In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Sonata are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The ILX doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Hyundai Sonata has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The ILX doesn’t offer knee airbags.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Sonata Limited has standard Reverse Collision-Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The ILX doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Sonata Limited has a standard Around View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The ILX only offers a rear monitor.
The Sonata’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The ILX doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Sonata and the ILX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Sonata is safer than the Acura ILX:
|
Sonata |
ILX |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.5 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
33% |
40% |
Neck Stress |
98 lbs. |
166 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
29/21 lbs. |
768/623 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Sonata is safer than the Acura ILX:
|
Sonata |
ILX |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
163 |
234 |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
301 |
324 |
Hip Force |
539 lbs. |
699 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
288 |
299 |
Spine Acceleration |
38 G’s |
56 G’s |
Hip Force |
577 lbs. |
945 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Sonata the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 121 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The ILX last would have qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2017.