2015 Hyundai Genesis: Five-Star Scores, The Safest Car On The Market?

 

                    

By feedback@highgearmedia.com (Bengt Halvorson)           

        

2015 Hyundai Genesis IIHS Top Safety Pick+

Is the 2015 Hyundai Genesis Sedan one of the safest sedans on the market?

Going by currently available crash-test results and safety ratings, it's one of the safest picks among roomy sedans, that's for sure. The federal government has crash-tested the 2015 Hyundai Genesis Sedan and released a full set of NCAP ratings—and the Genesis Sedan has a flush of five-star ratings.

The all-new Genesis Sedan earns the top five-star rating for frontal, side crash, and rollover categories—and in nearly all subcategories, including the side pole test, which simulates a 20-mph sideways collision with a utility pole or tree. The only exception where the Genesis earned four stars, rather than five, in the government's subcategories was for driver front-seat protection, in the 38.5-mph side barrier test.

The Genesis Sedan has already earned top-tier scores from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), with the best 'good' results even in the tough small overlap frontal category.

To be fair, neither of the U.S. crash-test agencies test many premium luxury sedans—of the type that the Genesis competes against, at least in part. And while it might not quite reach the test perfection found of the Tesla Model S, it is better-loaded with active-safety features than the Tesla or just about any other vehicle the feds have tested.

The IIHS has also rated the Genesis Sedan 'superior' in front crash prevention, when equipped with the optional Tech Package and its forward collision warning with Automatic Emergency Braking.

That system in the 2015 Hyundai Genesis Sedan can apply full braking at speeds of 5 to 40 mph, or partial braking at 50 to 112 mph—warning the driver and either lessening the severity of an impact or avoiding it completely.

The Genesis can also be equipped with a suite of active-safety features that includes Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, and Lane Change Assist, as well as a Lane Departure Warning System and Lane Keep Assist. Many of those features include haptic feedback through the steering wheel, and Lane Keep Assist will actually make steering adjustments (as demonstrated by some recent hijinks) to keep you in your lane for short intervals.