The Accent has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Sentra doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
Both the Accent and the Sentra 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, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes and daytime running lights.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Accent is safer than the Nissan Sentra:
|
Accent |
Sentra |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
290 |
292 |
Neck Injury Risk |
26% |
29% |
Neck Stress |
250 lbs. |
351 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
40 lbs. |
87 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
60/64 lbs. |
330/261 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
3 Stars |
HIC |
340 |
495 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Stress |
198 lbs. |
296 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
33/31 lbs. |
318/391 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 post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Accent is safer than the Nissan Sentra:
|
Accent |
Sentra |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
35 G’s |
36 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.