The 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport in Charlotte is a desirable crossover for many reasons. Maybe you’re attracted to its plethora of equipment and package upgrades, or maybe it’s the turbo engine found on the 2.0T trim. For some, it’s most likely the safety ratings. Since the Santa Fe Sport is a five-star safety vehicle in the NHTSA crash tests, it leaps ahead of some of the other vehicles in its class, and sits right up front. It didn’t just gain attention with the NHTSA either, and also received a few “Good” ratings in the IIHS crash tests — which is the highest score it could possibly earn in any category.
Thanks to such a well-structured design, the Santa Fe Sport was able to score high in both of these categories. However, crash tests in the lab are much different than on the road. This means Hyundai needed to incorporate more advanced safety features to help prevent and protect against a collision. Since the tests don’t take into account the majority of those safety features, it’s important to look at this vehicle from a real-world perspective as well.
In the Lab
In the lab, the Santa Fe Sport obviously did quite well for itself. As far as the NHTSA is concerned, the Santa Fe Sport is a five-star vehicle. It was able to score five-stars in frontal crash and side crash tests, along with four-stars in a rollover test. While that might seem like it ruins its perfect score, it actually doesn’t. If you think about it, any vehicle is prone to rolling over. Obviously, trucks and SUVs have a higher chance, so for a smaller crossover SUV like the Sport to earn a four-star rating, that means it has much less of a chance of rolling over than some of the other vehicles out there.
IIHS
While the 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport scored good in multiple categories, it’s not the Tucson. It didn’t get a perfect rating of Good across the board with a Superior in front crash prevention. In order to make up for this though, it got a top score of Good in moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraints & seats. As far as front crash prevention goes, that test wasn’t even available — seeing as the Santa Fe Sport doesn’t have the proper technology equipped.
Why then, is the Santa Fe Sport such a good vehicle when it comes to safety? Because, even if the Santa Fe Sport isn’t strong when it comes to the small overlap front area, it’s still a vehicle that’s able to get a top score in all of the other categories.
On the Road
Even if it is lacking front crash prevention safety technology, the Santa Fe Sport still has plenty of other advanced features on board.
But before we get into those, let’s take a look at its standard features. These are the features that you find on most other vehicles, but are still necessary in order to stay safe during a collision. Antilock disc brakes, traction and stability control, front seat side airbags, side curtain airbags, a driver knee airbag, and active front head restraints are all present. There are enough airbags in there to create a pillow-fort of safety in the event of a collision. The Santa Fe Sport also comes with a hill-holder feature, and hill descent control – both of which make driving easier and stress free when on a steep decline.
Optional
What’s important to understand about these optional features, is that most of them come standard on the 2.0T trim. So if you want to get the most safety out of your Santa Fe Sport, then upgrading to the 2.0T is the way to go.
A rearview camera is always a safe and convenient add-on, and if you couple that with rear cross-traffic alert technology, backing up will be easier than ever. You’ll be able to have a full field of view thanks to the rearview camera, and rear cross-traffic alert will warn you of any traffic that might be crossing behind your vehicle from the left or right sides. That way, you are able to back out onto a busy street or into a crowded parking lot with confidence.
Speaking of driving with confidence, there is also a blind-spot monitoring system that is optional on the base trim or standard on the 2.0T. This system will use radar to detect any vehicles that might be in your blind spot. If any are detected, the system will provide a warning to let you know it isn’t safe to change lanes or turn at that moment.
Another notable safety feature is the Hyundai’s Blue Link telematics system, which is a system that deals with everything not related to crash prevention. Roadside assistance, crash response, and remote door lock control are rolled into this feature, along with electronic parameters that parents can use for their teenage drivers. Breaching a set speed, curfew, or geographical perimeter will alert the parents, so they know when, where, and what happened when their son or daughter had the Santa Fe Sport out for a spin.
While it might lack forward crash prevention, the 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport still has plenty of advanced safety features to help keep you and yours safe. The teen driver safety technology is nice to see, and that feature alone makes the Santa Fe Sport worth it. But if you need more convincing, swing by Keffer Hyundai and ask the sales team to hook you up with a test drive. Sometimes seeing is believing and we’re sure that once you see how safe and sound the Santa Fe Sport makes your driving experience, you’ll be ready to make that purchase.
