2019 Hyundai Veloster Gets Top Safety Pick Nod

After resolving the issue on its doors, the 2019 Hyundai Veloster gets a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The organization previously conducted a crash test on the car and it initially had high test scores. However, the door to the driver’s side unlatched in a side impact, increasing chances of the occupant being ejected.

Following the issue, Hyundai redesigned the driver door or the Veloster and had it tested again through IIHS. The automaker also made some improvements on the headlights of all Turbo models, bringing its rating up to “Acceptable”. The said changes earned the car a Top Safety Pick recognition from the organization.

All Hyundai Velosters built after January 2019 will see the improved driver door. As for owners of older Velosters, the company will be sending out recall notices to have the doors updated.

Hyundai, however, clarified that it will not be updating headlights on other models. Per IIHS standards, only Veloster Turbo models built in August 2018 onward received “Acceptable” marks for its headlights, while Turbo models built before the 2018 model year have “Poor” ratings due to excessive glare. Headlights of all non-turbo models also have “Poor” marks for glare and low visibility.

But putting trims aside, the Hyundai Veloster earned the “Good” rating from IIHS, the highest rating in all crash tests. This includes the difficult small overlap test for the passenger side.

The model also earned high ratings for its automatic emergency braking, stopping the car ahead of a collision even at 25 mph. “Acceptable” marks were also given to the child seat LATCH anchor access, but the organization reportedly didn’t find the warning part of the system good enough for base forward collision prevention.