The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has awarded Top Safety Pick accolades to both the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the internal combustion-engined 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe. Be that as it may, not all TSP awards are created equal.
The reason why the Ioniq 5 is a Top Safety Pick+ recipient as opposed to the lesser Top Safety Pick award for the Santa Fe is crash performance in the updated moderate overlap front crash test. According to the nonprofit organization from Virginia, the zero-emission crossover passed the test with a good rating, whereas the Santa Fe couldn't do better than marginal in this particular scenario.
Other areas where South Korean automaker Hyundai could improve the redesigned Santa Fe are headlight performance and LATCH system ease of use. All trim levels come with projector-style LEDs and high-beam assist, but in a cornering scenario, high-beam visibility was deemed inadequate on the sharp left curve.
As for the LATCH system, which is the industry's way of saying lower anchors and tethers for child seats, the lower anchors of the second-row seats are located too deep in the seats. The nonprofit organization used two specific trims for testing, namely the SE AWD and the AWD-exclusive XRT. Customers interested in the SE have to shell out $33,950 (sans destination charge) for the front-wheel-drive version, whereas HTRAC all-wheel drive adds $1,800 to the final price.
AWD also means 28 miles to the gallon highway as opposed to 29, numbers that convert to 8.4 and 8.1 liters of dinosaur juice per 100 kilometers. The XRT is $40,600 from the outset and promises 26 miles per gallon (9.0 liters per 100 kilometers) on the highway due to all-terrain rubber shoes and 1.3 inches of additional ground clearance.
Photo: IIHS / edited
Top Safety Pick+ prior to the 2024 model year as well, the Ioniq 5 is listed with three acceptable ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Headlight performance opens the list. The LED reflectors of the SE and SEL feature low beams that offer inadequate visibility on the gradual left curve, with said low beams also creating some glare. The high beams, meanwhile, offer inadequate visibility on the sharp right curve.
The Limited grade's LED projectors performed much better, hence their good rating. The nonprofit organization also deemed the front crash prevention system as being acceptable due to mixed performance results in the 25- and 37-mph tests, meaning 40 and 60 kilometers per hour. In a similar fashion to the Santa Fe, the LATCH lower anchors are located too deep in the seats.
Priced at $41,800 (before freight), Ioniq 5 offers up to 320 horsepower and 303 miles (488 kilometers) of driving range. Hyundai also sells a high-performance version of the Ioniq 5 as a 2025 model, that vehicle being the Ioniq 5 N.
A bit on the pricey side of compact electric vehicles at $66,100 as of May 2024, the Ioniq 5 N was crowed 2024 World Performance Car back in March 2024. Due to its go-faster mods, driving range takes a nosedive to 221 miles (356 kilometers) on a full charge of the battery.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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