Shah Alam, 1 December 2008 - The already award loaded Hyundai Santa Fe gets yet another top award in November 2008. This time, it is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) of America which placed the Santa Fe in its coveted list to TOP SAFETY PICK award. This is the second consecutive year that the mid-size SUV has been given this prestigious and valuable award.

The IIHS Top Safety Pick means that the Institute recognises the ability of the vehicle to protect the passengers from front, side and rear crashes. This is further backed by the top 5-star NHTSA award in crash safety awarded to the Santa Fe.

Two other Hyundai vehicles in the coveted list are the Veracruz and the Entourage, the latter being the fourth consecutive year of being picked as one of the safest minivans. The Santa Fe gets its second consecutive year award as being one of the safest midsize SUVs in America.

“Hyundai remains committed to the implementation of advanced safety technologies, such as electronic active head restraints, introduced on the 2009 Hyundai Genesis,” said Michael Deitz, Manager of Product Development, Hyundai Motor America.  “We’re pleased that three of our models are Top Safety Picks again this year.”

The 7-seater Santa Fe is distributed exclusively in Malaysia by Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors, the prime mover and key player in Hyundai and Inokom vehicles here. Just a month ago, Autocar Asean awarded the Santa Fe as the best Large SUV of the Year 2008. This adds to a long string of awards bestowed on the Santa Fe by leading organisations and motoring publications worldwide. The Santa Fe is a luxurious SUV that has the comfort, handling and performance of a luxurious sedan and the toughness and practicality of the SUV.

For the Malaysian market, the Santa Fe comes with a choice of the sophisticated and ultra smooth 2.7-litre V6 or the fuel-sipping yet powerful CRDi 2.4-litre turbo-charged diesel engine with the unique Variable Geometry Turbocharger (VGT). In view of the tremendous improvement in quality and durability, every new Santa Fe sold in Malaysia now carries the local industry longest and transferable 5-year or 300,000km warranty which in simple term, a worry-free ownership period for the Santa Fe owners.

Top Safety Pick awards recognise vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side and rear crashes based on ratings in the Institute’s tests.  Each vehicle’s overall evaluation is based on a variety of measures including injuries to dummies, vehicle’s structural performance, restraint performance, etc.  Winners are also required to be equipped with the latest crash prevention technology, electronic stability control (ESC) – which is standard on all three Hyundai Top Safety Pick vehicles and 67 percent of all Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. 

According to the IIHS, “Consumers are the biggest winners.  No matter what kind of vehicle buyers may be considering, now they can walk into just about any dealership and find one that affords the best overall protection in serious crashes.”