Hyundai Kona shines in crash-test first

Hyundai’s Kona Electric has become the first electric vehicle (EV) to be crash-tested in Australia, achieving an ANCAP maximum 5-star safety rating in the process.

The car was subjected to a frontal offset crash test, carried out by Australasia’s independent vehicle safety authority ANCAP as an audit test of the 5-star Kona model line-up. When the Kona was tested in 2017 it was with a petrol engine.

Kona Electric’s score of 14.97 out of 16.00 from ANCAP was better than the 14.07 achieved by the petrol engine variant, and saw the vehicle maintain its top rating.

The frontal offset test simulates a head-on crash with another vehicle of the same mass, travelling at the same speed, a type of collision that represents 60 per cent of serious road crashes. September’s test saw 40 per cent of the front driver’s side of the Kona Electric plough into a crushable aluminium barrier at 64kph.

“Kona Electric’s pioneering position as the first ever EV crash-tested in Australia, and its continuing ANCAP maximum 5-star safety rating, further underscores Hyundai’s eco vehicle leadership,” says JW Lee, Hyundai Motor Company Australia chief executive officer.

Earlier in October, Hyundai NEXO became the first hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) tested by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, earning a TOP SAFETY PICK+ award. Prior to this, NEXO was also the first FCEV to achieve a maximum five-star overall rating in Euro NCAP’s safety test.