There are loads of safe SUVs you could buy, so how do you decide between them? In some cases it may come down to which SUV is safer, but even then things can be close. Take the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe and the 2021 Ford Edge. Both SUVs have similar (and very good) crash test ratings. Yet one has a slightly better rated advanced safety system. Let’s see why the Hyundai Santa Fe has better safety features than the Ford Edge.

What safety features are important for an SUV to have?

Part of various safety organizations’ ratings include how many safety features come standard in a vehicle. Both the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe and the 2021 Ford Edge have a good amount of safety features. They both come with forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking for the city. Highway automatic emergency braking comes standard in the Ford Edge, but isn’t even available in the Hyundai Santa Fe. 

Both the Santa Fe and the Edge come standard with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, and lane keeping assist. Blind spot warning and rear cross traffic warning are standard in the Edge but only optional in the Santa Fe. 

Rear view camera, anti lock brakes, traction control, stability control, and daytime running lights all come standard in both the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe and 2021 Ford Edge. 

That’s great, but how effective are their safety features?

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety measures the effectiveness of safety features. They rate crash prevention between vehicle-to vehicle as well as vehicle-to-pedestrian. Points are awarded on a scale of 0-6 and result in an assessment of basic, advanced, or superior. 

Vehicle-to-vehicle ratings in both the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe and the 2021 Ford Edge were both superior. The IIHS tested how well each SUV did at preventing a collision at 12 and 25 mph. Having forward collision warning is an advantage to a vehicle’s final score. Automatic emergency braking is a must for a superior rating.

The IIHS began including forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking systems after research by the related Highway Loss Data Institute found that these advanced safety features are effective at low and moderate speeds. 

Both the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe and the 2021 Ford Edge are IIHS Top Safety Picks. They have good crash test ratings, though not identical. Some of the subsets of crash test categories vary, and are worth checking out if safety is a priority in your car search. 

The Hyundai Santa Fe is better at not hitting people

If you just want to know which SUV has a better safety system, consider this: the Hyundai Santa Fe performed better in the IIHS’ vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention tests. While the 2021 Ford Edge got only an advanced, the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe got a superior. 

To do these tests, the IIHS runs six tests at different speeds. The tests include a perpendicular test, which simulates an adult walking across the road in front of a vehicle traveling at 12 and 25 mph. It also conducts a perpendicular child, which involves a simulated child running into the road with parked vehicles obstructing the view of the test car. This test is also run at 12 and 25 mph. 

Finally, the IIHS runs a parallel adult test, which simulates an adult in the right lane of traffic near the edge of the road, walking away from the vehicle. This test is run at 25 and 37 mph. 

It’s the vehicle-to-pedestrian tests where the Hyundai Santa Fe shines. In the crossing adult test, the Santa Fe avoided a collision at 12 and 25 mph, while the Edge only nearly avoided a collision at 12 mph and reduced impact speed by 23 mph in the 25 mph test. 

The Santa Fe also avoided a collision in the crossing child test at 12 mph and reduced impact speed by 20 mph in the 25 mph test. On the other hand, the Edge always hit the child. In the 12 mph test it reduced the speed by 11 mph, and in the 25 mph test it reduced speed by 20 mph. 

Both SUVs avoided hitting the parallel adult at 25 mph. The Santa Fe also avoided a collision at 37 mph and issued a warning 1.9 seconds before impact. The Edge didn’t avoid a collision but it did reduce speed by 22 mph and issued a warning 1.8 seconds before impact. 

No one assumes they’re going to hit a pedestrian, so everyone should consider these safety features when shopping for a new car. It’s easy to see why the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe has an advantage over the 2021 Ford Edge.