Five-star safety rating unlikely for Hyundai Kona in Australia

The 2024 Hyundai Kona will likely not be sold in Australia with a five-star safety rating, having missed out on top marks in tests run by the local organisation’s European counterpart.

Earlier this week, Euro NCAP – the overseas organisation closely related to the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) – announced Hyundai's new Kona had received a four-star safety rating, having been tested under the organisation’s more stringent, new-for-2023 protocols.

The previous-generation Hyundai Kona was rated as a five-star model when it launched in 2017, though this was due to weaker test protocols which have since been superseded by two new iterations.

Euro NCAP’s report shows the Kona only just achieved the minimum requirement of an 80 per cent score for a five-star result for its Adult Occupant Protection capabilities, but Hyundai’s small SUV fell below the 70 per cent marker for Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety Assist systems.

A 60 per cent result in the Safety Assist criteria brought the Hyundai Kona within one per cent of receiving an overall three-star rating, as the whole vehicle’s scores are based on its worst category.

The low scores were largely due to the SUV taking marginal results for its car-to-car autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system, as well as not being equipped with an AEB junction assist function.

In a media statement, Euro NCAP said the Kona’s result was a “real disappointment”, declaring Hyundai’s SUV was “lucky to avoid three stars”.

“Hyundai has made the car larger and its interior bigger to compete within its class, but the company should not assume that its customers are content with a level of safety which lags behind its competitors.”

While ANCAP is yet to formally release a star rating for the 2024 Hyundai Kona, the SUV is unlikely to take a five-star result as the Australian organisation largely bases its ratings from those issued by its European counterpart.

For example, the BMW 5 Series’ ANCAP score was identical to Euro NCAP for its Adult Occupant and Vulnerable Road User Protection scores, though the local organisation awarded an extra two per cent for Child Occupant Protection and three per cent more for its Safety Assist systems.

ANCAP has also traditionally been more publicly critical than Euro ANCAP if a vehicle misses out on a five-star rating.

Euro NCAP’s website shows a four-star vehicle shows, “Overall good performance in crash protection and all round; additional crash avoidance technology may be present.”

However, ANCAP’s language is more aggressive, saying a four-star car, “provides an adequate level of safety performance yet fell short in one or more key assessment areas.

“(A four-star car) May present a higher injury risk to occupants and/or other road users in certain scenarios or have a reduced ability to avoid a crash.”

The new Hyundai Kona arrived in Australian showrooms from June 2023, with its choice of petrol and hybrid power reflecting the choices tested by Euro NCAP.