Top Safety Pick

2009 Hyundai Santa Fe

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Head restraints & seats

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.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2007-12 models

Tested vehicle: 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 4-door 4wd

The Hyundai Santa Fe was redesigned for the 2007 model year. Its size and weight have increased sufficiently to reclassify it as a midsize SUV. (Earlier models were classified as small SUVs.) Frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Hyundai.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
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

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF0607
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	6
Left (cm)	10
Center (cm)	13
Right (cm)	12
Brake pedal (cm)	10
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	3
Right (cm)	3
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	3
Rearward (cm)	-1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	1

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF0607
Head
HIC-15	234
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm)	17
Maximum Nij	0.31
Chest maximum compression (mm)	29
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	5.1
Femur force - right (kN)	3.8
Knee displacement - left (mm)	1
Knee displacement - right (mm)	1
Maximum tibia index - left	0.53
Maximum tibia index - right	0.46
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	2.9
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	2.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	80
Right	76

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2007-12 models built after March 2007

Tested vehicle: 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe SE 4-door 4wd with standard head curtain airbags for all three rows of seats and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Hyundai Santa Fe was redesigned for the 2007 model year. Beginning with 2007 models built after March 2007, minor design changes were made to the side curtain airbags to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
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.

Side curtain airbags like the one in Santa Fe are an important side impact crashworthiness feature.

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

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	CES0713
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-10.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0713
Head HIC-15	133
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.4
Compression (kN)	0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	35
Lateral force (kN)	1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	39
Average deflection (mm)	32
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	4.77
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.65
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	3.2
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.3
Combined force (kN)	4.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.2
L-M moment (Nm)	76
A-P moment (Nm)	48

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0713
Head HIC-15	64
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.2
Compression (kN)	0.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	31
Lateral force (kN)	2.0
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	41
Average deflection (mm)	31
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.07
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.43
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.8
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.2
Combined force (kN)	2.7
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.9
L-M moment (Nm)	73
A-P moment (Nm)	-27

About the original side crash test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats AHR

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Manual cloth seats AHR
Geometry
Backset (mm)	28
Distance below top of head (mm)	35
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	11.0
Head contact time (ms)	54
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	61
Max neck tension (N)	408

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