2012 Hyundai Sonata

midsize car / 4-door sedan

2012 Hyundai Sonata 4-door sedan
2011 Hyundai Sonata shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Other available safety features

  • Standard daytime running lights

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2011-14 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-door

The Hyundai Sonata was redesigned for the 2011 model year. Hyundai subsequently made several modificatons to the front structure of the car since its introduction in early 2010, with the final change effective as of September 2010. Moderate overlap frontal tests conducted before and after the changes did not substantially affect the ratings, and Hyundai has stated the same is true for small overlap frontal tests, in which much of the front structure is bypassed by crash forces.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head contacted the frontal airbag but slid off the left side, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward side structure. The side curtain airbag did not deploy, also leaving the dummy’s head vulnerable to contact with side structure and outside objects.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was not maintained well.

The dummy’s head contacted the frontal airbag but then slid off the left side. The side curtain airbag did not deploy.

The door hinge pillar and parking brake was pushed back by the wheel and tire, and this intrusion contributed to a significant risk of injury to the left lower leg.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1219
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 24
Footrest (cm) 15
Left toepan (cm) 10
Brake pedal (cm) 6
Parking brake (cm) 28
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 8
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 5
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 15
Upper dash (cm) 18
Lower instrument panel (cm) 16

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1219
Head
HIC-15 123
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm) 15
Maximum Nij 0.25
Chest maximum compression (mm) 27
Femur (kN)
Left 1.6
Right 2.0
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 7
Right 3
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 1.09
Right 0.46
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 2.4
Right 1.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 130
Right 90

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2011-14 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-door

The Hyundai Sonata was redesigned for the 2011 model year. Hyundai subsequently made several modificatons to the front structure of the car since its introduction in early 2010, with the final change effective as of September 2010. Frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on two tests conducted by Hyundai as part of frontal crash test verification, before and after all structural changes were made. Because the frontal ratings were not substantially affected by the changes, the ratings are based on both tests.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF0909 VTF1022
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 4 2
Left (cm) 8 9
Center (cm) 10 9
Right (cm) 7 5
Brake pedal (cm) 11 10
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 1 1
Right (cm) 1 1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 0 2
Rearward (cm) -4 3
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 1 1

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF0909 VTF1022
Head
HIC-15 175 203
Peak gs at hard contact no contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3 1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm) 31 13
Maximum Nij 0.25 0.26
Chest maximum compression (mm) 25 33
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.2 0.2
Femur force - right (kN) 3.9 1.6
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 4 2
Maximum tibia index - left 0.27 0.34
Maximum tibia index - right 0.54 0.36
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.4 1.7
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.5 1.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 86 60
Right 114 75

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2011-14 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Hyundai Sonata was redesigned for the 2011 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES1001
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -11.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES1001
Head HIC-15 455
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.2
Compression (kN) 0.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 42
Lateral force (kN) 1.7
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 33
Average deflection (mm) 31
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.90
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.41
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.7
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.5
Combined force (kN) 4.2
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.1
L-M moment (Nm) 212
A-P moment (Nm) 73

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES1001
Head HIC-15 166
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.3
Compression (kN) 1.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 28
Lateral force (kN) 1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 37
Average deflection (mm) 32
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.83
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.57
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.7
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.6
Combined force (kN) 2.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.3
L-M moment (Nm) 151
A-P moment (Nm) -22

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2011-14 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 3,215 lbs
Peak force 15,736 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 4.89

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power cloth seat AHR

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Power cloth seat AHR
Geometry
Backset (mm) 44
Distance below top of head (mm) 36
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 12.3
Head contact time (ms) 60
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 43
Max neck tension (N) 489

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.