Euro NCAP Crash Test: Hyundai Ioniq Praised With 5-Star Safety Rating

Including the PHEV and EV models, the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq was awarded 91 percent for adult occupant protection, 80 percent for child occupant, 70 percent for pedestrian, and 82 percent for safety assist systems. Euro NCAP highlights that the passenger compartment remained stable in the offset deformable barrier frontal impact test. In this scenario, the vehicle strikes a deformable barrier at 64 km/h (40 miles per hour) at a severe angle.

The full-width rigid barrier test indicates the dummy’s “pelvis slipped under the lap part of the seatbelt,” which translates into “a sudden drop in load.” Thus, adult occupant protection for this body region was rated “poor.” To the hybrid vehicle's defense, Euro NCAP waxed lyrical about how the vehicle fared in the side barrier and side pole impact tests. Another plus is the Hyundai Ioniq’s standard-fit autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system.

Customers with children might be interested to find out that 6 to 10-year-olds are protected in the event of a frontal offset crash, save for neck-bound tensile forces. Euro NCAP also expressed approval of how autobrake manages to avoid or mitigate a crash with a pedestrian. Autobrake is also capable of avoiding a crash with another car at speeds of up to 70 km/h (43.5 mph).

Without accounting for government grants for eco-friendly vehicles, the least expensive Hyundai Ioniq costs £19,995 OTR in the UK and €23,900 in Germany. For the pure electric model, the South Korean automaker charges £24,495 and €33,300, respectively. Sometime next year, a plug-in hybrid variant of the Hyundai Ioniq is planned to join the range. In the United States, the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid is slated to go on sale this winter.