Santa Fe Scoops Top Safety Honours

Now customers have an added incentive to purchase a new Santa Fe - it has been named "safest vehicle in class" by the Euro Ncap 2012.

The independent vehicle assessment organisation names its as the best vehicle in the "Large Off-Road 4x4" segment – ahead of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class and Range Rover.

Active bonnet

In the "adult occupant" category, the model scored 96% with maximum points in the side barrier test.  In the "child occupant" category, the SUV scored 89% and 86% in the "safety assist" category.

The new Santa Fe is the automaker's first vehicle to be equipped with an active bonnet: if a pedestrian is struck the system reduces impact and the risk of serious injury. The active bonnet earned the model 71% in the "pedestrian safety" category with its closest rival scoring 63%.

Allan Rushforth, senior vice-president of Hyundai Europe, commented: “Having the new Santa Fe recommended by Euro Ncap as the safest in its class demonstrates Hyundai’s commitment to the safety of its customers and other road-users. The car’s inherent, combined with low CO2 emmissions, high levels of equipment and emotional design make it the complete package.”

The 2013 Santa Fe is the latest of a long line of Hyundai models to achieve maximum five-star rating in Euro Ncap’s rigorous assessment programme,; the other are the i20, ix20, ix35, i40, Veloster and the i30.