2010 Genesis Sedan Earns IIHS 'Top Safety Pick'

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May 14, 2010, 10:00 ET

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hyundai Genesis sedan continues to rack up the accolades with the 2010 model year receiving a "TOP SAFETY PICK" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The award recognizes vehicles that earn the top rating of "good" for front, side, rollover, and rear crash protection. Additionally, to earn a "TOP SAFETY PICK" the vehicle must have Electronic Stability Control (ESC), a standard feature on the Genesis.

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Maintaining Hyundai's emphasis on delivering leading safety technology, Genesis boasts world-class active and passive safety features to help both prevent accidents and maximize the wellbeing of its occupants in the event of a collision. The Genesis continues the Hyundai tradition of standardizing key life-saving safety technology, and includes standard features like ESC, Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), eight airbags and electronic active head restraints.

"Genesis was designed to be one of the safest vehicles on the road and includes features such as ESC and Hyundai's first electronic active front head restraint system, which helps prevent whiplash," said Derek Joyce, manager of product planning, Hyundai Motor America.

While the 2009 Genesis model was also named as an IIHS "TOP SAFETY PICK," the standards were raised even higher for 2010, with a roof strength test added to the qualifications. According to the new guidelines, roofs must be more than double the strength of current federal requirements in order to better maintain vehicle integrity in the event of a rollover accident. Hyundai made adjustments to the Genesis roof structure to improve protection in rollover crashes and meet this new standard.

The other IIHS "TOP SAFETY PICK" standards are stringent as well — the institute's frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. Each vehicle's overall evaluation is based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, injury measures recorded on a dummy representing a 50th percentile male in the driver seat, and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraint system controlled dummy movement during the test.

Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph. The barrier represents the front end of a pickup or SUV. Ratings reflect injury measures recorded on two instrumented dummies representing a small female, assessment of head protection countermeasures, and the vehicle's structural performance during the impact.

Rear crash protection is rated according to a two-step procedure. Starting points for the ratings are measurements of head restraint geometry — the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man. Seat/head restraints with good or acceptable geometry are tested dynamically using a dummy that measures forces on the neck. This test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through almost 800 dealerships nationwide. All Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program which now includes the 5-year/60,000-mile fully transferable new vehicle warranty, Hyundai's 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty and 5-year complimentary Roadside Assistance in addition to the highly acclaimed vehicle return policy introduced in early 2009. For more details on Hyundai Assurance, please visit www.HyundaiAssurance.com.

SOURCE Hyundai Motor America