ANCAP gives 5 stars to Genesis sedan

Hyundai's upcoming Genesis flagship sedan has been awarded ANCAP’s maximum five-star safety rating.

ANCAP has given the soon to be released Hyundai Genesis sedan a five-star safety rating after it scored highly across all areas in the assessment process.

The new Genesis sedan is Hyundai’s attempt to rival the luxury sedans offered by prestige European manufacturers like BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

This is the first time we have seen the word 'standard' listed against every safety feature on our checklist

The Genesis scored the maximum 16 points for the side impact test, maximum two points for the side pole test and maximum three points for seat belt warnings.

The only area where the Genesis didn’t score the maximum was in the front impact test, where the steering wheel could pose an injury risk for the driver’s upper legs.

Overall, the Genesis scored 36.88 out of a possible 37.

Aside from the structural integrity needed to pass crash tests, ANCAP said the inclusion of a number of technological assistance systems as standard fitment gave the driver and passengers high levels of protection.

"This is the first time we have seen the word 'standard' listed against every safety feature on our checklist," ANCAP Chairman Lauchlan McIntosh said.

These standard safety features include a pedestrian-cushioning active bonnet, adaptive cruise control, adaptive front lighting, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), daytime running lights, emergency stop signalling, lane support system, reversing collision avoidance, and tyre pressure monitoring.

Although the Genesis has been available overseas - in left-hand drive only - since 2009, the second generation of the design is due to go on sale in Australia for the first time in November, with an expected pricetag of around $60,000.