2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid: MPG and fuel economy

This page collects every fuel-economy figure the EPA publishes for the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid. Below you will find the headline combined, city, and highway MPG, the estimated annual fuel cost at three different driving levels, the tailpipe CO₂ emissions, and a full breakdown of the engine and drivetrain. If you want to know whether this generation got more or less efficient over the years, the year-over-year table further down covers every model year the EPA has rated.

Fuel economy at a glance

These are the EPA's official ratings for the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid. The numbers come from a standardised laboratory test cycle and are the same figures that appear on the window sticker of every new car. Real-world mileage varies with driving style, weather, fuel quality, and how heavily loaded the car is.

Combined MPG is a 55/45 weighted blend of the city and highway test cycles. The EPA uses it as the single number you can compare across the entire dataset, including hybrids and EVs (which use the equivalent MPGe figure).

How the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid compares

The 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid returns 32 combined MPG. Cars in the Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD class for the same model year average 27.7 MPG, which puts this car ahead of the class average by about 16%.

The most efficient car in the Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD class for the 2021 model year is the Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD at 125 MPG. The bar chart below puts the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid alongside the class best and the class average so you can see the full picture.

For broader context, the average new car of the 2021 model year (across all classes) returns 27.9 MPG. Larger vehicles pull the all-cars average down, so do not use that figure on its own to judge a small car or a hybrid. The full list of the most efficient cars of the 2021 model year is on its own page.

Annual fuel cost across driving patterns

The headline annual fuel cost the EPA publishes assumes 15,000 miles of driving per year and a fuel mix of 55% city and 45% highway. The dollar figure is calculated using the EPA's current reference price for regular gasoline, which is $3.99/gallon. EPA updates that reference periodically rather than tracking live pump prices, so treat it as a window-sticker estimate rather than today's pump number.

The table below scales the EPA's number to three common driving patterns. The combined MPG and the reference fuel price stay constant, only the annual mileage changes. To get a current-prices estimate, take your local gas price and multiply by 468.8 gallons (the car's annual consumption at the rated MPG).

Year-over-year MPG for the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

The EPA has rated the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid across 3 model years, from 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid through 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid. The numbers below are the best combined MPG figure the EPA published for each year, which lets you see when the car was at its most efficient and how recent generations stack up.

Combined MPG has stayed in roughly the same range across the run, hovering close to 32 MPG.

Compare against other Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD for 2021

If you are cross-shopping the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, the most useful comparison is against the other cars in the Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD class for the same model year. The list below shows the highest-MPG peers, ranked from most to least efficient. Click any of them to open its full page.

The Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD leads this group at 125 MPG, 93 MPG ahead of the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid.

Specifications

The 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid runs a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged engine paired with a automatic (am-s6), sending power through all-wheel drive.

Engine, transmission, and drivetrain together drive most of the variation in fuel economy across trims. A larger engine moves the car with less effort but burns more fuel. A turbo lets a small engine punch above its weight, often without much MPG penalty. All-wheel drive adds traction and weight, and usually costs a couple of MPG compared with two-wheel drive of the same engine.

Vehicle class

Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD

Engine

1.6L 4-cylinder turbocharged

Transmission

Automatic (AM-S6)

Drivetrain

All-Wheel Drive

Fuel type

Regular

Annual petroleum use

9.3 barrels per year

Start-stop system

Yes

Common questions about the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

Quick answers to the questions people most often search for when looking up the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid.

• Is the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid fuel efficient?

  Yes. The 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid returns 32 combined MPG, which beats the average car in the Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD class for the same model year by about 16%.
• What MPG does the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid get?

  The EPA rates the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid at 32 combined MPG, 33 MPG in city driving, and 30 MPG on the highway. Real-world numbers depend on your driving style, the weather, and how loaded the car is.
• How much does it cost to fuel a 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid per year?

  The EPA estimates an annual fuel cost of $1,850 for the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid. That figure assumes 15,000 miles of driving per year, a 55% city and 45% highway split, and the EPA's published average fuel price for the rated fuel grade.
• What fuel does the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid use?

  The EPA lists the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid as running on regular gasoline. Using a different grade than the manufacturer specifies can affect fuel economy and engine longevity.
• Has the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid become more fuel efficient over time?

  Combined MPG has stayed close to flat across the run. Both the earliest (2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, 32 MPG) and most recent (2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, 32 MPG) versions sit in the same range.
• How much CO₂ does the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid emit?

  Tailpipe CO₂ emissions are 283 g/mi. Multiplied across a typical year of driving (15,000 miles) that works out to about 4,245 kilograms of CO₂.
• What is the difference between the city and highway MPG of the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid?

  City driving returns 33 MPG and highway driving returns 30 MPG. A flat (or city-better) split is the signature of a hybrid or electric drivetrain, where regenerative braking recovers energy that would otherwise be lost in stop-start city traffic.
• What engine is in the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid?

  The 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid has a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged engine (EPA description: SIDI; Hybrid). Smaller turbocharged engines like this one tend to deliver bigger-engine power on demand while keeping fuel economy closer to a non-turbo version of the same displacement.
• What transmission and drivetrain does the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid have?

  The 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid comes with a automatic (am-s6) transmission and all-wheel drive. All-wheel-drive variants typically read 1 to 3 MPG lower than the front-wheel-drive equivalent of the same engine, since the extra hardware adds weight and parasitic loss.
• How does the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid compare to the best car in its class?

  The most efficient car in the Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD class for the 2021 model year is the Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD at 125 combined MPG. The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid returns 32 MPG, a gap of 93 MPG. If you are comparing on fuel economy alone, the class leader is worth a look.

Source: U.S. EPA fuel economy dataset. Annual fuel cost figures assume 15,000 miles of driving per year and a 55% city, 45% highway split. Real-world mileage varies with driving conditions, vehicle maintenance, fuel quality, and driver behaviour.