The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has granted Top Safety Pick awards to both the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe powered by internal combustion engines. However, there’s a distinction between the accolades they received.
The Ioniq 5 earned the Top Safety Pick+ designation due to its superior performance in the updated moderate overlap front crash test, where it achieved a good rating. In contrast, Santa Fe only managed a marginal rating in the same test, leading to its Top Safety Pick status.
Hyundai has room for enhancement with the redesigned Santa Fe, particularly in areas such as headlight performance and the ease of use of the LATCH system for child seats. Despite featuring projector-style LEDs and high-beam assist, Santa Fe’s headlights exhibited inadequate visibility in certain scenarios.
Additionally, the lower anchors of the second-row seats, tested in the SE AWD and XRT trims, were found to be situated too deeply in the seats.
Interested customers can acquire the SE version starting at $33,950 for the front-wheel-drive model, with an additional $1,800 for the HTRAC all-wheel-drive variant, offering slightly reduced fuel efficiency at 28 miles per gallon on the highway compared to the front-wheel-drive’s 29 miles per gallon.
The Ioniq 5, which retained its Top Safety Pick+ status from the prior model year, earned acceptable ratings in three categories by the IIHS. While the Limited grade showcased improved LED projector headlights, the SE and SEL variants faced criticism for inadequate visibility on specific curves. Similarly, the LATCH lower anchors in the Ioniq 5 were noted to be located too deep in the seats.
With a starting price of $41,800, the Ioniq 5 offers impressive performance, boasting up to 320 horsepower and a driving range of 303 miles. Hyundai also introduced a high-performance variant, the Ioniq 5 N, for the 2025 model year, priced at $66,100, albeit with a reduced driving range of 221 miles due to performance enhancements.
