Where each one leads
Hyundai Santa Fe
- Fewer Hyundai Santa Fe cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (2.5% against 10.5%).
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
- Against cars of the same year, the Mercedes-Benz M-Class comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 40% less often than average) than the Hyundai Santa Fe (fails 1% more often than average).
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
| Hyundai Santa Fe | Mercedes-Benz M-Class | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2000–2026 | 1998–2009 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 125,237 (2010–2022) | 114,470 (2010–2021) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 40,380 | 26,617 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 5,884 | 6,157 |
| In traffic in Finland | 721 | 216 |
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
| Hyundai Santa Fe | Mercedes-Benz M-Class | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 67% | — |
| … against cars of the same age | −4% | — |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.4% | 1.4% |
| … against cars of the same year | +1% | −40% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 2.5% | 10.5% |
| US owner complaints | 7,681 | 86 |
| Most complaints about | Engine | Steering |
| Model year with most complaints | 2017 (970) | 2000 (25) |
| US recall campaigns | 46 | 15 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 2,012 | 40 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 52 | 18 |
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
| Hyundai Santa Fe | Mercedes-Benz M-Class | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2027) | — |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Hyundai Santa Fe | Mercedes-Benz M-Class | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 10.7 l/100 km (2026) | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 7.9 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | 7.5 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 101 g/km | — |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 135 kW (181 hp) | 158 kW (212 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,978 kg | 2,174 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €55,900 | €94,159 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 201,000 km | 272,000 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).