Four-star safety rating for Hyundai Kona

ANCAP SAFETY, Australasia's independent voice on vehicle safety, has today confirmed a four-star safety rating for the latest generation Hyundai Kona available in Australia and New Zealand.

Assessed against ANCAP’s current 2023-2025 protocol criteria, the four-star safety rating applies to petrol, hybrid, and electric variants of the Hyundai Kona small SUV, with mixed levels of physical occupant protection, pedestrian protection and collision avoidance capability demonstrated in ANCAP’s assessment.

Performance of the Kona in destructive crash tests saw mixed results, with maximum points awarded for protection of the driver in the side impact and oblique pole tests. Protection of the driver chest in the full width frontal test was assessed as Weak. The driver dummy was also observed to slip beneath the lap portion of the seatbelt in the full width test with crash forces transferred across the abdomen, and a scoring penalty applied for higher abdominal injury risk.

Protection offered to front seat occupants in the frontal offset (MPDB) test also showed mixed results, with Good, Adequate, and Marginal protection offered to the driver. This test also assesses the risk that the tested vehicle poses to other vehicles when struck, and the Kona was found to present a relatively low risk to occupants of an oncoming vehicle, with a penalty of 1.44 points (out of 8.00 points) applied.

The Hyundai Kona was limited to four-stars due to its performance in the assessment areas of Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety Assist, where thresholds of 70% apply to qualify for five-stars. The Kona achieved scores of 64% and 62% in these areas respectively, with performance of its autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system assessed as Adequate in tests with pedestrians and cyclists. The emergency lane keeping (ELK) system fitted to the Kona also showed Adequate performance, including in ELK tests with a motorcycle. Good performance was shown in AEB motorcycle test scenarios.

“Good restraints and structural design attributes that work to reduce the risk of injury to vehicle occupants, pedestrians, and other road users, are key elements in achieving a high ANCAP safety rating,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Carla Hoorweg.

This four-star ANCAP safety rating applies to all variants of the Hyundai Kona. Full details are available on the ANCAP website.

A facelift to Tesla Model 3 vehicles available in Australia and New Zealand was recently introduced by Tesla, with information provided to ANCAP by Tesla confirming the five-star safety rating for the Tesla Model 3 cannot be applied to facelifted vehicles at this time. Facelifted Model 3 vehicles (on sale from January 2024 in Australia and mid-December 2023 in New Zealand) are therefore ‘unrated’.

“ANCAP encourages all consumers and fleet buyers to prioritise the purchase of vehicles which are confirmed to hold a current five-star ANCAP safety rating, ensuring the highest levels of safety,” said Ms Hoorweg.

“With over 160 five-star ANCAP safety ratings available for current models, many of which offer alternative power options, there remains plenty of choice for consumers looking to buy a newer, safer vehicle.”

Safety ratings for all vehicle models rated by ANCAP are available on the ANCAP website.