premium styling with a focus on comfort and luxury, particularly in the XRT and Calligraphy trims. While some materials were hard, the overall experience was softened by plush surfaces and decadent touches like the fabric headliner.

In contrast, the 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport reinforced its sporty SUV identity with a more athletic stance, thanks to its shorter wheelbase and chopped top. The exterior featured large front air intakes and fake vents, contributing to its aggressive look, although it appeared a bit too tall and narrow from certain angles. The Range Rover Sport lineup included various trims, with the SV Edition 2 standing out as the highest-performance model. This edition boasted carbon-fiber elements and a subtle exterior that belied its powerful capabilities. Inside, the Range Rover Sport maintained a minimalist aesthetic, with a focus on luxury and comfort. The cockpit-like feel was enhanced by high-quality materials, although the use of reflective piano black plastic was a bit excessive.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe offered a base powertrain featuring a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, delivering 277 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque. It came with 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 provided Normal, Sport, and Snow driving modes, with the XRT adding off-road capabilities. Later in the model year, a hybrid option with a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine was introduced, offering 231 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque. Fuel economy varied, with the FWD base versions achieving 20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway, while the hybrid offered up to 36 mpg combined. The Santa Fe excelled in towing capacity, with the XRT model capable of towing up to 4,500 pounds. On the road, the Santa Fe delivered smooth and stable driving dynamics, although it exhibited notable body roll through turns.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport offered multiple powertrain options, all paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and standard four-wheel drive. The base SE model featured a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engine with 355 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. The Dynamic SE offered a higher output of 395 hp and 406 lb-ft, along with a plug-in hybrid powertrain rated at 454 hp and 487 lb-ft. The Autobiography trim provided even more power, with a plug-in hybrid option delivering 543 hp and 590 lb-ft, and a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 producing 523 hp and 553 lb-ft. The SV Edition Two pushed the V8's output to 626 hp, making it the most powerful Range Rover model. The Range Rover Sport excelled in both performance and luxury, with a sport-tuned air suspension and advanced features like four-wheel steering and brake-based torque vectoring. It offered impressive off-road capabilities, with the Terrain Response system and adjustable air suspension providing excellent ground clearance and obstacle-clearing angles.

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. Inspired by the concept of "chabak," the Santa Fe's design focused on creating a comfortable and spacious environment for car camping and tailgating. The interior offered ample space in the first and second rows, with a choice of bench or captain's chairs in the second row. The cargo area provided 14.6 cubic feet of space, expanding to 79.6 cubic feet with the seats folded. The Santa Fe also introduced innovative features like a UV sanitization compartment in the glovebox.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport positioned itself between the Range Rover Velar and the full-size Range Rover in terms of dimensions. It offered a two-row, five-seater configuration, with ample headroom and legroom for front-seat occupants. The rear seats were spacious, with reclining functionality and 20-way power-adjustable front seats. The cargo area provided 31.9 cubic feet of space, expanding to 53 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. The Range Rover Sport excelled in towing capacity, with a maximum of 7,716 pounds for turbo-six and V8 models. The interior featured deep door pockets and large cupholders, ensuring practicality and convenience.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe boasted a curved panoramic display that elegantly integrated digital real estate without feeling overwhelming. The touchscreen display was intuitive and easy to use, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard across the lineup. The system included a 12-speaker Bose stereo, dynamic voice recognition, and a Wi-Fi hotspot. Higher trims offered additional features like wireless charging and Hyundai Pay, enhancing convenience and security. The Santa Fe also introduced a biometric fingerprint scanner for added control and security.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport featured a 13.7-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.1-inch touchscreen for infotainment functions. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were standard, along with Amazon Alexa integration. While the minimalist design looked sleek, it had functional limitations, with most controls requiring touchscreen interaction. The Pivi Pro infotainment system was responsive, with natural-language voice recognition. The Range Rover Sport SV Edition 2 offered unique "Body and Soul Seats" with embedded transducers for a tactile audio experience, although it felt a bit gimmicky.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe came equipped with a comprehensive suite of advanced safety and driver-assistance features. Standard equipment included adaptive cruise control, forward collision-avoidance assist, blind-spot monitors, and lane-keep assist. Higher trims added features like a 360-degree camera system, blind-spot view monitor, and remote automatic parking. The Santa Fe also introduced driver monitoring, combining infrared cameras and capacitive sensors to ensure driver alertness and safety.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport offered a robust set of standard driver-assist features, including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring. The standard 360-degree camera system and digital rearview mirror enhanced visibility, although the parking sensors were overly sensitive. Safety ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA were not available at the time of publication.