Hyundai Ioniq, Audi Q2, Ford Edge Lead The Way With 5 Stars From Euro NCAP

Euro NCAP has just published its latest round of safety ratings, its last for 2016, with five cars having undergone evaluation. Leading the way with maximum ratings of 5 stars are the Hyundai Ioniq, Audi Q2, and Ford Edge.

Two other cars, the Suzuki Ignis and Ssangyong Tivoli, were given dual ratings in line with new Euro NCAP policy effective April 2016 that allows cars to be given one safety rating based on its basic spec and a second rating when tested with the vehicle’s full complement of optional safety features.

Both the Ignis and Tivoli received base ratings of 3 stars, but Ignis managed a maximum score of 5 stars when tested with its full safety pack; the Tivoli could only manage 4 stars when tested with its optional safety pack.

At present, the Hyundai Ioniq is the only vehicle out of the five tested this round that is currently offered in Malaysia having just been launched here only yesterday. In its Euro NCAP test, the Ioniq secured top marks in the four aspects which it was tested in – Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Pedestrian, and Safety Assist.

As tested in its European specification, the Ioniq carries a long list of safety features that includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning (LDWS), lane keeping assist (LKAS), and active cruise control (SCC).

In Malaysia, the Ioniq comes standard with seven airbags and electronic stability control, but the likes of AEB, LDWS, LKAS, and SCC only appear in the costlier HEV Plus variant. The HEV Plus variant also additionally gets blind spot warning, which is packaged to include rear cross traffic alert as well.

Most of the Ioniq’s advanced safety features were thoroughly evaluated by Euro NCAP. The AEB system was described as providing good overall performance, whilst the lane keeping assist and lane departure warning systems were said to ‘pass all tests successfully’.

Locally-assembled for the Malaysian market, the Hyundai Ioniq is priced from RM103,390 for the base HEV model and rises to RM114,165 for the HEV Plus variant. Prices indicated are on-the-road with insurance for private registration in Peninsular Malaysia.