Hyundai Tucson now safer

Modifications to Hyundai's Tucson just months after its Australian release in August have resulted in a five-star ANCAP safety rating for the near-new mid-size SUV.

The Tucson was awarded a shock four-star ANCAP crash rating in November, when Hyundai said it was already working on a fix to restore the maximum five-star rating for its entire passenger car range (excluding the iMAX and iLoad vans).

At the time, ANCAP said the "disappointing and unexpected" result for the relatively new member of one of Australia's most popular vehicle types was due to poor front occupant protection after lower leg safety for the driver was rated 'marginal' in the 64km/h frontal offset crash test, scoring just 0.41 points out of four.

"Testing revealed the structural integrity of the driver footwell was compromised in the frontal offset test and there was also excessive movement of the brake pedal, meaning the vehicle could not achieve five stars," said ANCAP.

ANCAP pointed out that the left-hand drive Tucson recently tested by Euro NCAP scored five stars "due to differences in the crash performance as well as a higher standard of safety features, including a pop-up bonnet to improve pedestrian safety, which are not available to consumers in Australasia".

Hyundai said the results of the original crash test in September fell short of those achieved by its own in-house testing and Euro NCAP.

Now, a number of small but apparently effective design changes have lifted the Tucson's ANCAP crash rating to the maximum five stars following a retest.

"Strengthening modifications were made [in] the driver's foot well as well as a minor redesign to the brake pedal mount to control its movement," said Hyundai Australia.

"We have quickly addressed the issue and the vehicle is now five-star ANCAP-rated."

The running changes were put into production within a week of ANCAP's official Tucson rating release on November 11, with Australia's upgraded Tucson ActiveX entering production in South Korea on November 17, and revised versions of the Active, Elite and Highlander variants commencing production in the Czech Republic on December 16.

Hyundai said a team of engineers from its R&D centre in Namyang flew to Australia in mid-September to examine the vehicle shortly after the original test. A redesign was validated and put into production by mid-November.

However, motoring.com.au understands that no upgraded Tucsons have yet arrived in dealerships, meaning all vehicles either sold or available for sale are either four-star ANCAP-rated (2.0-litre GDi variants) or are unrated.

"It is encouraging to see Hyundai make a number of design and production changes to improve the safety of the vehicle and we commend them for acting quickly to implement the improvements," said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer James Goodwin.

"The changes significantly improved the vehicle's performance in the frontal offset test which would reduce the possibility of injury to occupants in the event of a crash.

"This is a positive example of the importance of local, independent testing and ANCAP working proactively with vehicle brands to ensure we have the safest vehicles on the Australasian market.

"Consumers considering purchasing a new or used Tucson should check the build date to avoid any confusion over the ANCAP safety rating," he said.

Hyundai's Australian COO Scott Grant said the episode was an example of the Korean car maker's continuous improvement.

"We are pleased that the Tucson has now been awarded a five-star safety rating by ANCAP," he said.

"The Australian score now matches the five stars awarded to Tucson in Europe by Euro NCAP, and is also in line with the maximum safety score achieved by Tucson in the United States, where the vehicle earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick award for its exemplary crash performance.

"Our vehicles are continually improved throughout their production cycles, and this is an example of that development process in action.

"The fast work in bringing Tucson to five stars in Australia is a clear indication of our commitment to the highest safety standards – Tucson is a strong, safe vehicle and following this result, the Australian range of Hyundai passenger cars and SUVs remains five-star rated across the board."

For the record, the upgraded Tucson achieves 14.53 out of 16 for the front offset crash test, 16 out of 16 for the side impact test, two out of two for the pole test and an overall score of 35.53 out of 37. ANCAP deems it offers 'good' whiplash protection and 'marginal' pedestrian protection.