2016 Midsize SUV Challenge: What You Get for $45,000

CARS.COM — For most car shoppers, $45,000 is a lot of money, but when it comes to the contenders in our 2016 Midsize SUV Challenge, that price cap wasn't enough to cover all the automotive bells and whistles that our judges look for. Our contenders had pricing as low as $40,660 and as high as $44,760.

The 2016 Midsize SUV Challenge

Results | What You Get

Here's what stood out to our judges as they spent five days testing the 2016 Ford Edge ($44,175), 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport ($41,355), 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee ($44,760), 2017 Kia Sorento ($40,660) and 2016 Nissan Murano ($44,070) in and around Elkhorn, Wis.

Creature Comforts

All of our competitors featured a panoramic moonroof, power liftgate, power driver's seat and eight cup- and bottleholders. The disparities appeared when we looked at features that can make the commute more comfortable.

USB ports: The Grand Cherokee and Sorento wowed our judges with three USB ports in each SUV, but the Santa Fe Sport was disappointing with its lone USB port in the front row.

Heated and cooled seats: The Sorento had heated front seats, but it left its rear passengers in the cold by not offering seat warmers in the backseat; all the other Challenge SUVs had both front and rear heated seats. On a steamy summer day, ventilated seats help beat the heat; all of our Challenge SUVs except the Sorento had cooled front seats.

Heated steering wheel: When the term "polar vortex" is in your annual vocabulary, it's not too surprising that a heated steering wheel becomes a noteworthy feature — even when tested in the summer. The Grand Cherokee, Santa Fe Sport and Murano all had the feature in our Challenge SUVs, but the Edge and Sorento didn't.

Rear sunshades: For parents with kids in child-safety seats, integrated rear sunshades are a godsend, allowing little ones to nap when the sun is blazing. Only two of our Challenge SUVs, the Korean siblings — the Santa Fe Sport and Sorento — had the feature.

Technology

With a $45,000 price cap, it seems as though the SUVs in our Challenge should have been able to check the boxes when it comes to tech, but that wasn't quite the case. It's worth noting that all the SUVs had Bluetooth phone and streaming audio.

Navigation system: Three of the SUVs — the Edge, Santa Fe Sport and Murano — had navigation systems, but the Grand Cherokee and Sorento didn't.

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay: Making up for its lack of navigation, the Sorento had Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Our test Santa Fe Sport only offered Android Auto, but Hyundai is offering a free Apple CarPlay upgrade at dealerships for 2017 Santa Fe Sport owners, and those on dealer lots now come with the feature. While the Edge didn't have Android Auto or Apple CarPlay on our test SUV, an over-the-air update for those systems will be available later this year for 2016 models; it will be standard on the 2017 Edge with an 8.1-inch touch-screen, according to a Ford spokesman.

Safety

Safety ratings and features aren't nearly as much fun to discuss as horsepower and handling, but they're just as important. All of our Challenge contenders had backup cameras, but there were differences in other safety-related categories.

Safety ratings: All but the Murano, which hasn't been tested, were given five-star overall safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has awarded the Murano, Santa Fe Sport and Sorento its highest honor of Top Safety Pick Plus.

Adaptive cruise control: All the SUVs except the Grand Cherokee offer a system that maintains a set speed and distance from the car ahead of you.

Autonomous braking: This system can apply the brakes if the driver doesn't when the SUV senses slowed or stopped traffic; only the Edge and Grand Cherokee didn't offer this safety feature in our Challenge vehicles.

Blind spot warning system: The Grand Cherokee is the lone SUV to not have this feature that warns drivers when cars are in their blind spot.

Forward collision warning: This system alerts the driver of an impending collision; only the Grand Cherokee didn't have it. To get these advanced safety systems on the Grand Cherokee, a buyer would need to add the optional Advanced Technology Group ($1,995). This package adds adaptive cruise control, autonomous braking, forward collision warning, blind spot warning and rear cross-path detection.

Lane departure warning: Only the Murano and Grand Cherokee didn't have this safety feature that alerts drivers when they drift out of their lane.

Of our Challenge contenders, the Santa Fe Sport was the best value for our $45,000 price cap. It has advanced safety features, impressive crash-test ratings and most of the creature comforts our judges want, all for a $41,355 price tag. Find out if the Santa Fe Sport won our 2016 Midsize SUV Challenge or if one of its competitors took home the top prize.