ANCAP has awarded a four-star safety rating for the Hyundai Palisade, applicable to all diesel LX2 models sold in Australia from November 2020.
According to ANCAP, Palisade achieved scores of 79 per cent for adult occupant protection, 88 per cent for child occupant protection, 63 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 63 per cent in the area of safety assist, with its adult occupant protection and safety assist scores limiting its ability to reach five stars. Respective score thresholds of 80 per cent and 70 per cent are required for five stars.
ANCAP said all other competing models in the large SUV segment hold a five-star safety rating.
“The Hyundai Palisade fell short in two of the four key areas of assessment which unfortunately has seen it unable to meet the top level of safety that families and fleets have come to expect,” said Carla Hoorweg, Chief Executive Officer of ANCAP.
According to ANCAP, the autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane keep assistance systems fitted to LX2 “lack the sophistication” of systems fitted to peer vehicles assessed to the same criteria, limiting its rating in the safety assist area of assessment. AEB Junction functionality, which helps avoid collisions in intersection turning-across-path scenarios, is not available. Multi-collision braking and a speed limit information system is also not available, while emergency lane keeping functionality is limited.
Regarding physical crash performance, a marginal score was achieved for the driver’s chest in the oblique pole test. The Palisade LX2 also lacks a centre airbag which ANCAP said can improve head protection for front seat occupants in side impact crashes. While not a prescribed prerequisite for a five-star rating, a centre airbag could potentially improve the model’s adult occupant protection score. ANCAP said Hyundai could also improve whiplash injury protection for second and third row occupants.
ANCAP said it understands Hyundai plans to introduce a mid-cycle update in the coming months, with Hyundai adding that it intended to have the updated model retested with the aim of securing a five-star assessment.
“ANCAP’s role is to provide clear, reliable and independent consumer information for the broadest possible range of popular selling models, and this rating and timing of the upcoming model update presents an opportunity for Hyundai to factor in the necessary safety-related upgrades to elevate the Palisade to five stars,” Hoorweg said.
“This is an extremely competitive market and segment so we’d encourage Hyundai to do what they can to bring the Palisade to equal footing with its competitors.
“Thirty-five of the 37 new models rated by ANCAP to our current 2020-2022 criteria, including the Hyundai Staria, Staria-Load, Tucson, and Ioniq 5, have achieved five-star ANCAP safety ratings, and this highlights the great work Hyundai and other vehicle manufacturers are doing to prioritise safety and provide their customers with the safest vehicles they can.”