ELANTRA TOURING NAMED A “TOP 10 FAMILY CAR” BY KBB.COM

The 2010 Elantra Touring was named a “Top 10 Family Car” by Kelley Blue Book’s www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new car and used car information.  Elantra Touring was one of 10 cars that made the list of what kbb.com editors consider the very best of the best vehicles for families this year. Some other makes and models on the “Top 10 Family Car” list include, Ford Taurus, Honda Accord Crosstour, Chevrolet Equinox and Subaru Outback.

 

“While the product landscape in the new-car world seems ever-changing, the vehicle needs of the typical American family remain fairly constant; capable versatility, value, safety and economical factors usually remain top-of-mind,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for kbb.com. "Sporting a roomy and flexible cargo area, a slew of safety features, an outstanding warranty and a low starting price, one could make a case for the 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring as the most family-friendly small car out there. It's also easy on gas and not afraid to have a little fun."

 

Every year Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com assembles a list of the “Top 10 New Family Cars,” evaluating an ever-lengthening list of eligible vehicles on such factors as resale value, fuel efficiency, capability and kid-friendliness.  

 

The functional five-door Elantra Touring provides buyers with a unique offering in the compact segment, with its modern, sleek styling and fun-to-drive qualities. Elantra Touring offers standard Electronic Stability Control (ESC), in addition to a host of other class-leading safety technologies. It also offers loads of standard equipment making it ideal for the financially savvy car buyer. Standard features include air conditioning, AM/FM/XM/CD/MP3 audio system with six speakers and iPod^®/USB and MP3 auxiliary input jacks, power windows, heated mirrors, power door locks, remote keyless entry with alarm and plenty of storage compartments including a cooled glove compartment.

 

“The Elantra Touring is a fun-to-drive, functional five-door that raises the bar in value, safety and quality,” said Brandon Ramirez, Elantra Touring product manager, Hyundai Motor America. “The array of standard safety and convenience features, coupled with an outstanding warranty and unbeatable price point make this car the perfect model for any family.”

 

For more information on the Top 10 Family Cars for 2010 from Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com, visit www.kbb.com/Top10FamilyCars.

 

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2011 HYUNDAI SONATA NAMED “TOP SAFETY PICK” BY IIHS

Today, the all-new 2011 Hyundai Sonata joins an elite group of motor vehicles as a “Top Safety Pick” of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This award is only given to those vehicles that do a superior job protecting people in front, side, rear and rollover crashes. A car’s ability to handle itself in these crashes is determined by how many “GOOD” ratings it receives in each of the IIHS tests. Additionally, the vehicle must have electronic stability control readily available as an option. 

Sonata is built from the ground up with safety in mind, with a hot stamped ultra-high-strength steel body structure, advanced airbag technology and Electronic Stability Control (ESC), delivering on Hyundai’s commitment to both active and passive safety technology leadership. In 2005, the Sonata was the first popular midsize sedan to standardize ESC-- once again every 2011 Sonata has lifesaving ESC as standard equipment. This is important because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reported that ESC results in 35 percent fewer single-vehicle crashes and 30 percent fewer single-vehicle fatalities in passenger cars. 

The Sonata also features a state-of-the-art Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) including Brake Assist and Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD). Sonata features six airbags—including dual front, front seat-mounted side-impact, and front and rear side curtain airbags—along with active front-seat head restraints. 

While past Hyundai models, such as the Genesis, have been named IIHS “Top Safety Picks,” the standards are higher than ever for 2010, with a roof strength test added to the qualifications. According to the new guidelines, roofs must be more than double the strength of current federal requirements in order to better maintain vehicle integrity in the event of a rollover accident. 

Because this roof strength test is so demanding, many of the vehicles that had previously been named “Top Safety Picks” were dropped from the list in 2010. From the 2011 Sonata’s inception, Hyundai engineers carefully considered the importance of roof strength and designed the newest edition to pass this high hurdle set by the IIHS. 

The other IIHS “Top Safety Pick” standards are stringent as well — the institute's frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. Each vehicle's overall evaluation is based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, injury measures recorded on a dummy representing a 50th percentile male in the driver seat, and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraint system controlled dummy movement during the test. 

Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph. The barrier represents the front end of a pickup or SUV. Ratings reflect injury measures recorded on two instrumented dummies representing an average-sized woman, assessment of head protection countermeasures, and the vehicle's structural performance during the impact. 

Rear crash protection is rated according to a two-step procedure. Starting points for the ratings are measurements of head restraint geometry — the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man. Seat/head restraints with good or acceptable geometry are tested dynamically using a dummy that measures forces on the neck. This test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph.