2024 Hyundai Kona scores four-star ANCAP safety assessment: MG ZS and Mazda CX-30 rival misses maximum five stars due to "mixed" crash test results

Independent safety body ANCAP has awarded Hyundai’s recently released, second-generation Kona SUV a four- out of five-star rating for models sold in Australia and New Zealand.

The assessment covers petrol, hybrid and pure-electric variants of the small SUV, with ANCAP pointing to “mixed levels of physical occupant protection, pedestrian protection and collision avoidance capability” stopping the car from scoring a maximum five-star rating.

ANCAP ratings are an important check item on consumers’ new-vehicle shopping lists and often a five-star rating is mandatory for commercial and government fleet managers.

Read More About Hyundai Kona

2024 Hyundai Kona Electric - second-generation electric car becomes more affordable and scores longer range to challenge MG ZS EV and BYD Atto 3 SUVs Hyundai Kona 2024 review: Hybrid Hyundai Kona 2024 review: 2.0 Premium

Scores are compiled across four areas - Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety Assist. The Kona scored 80 per cent, 84 per cent, 64 per cent and 62 per cent across the four categories, respectively.

Individual systems are ranked against ‘Good’, ‘Adequate’, ‘Marginal’, ‘Weak’ and ‘Poor’ descriptions. 

On the plus side, the Kona scored maximum points for protection of the driver in side impact and oblique pole tests. But protection of the driver’s chest in the full width frontal test was assessed as Weak.

The four- out of five-star rating covers petrol, hybrid and pure-electric variants of the Kona.

In fact, ANCAP says, “The driver dummy was observed to slip beneath the lap portion of the seatbelt in the full width test with crash forces transferred across the abdomen, and a scoring penalty applied for higher abdominal injury risk.”

ANCAP’S report also noted the Kona “was limited to four-stars due to its performance in the assessment areas of Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety Assist, where thresholds of 70% apply to qualify for five-stars”. 

The body’s current 2023-2025 protocols demand that to be rated at five stars a vehicle must score 80 per cent in the adult and child occupant protection categories and 70 per cent in vulnerable road user and safety assist.

The Kona scored maximum points for protection of the driver in side impact and oblique pole tests.

Critically, the requirement for Vulnerable Road User Protection was previously 60 per cent, with the Kona scoring 64 per cent in that area.

Key active crash-avoidance features were assessed as adequate (AEB and emerging lane keeping) with motorcycle test scenarios rated as Good, although the car’s overall Safety Assist rating was 62 per cent.

Hyundai Australia is not commenting on the Kona’s ANCAP test results.