New Hyundai Tucson Crash-Tests Into 3-Star Rating in South America

With Hyundai claiming that the new Tucson is “better and safer,” the safety specialists operating in South America decided to see if that is true, so they subjected it to their assessment program.

Thanks to the added standard safety gear, such as the side and curtain airbags, three-point seatbelts in all positions with reminder for the person riding shotgun, ESC, and speed limiter, the compact crossover scored a three-star rating. It achieved 81.61% in the Adult Occupant, 69.53% in Child Occupant, 48.40% in Pedestrian Protection, and 55.81% in the Safety Assist, up from its predecessor’s 50.23%, 5.34%, 48.40%, and 6.98% respectively.

“It is encouraging to see manufacturers like Hyundai reacting so fast, and positively to Latin NCAP’s tests, and we hope that this strategy is also followed in other popular models of the manufacturer,” said Latin NCAP’s Secretary General, Alejandro Furas. “This test also shows that claims of so-called new models or replacement models can be misleading, and do not necessary mean safer performances unless they are developed and equipped for such thing.”

Besides the tests endured by the previous generation, the new Tucson was evaluated in the side pole impact, moose test, and speed assist, and has had its ESC assessed too. Latin NCAP claims that it showed “satisfactory performance,” with “good” ratings for the optional lane support, autonomous emergency braking, and road edge detection equipment.

“We welcome Hyundai’s decision to improve Tucson’s safety, even though it just reached 3 stars,” commented Chairman Stephan Brodziak. “Along the same line, there are improvement opportunities for the brand for its most popular models. We hope that soon all Hyundai models will achieve a rating equal to or higher than what we see today with the Tucson.”