Where each one leads
Audi Q7
- Against cars of the same age, the Audi Q7 comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 11% more often than average) than the Hyundai Santa Fe (passes 4% less often than average).
- Against cars of the same year, the Audi Q7 comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 38% less often than average) than the Hyundai Santa Fe (fails 1% more often than average).
Hyundai Santa Fe
- Fewer Hyundai Santa Fe cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (2.5% against 5.3%).
- New Hyundai Santa Fe cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 101 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 203 for the Audi Q7 in 2022.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol hybrid Hyundai Santa Fe uses 7.9 l/100 km on the road, the Audi Q7 12.2.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the diesel Hyundai Santa Fe uses 7.5 l/100 km on the road, the Audi Q7 9.3.
Too close to call: NHTSA overall safety rating; official combined fuel use, Canada (l/100 km).
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Audi Q7 | Hyundai Santa Fe | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2006–2026 | 2000–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 181,195 (2010–2022) | 125,237 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 53,560 | 40,380 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 8,229 | 5,884 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 721 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Audi Q7 | Hyundai Santa Fe | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 82% | 67% |
| … against cars of the same age | +11% | −4% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.9% | 1.4% |
| … against cars of the same year | −38% | +1% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 5.3% | 2.5% |
| US owner complaints | 1,054 | 7,681 |
| Most complaints about | Engine | Engine |
| Model year with most complaints | 2017 (320) | 2017 (970) |
| US recall campaigns | 32 | 46 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 15,034 | 2,012 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 4 | 52 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Audi Q7 | Hyundai Santa Fe | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2026) | 5★ (2027) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Audi Q7 | Hyundai Santa Fe | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 10.7 l/100 km (2026) | 10.7 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid | 9.2 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 12.2 l/100 km | 7.9 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | 9.3 l/100 km | 7.5 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 203 g/km | 101 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 218 kW (293 hp) | 135 kW (181 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 2,248 kg | 1,978 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €112,955 | €55,900 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 201,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).