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NEWS
Hyundai Genesis sets new safety benchmark
New large sedan achieves highest ANCAP safety score ever, but isn't as efficient as its chief rivalsHyundai's Genesis sedan has come up trumps for safety, achieving the highest score in the 21-year history of the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP).
In a crash test conducted recently by the safety authority, the large rear-wheel drive sedan -- which is due on sale here in November, priced from under $60,000 -- scored 36.88 points out of a possible 37 for a maximum five-star rating.
The Genesis scored 15.88 out of 16 points in the 64km/h frontal offset test, 16 out of 16 in the 50km/h side impact test, two out of two in the 29km/h pole test and a 'good' rating in the whiplash test simulating a 32km/h rear-end crash.
It also underwent a 40km/h pedestrian impact protection test and met the minimum number of active safety assist technologies (SATs) required, attracting praise from ANCAP for its comprehensive level of standard safety equipment – much of which is aimed at bolstering primary safety, the vehicle's ability to avoid an accident in the first place.
ANCAP has been vocal in recent months concerning the lack of AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) in cars that feature the safety technology in other markets. There's no such problem in that regard with the Genesis, however, says ANCAP Chairman, Lauchlan McIntosh.
"The Genesis is Hyundai's flagship model and as such offers a high level of physical crashworthiness and excellent safety features as standard," McIntosh was quoted saying in a press release.
"This is one of the first times we have seen the word 'Standard' listed against almost every safety feature on our checklist. Importantly, autonomous emergency braking is one of these standard features – one that has recently been left off many new models hitting our shores."
Among the features that will be standard for the 3.8-litre V6, rear-wheel drive large sedan when it goes on sale here next month, will be nine airbags, a pedestrian-protecting pop-up bonnet, adaptive cruise control, adaptive headlights, AEB, daytime running lights, emergency stop lighting, lane-keeping system, pre-safe systems, reverse collision avoidance and tyre pressure monitoring.
"Historically, consumers have been encouraged to seek out features like ABS and ESC but with manufacturers now developing and rolling out SATs [Safety Assist Technology] at a rapid pace, consumers will soon be just as familiar with, and demand, these important life-saving technologies."
"Active safety systems are the future of vehicle safety. ANCAP is encouraging consumers to learn more about the benefits of these safety systems and ask for them when they buy their next car," McIntosh concluded.
As laudable as the safety systems on board the Genesis are, however, they do contribute to the large Hyundai's hefty weight (expected to be around 1875kg), which in turn drags down fuel economy. According to the Green Vehicle Guide, the direct-injected V6 slurps through 91 RON fuel at the rate of 11.2L/100km in the standard combined-cycle test.
The car's eight-speed automatic transmission helps reduce fuel consumption at highway speeds (8.6L/100km in the extra-urban cycle), but in the urban cycle fuel use is as much as 15.7L/100km. That's significantly more than fuel consumption figures for locally-manufactured large cars of similar bulk.
Hyundai has an interesting challenge ahead of it introducing the Genesis to a cynical market – on multiple fronts. But safety counts for a lot in purchasing decisions...
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Written byCarsales Staff
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