Five Hyundai and Genesis models earn top IIHS safety awards

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• The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Genesis G80 and G90, earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick+
• The Santa Fe and Sonata get the next-step-down Top Safety Pick
• The IIHS has updated two crash tests to help improve occupant safety

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Five Hyundai and Genesis models earn top IIHS safety awards Back to video

Hyundai and its upscale Genesis division have picked up five crash-test awards from the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5, and the 2024 Genesis G80 and G90 received the highest Top Safety Pick+ awards. The Hyundai Santa Fe and Sonata got the next-step-down Top Safety Pick trophies.

The non-profit IIHS updated two of its tests over the past few years. The side crash test now uses a larger barrier moving at higher speed, to better simulate being struck by a large SUV. The moderate overlap front crash test now assesses potential injury to a rear-seat passenger, as well as to those sitting in front.

Since it takes a lot of time and money to test large numbers of vehicles, the IIHS has been gradually incorporating scores from the new tests into its top awards. For 2024, a vehicle must rate the top Good or next-step-down Acceptable in the updated front test to earn a Top Safety Pick+, while a Good rating in the original test – without the rear-passenger assessment – will still earn a Top Safety Pick (and continuing that gradual rollout in coming years, expect only the highest ratings to eventually win the highest awards).

For both awards, the vehicle must also earn Acceptable or Good for its headlight performance in all trim levels; and Acceptable or Good in the revision pedestrian front crash prevention evaluation. This used to include separate daytime and nighttime ratings, but now the rating includes performance in both. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced that emergency front braking will be mandatory on all new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2029.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 rated the Top Pick+; it had previously earned a Top Safety Pick but has been upgraded due to the results of the updated front crash. The Hyundai Santa Fe earned Good in the original front test, but only Marginal in the updated test, which still allowed it to take a Top Safety Pick award. The Sonata also got that trophy on the strength of its Good rating in the original test, but scored Poor in the updated test.

The IIHS said that in the Ioniq 5, the rear dummy’s head “remained a safe distance from the front seatback,” and its sensors indicated “a low risk of head, neck or chest injuries.” In the Santa Fe, the second-row restraints “allowed the rear dummy’s head to approach the front seatback,” while the lap belt moved “from the ideal position on the pelvis onto the abdomen, which makes abdominal injuries more likely.” The Sonata’s lap belt also moved onto the abdomen, and the dummy’s sensors indicated “a high probability of injuries to the head or neck and the chest of the second-row occupant.”

The 2024 Genesis G80 and G90 earned the Top Safety Pick+ but it only applies to vehicles built after October 2023, when the automaker modified the rear seatbelts. These received Acceptable instead of Good in the updated front crash, due to the seatbelt moving onto the abdomen, but it’s still enough for the top award in 2024. Vehicles built prior to that date receive the Top Safety Pick but without the plus.

The automaker already has a full cabinet of IIHS awards. Previously-announced winners of the 2024 Top Safety Pick are the Hyundai Elantra, Tucson, Palisade, and Santa Cruz; and the Genesis GV70 and Electrified GV70. Winners of the Top Safety Pick+ are the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Kona; and the Genesis Electrified G80, GV60, and GV80.