Hyundai Genesis Earns Top Safety Pick Alongside Mercedes-Benz E-Class

SYDNEY – May 17, 2010: Hyundai Motor Company's award winning Genesis sedan continues to rack up the accolades with the 2010 model receiving a 'TOP SAFETY PICK' rating from the U.S.A.'s Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This highly respected award recognises vehicles that earn the top rating of "good" for front, side, rollover, and rear crash protection*. Additionally, to earn a 'TOP SAFETY PICK' the vehicle must have Electronic Stability Control (ESC), a standard feature on the Hyundai Genesis.

Maintaining Hyundai's emphasis on delivering industry leading safety technology, Genesis boasts world-class active and passive safety features to help both prevent accidents, and provide optimum occupant wellbeing in the event of a collision. The Genesis continues the Hyundai tradition of standardising safety technology across the range including premium features such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), eight airbags and front row active head restraints.

Hyundai Genesis sedan earned the 'Top Safety Pick' in 2009, but this year the standards were raised even higher for 2010, with a roof strength test added to the procedures.

The new guidelines require the roof to withstand more than two times the strength of current U.S. federal requirements in order to properly maintain the vehicle's integrity in a rollover accident. Hyundai made adjustments to the Genesis roof structure to improve protection in rollover crashes and meet this new standard.

The other IIHS 'TOP SAFETY PICK' standards are stringent as well - the institute's frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph (64kph) frontal offset crash tests, with side evaluations based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph (50 kph). The rear crash test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph (32 kph), and in order to earn the IIHS' top rating of good in the rollover test, a vehicle's roof must be able to support four times the vehicle's weight without compressing more than 12.7cm.

Hyundai Genesis and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class both took out honours in the 'Large Car Segment' for 2010. The award recognises Genesis vehicles built after January 2010 and Mercedes E-class vehicles built after March 2010. Other vehicles in the class included Buick LaCrosse, Ford Taurus, Lincoln MKS and Volvo S80.