The Santa Fe was the last ‘old style’ Hyundai to be sold by the South Korean automaker, yet now, with the arrival of a replacement, they can safely say that they`ve completely moved into a new and better era. Their all-new model was recently tested by Euro NCAP, and it achieved excellent results, being awarded the full five-star rating.
It scored very highly in the adult occupant section, managing an impressive score of 96%, thanks to an extensive array of airbags, including one for the driver’s knees. However, it did not get top marks in every category, as the seat and head restraint only provided marginal protection against whiplash, in a rear-end collision situation.
The new Santa Fe achieved a good result for child protection, as well, recording a score of 89%. The very clear way in which information regarding the status of the airbags was presented to the driver was noted and praised by the Belgian testers - users are warned of the dangers of not deactivating the passenger airbag when fitting a child seat.
As for the the pedestrian safety category, the Santa Fe scored 71%, as the edge of the bonnet as well as the bottom of the windscreen were marked as marginal - the bumper did receive top marks, though. Also, thanks to the standard-fit ESP, seatbelt reminder and speed limiter, it achieved a score of 86% in the safety assist category - it would have been marked higher if it had seatbelt reminders for the rear occupants, as well.
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