2007 Hyundai Elantra Safety Review [ 2008 ]
Hyundai Elantra Safety Review
Safety - 9.0 (Excellent)
Critics in general praise the 2007 Hyundai Elantra's "comprehensive array of safety equipment," as Car and Driver observes. And the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls its standard safety features "worthy of applause." Excellent crash test scores back up those opinions.
Accident Avoidance
The 2007 Hyundai Elantra's Accident Avoidance features are generally well-liked. Standard features include four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes with electronic brake-force distribution, which About.com writes "offer better braking performance in the rain." Other accident avoidance features include a new chassis with fully independent suspension, motor-driven rack-and-pinion steering and front and rear stabilizer bars. Electronic stability control is not available. But the Elantra comes with five-year, 24-hour roadside assistance.
Visibility is "good" from the driver's seat, says The Auto Channel. However, the Chicago Sun-Times observes that rear visibility is "hampered by roof pillars."
Crash Protection
Six air bags come standard, including two front air bags, two front seat-mounted side-impact air bags and two side curtain air bags. MSN points out that "side-impact airbags aren't available on the Chevrolet Cobalt. And side-curtain bags are optional on the Corolla and Cobalt and not available on the Ford Focus." Cars.com also raves, "All five seats have head restraints, and the front ones ratchet forward for better whiplash protection. Nice."
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gives the 2007 Hyundai Elantra its highest score, "good," for frontal crash tests, though they have not yet tested it for side-impact crashes. In government crash tests, the Elantra received a perfect five-star rating in frontal impacts and an above average rating of four stars in side impacts. The Elantra also received an above average rating of four stars in rollover testing.
