Hyundai Motor Company has announced that the Elantra and Tucson have been awarded the highest rating of ‘Top Safety Pick Plus’ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
This year, Hyundai has seen a total of five models receiving the TSP+ rating under the enhanced evaluation criteria, including the ▲Palisade ▲Ionic 6 ▲Ionic 5, in addition to the ▲Elantra ▲Tucson, reaffirming its leading position in crash safety and prevention performance.
The significance of this crash test result lies in the fact that it meets the newly strengthened evaluation criteria that have been implemented this year.
Starting this year, the evaluation criteria for side impact and pedestrian collision prevention have been raised significantly, and the headlight assessment criteria have been made stricter, making it more challenging to achieve a high rating.
The side impact test now involves heavier objects colliding with vehicles and at higher speeds than before. (Collision object weight increased from approximately 1,497kg to about 1,896kg, collision speed increased from about 49.8 km/h to approximately 59.5 km/h, with impact energy increasing by 82%)
Moreover, the pedestrian collision prevention evaluation now includes nighttime testing, a first of its kind, and headlight evaluations must receive at least an ‘acceptable’ rating across all trims of vehicles to achieve TSP and TSP+ status.
To earn the TSP+ rating, a vehicle must attain the highest grade of ‘Excellent’ in four categories of crash safety assessments: ▲Driver-side small overlap ▲Passenger-side small overlap ▲Front impact ▲Side impact.
The vehicle must score ‘Good’ or higher in daytime/nighttime forward collision prevention system tests (with vehicles and pedestrians), and the headlight evaluation must also score ‘Acceptable’ or better across all trims.
Founded in 1959, the IIHS is a non-profit organization that comprehensively assesses the crash stability and prevention performance of vehicles released in the US market each year and announces the results.
Vehicles that demonstrate the highest safety levels are awarded the TSP+ rating, while those with satisfactory performance earn the TSP rating.
Brian Latof, Hyundai’s Global Chief Safety Officer, expressed, “It is a privilege that our popular North American models, the Elantra and Tucson, have both received the TSP+ rating. Hyundai prioritizes customer safety in the development of all its vehicles.”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr