The redesigned Hyundai Genesis, a large luxury car, has earned the 2014 Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) -- thanks to a “good” rating in the challenging small overlap front crash test and a “superior” rating for front crash prevention.

The 2015 Genesis also drew “good” ratings in the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint evaluations. 

In the small overlap test, the driver's space was maintained well, and injury measures recorded on the driver dummy indicated low risk of any significant injuries in a crash of this severity, IIHS said. The dummy's head made good contact with the front airbag, which stayed in position during the crash, and the side curtain airbag deployed to protect the head from contact with side structures.

IIHS added the small overlap evaluation to its testing lineup in 2012. In the crash, 25 percent of a vehicle's front end on the driver side strikes a 5-foot-tall rigid barrier at 40 mph. It replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle strikes another vehicle or an object like a tree or a utility pole.

The Genesis’ optional front crash prevention system, which is being offered for the first time on the 2015 model, earned a “superior” rating because of its automatic braking capabilities. In track tests, the car stopped completely before hitting the target in tests at 12 mph and 25 mph, IIHS said.

The Genesis is one of only three large luxury cars to have earned the institute’s highest award for 2014. To qualify for Top Safety Pick+, a vehicle must earn a “good” or “acceptable” rating for small overlap protection, a “good” rating in the other four IIHS tests, and a “basic,” “advanced” or “superior” rating for front crash prevention.

“The Top Safety Pick+ designation recognizes state-of-the-art safety,” said Adrian Lund, IIHS president. “The new Genesis is not only engineered to protect people when crashes happen, but with its optional automatic emergency braking system rated superior in our tests, this car can help drivers avoid some of the most common kinds of collisions altogether.”

The 2015 Genesis uses new Sensory Surround Safety technology including a Hyundai first -- Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) -- utilizing sensor fusion technology to help avoid a potential collision or reduce its impact. With this system, Genesis employs automatic braking whenever it detects another vehicle at an unsafe closing rate of speed. This system uses the front radar from the Smart Cruise Control system and the forward camera from the Lane Departure Warning (LDW) to provide this extra margin of safety.

In addition, Genesis combines available LDW with all-new Lane Keep Assist (LKA) to provide a driver-adjustable level of steering assist. This helps prevent inadvertent lane departure when a vehicle approaches the edge of a lane and also provides steering wheel haptic vibration feedback.

Genesis is equipped with a number of new, advanced technologies, many of them Hyundai firsts. A new driver-selectable Intelligent Drive Mode allows drivers to select from four drive modes, depending on conditions and driving preferences. A new Blind-Spot Detection system (BSD) helps monitor traffic around the car. For Genesis vehicles equipped with the Heads-Up Display (HUD), the BSD system indicators also project onto the windshield, nearer the driver’s view of the road. 

Lane Change Assist (LCA) helps detect vehicles approaching toward its rear side at high speeds, especially during higher-speed driving, while Rear Cross-traffic Alert (RCTA) scans areas to each side of the car when drivers are backing out of parking spaces.

Genesis also benefits from technology in its CO₂ sensor control system. Hyundai engineers discovered that occupants start to get drowsy when CO₂ levels reached more than 2,000 parts per million, so the new ventilation system helps ensure the cabin maintains a CO₂ concentration well below that level at all times using freshly-ventilated ambient air.