Hyundai Santa Fe, Ford Focus, Jaguar I-Pace, Genesis G70 received five-star ANCAP results

Hyundai Santa Fe, Ford Focus, Jaguar I-Pace, Genesis G70 get five-star ANCAP results

New ANCAP testing gave the Santa Fe five stars despite having a faulty airbag during testing.

An airbag failure during crash testing prompted a safety recall from Hyundai of the new Santa Fe SUV, and despite the impact on its protection rating, it still received five stars in the latest round of Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) testing.

ANCAP said tests conducted by Euro NCAP last month showed that the side airbag did not deploy properly after it tore a mounting bolt and then caught on a seat belt anchor.

Hyundai immediately made production changes and announced a recall, then reintroduced the Santa Fe, launched in July in Australia and sold 666 units, for new testing.

ANCAP reported that while new tests showed no airbag rupture, it still caught on the upper seat belt anchor on the C-pillar and failed to deploy properly. Subsequently, Hyundai installed a protective cover on the seat belt anchor bolt.

The result lowered the SUV's adult occupant protection score from an excellent score of 37.89 out of a possible 38 to 35.89. The result is still within the five-star safety rating in the side impact and oblique pole tests.

Hyundai immediately made changes to the Santa FE and recalled it.

The ANCAP reported this week that the Santa Fe was one of four vehicles to receive a five-star rating in the latest tests based on Euro NCAP analysis.

Hyundai joins the new Ford Focus, Jaguar I-Pace and Genesis G70 with top marks.

On November 8, Hyundai Motor Company Australia posted a vehicle recall notice on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recall website stating that a deployed curtain airbag may interfere with seat belt attachment.

In a statement, Hyundai stated that some vehicles may have damage to the rear side curtain airbag when the airbag is deployed and that the seatbelt mounting bolt may damage the fabric of the airbag.

“The airbag may not provide optimal protection and may result in serious injury to the rear passenger,” Hyundai said in a recall notice.

ANCAP chief executive James Goodwin said Euro NCAP identified two problems with curtain airbag deployment on Santa Fe models with panoramic roofs: an airbag rupture and airbag clogging with a seatbelt anchor bolt.

He said penalties were applied to side impact scoring and oblique pole trials to reflect the increased risk of head injury.

“ANCAP has notified the Australian Vehicle Standards Regulator of the issue, leading to a vehicle recall in the country to fix models already in service. Hyundai has implemented a production change for the new models,” Mr. Goodwin said.

Evaluating the safety rating of the new Santa Fe, Mr. Goodwin said the seven-seat SUV does not have top cable attachment points for the third row of seats.

But he praised it for a new occupant detection device that alerts the driver when leaving the car if a passenger is detected in the back seat. This reduces the chance of an infant or small child being left unattended in the vehicle.

In regards to other ANCAP results, Mr. Goodwin said the new Focus subcompact performed well, scoring maximum points in child protection testing and automatic emergency braking (AEB) for both forward and reverse.

ANCAP also awarded five stars to all versions of the Jaguar I-Pace battery-electric vehicle, one of the few cars equipped with an external airbag for enhanced pedestrian protection.

The new Genesis G70 also received a five-star rating, but received a "poor" rating for rear passenger's pelvis protection in the full width crash test and "marginal" ratings for driver protection in the tilt support test and the whiplash test.