For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Elantra are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Chevrolet Malibu doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Elantra Limited has standard Reverse Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Malibu doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Elantra’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Malibu.
The Elantra has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Malibu’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Elantra has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Malibu.
The Elantra’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 Malibu doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Elantra and the Malibu have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras and available rear parking sensors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Elantra is safer than the Chevrolet Malibu:
|
|
Elantra |
Malibu |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
142 |
172 |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
66/48 lbs. |
252/306 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 Elantra is safer than the Chevrolet Malibu:
|
|
Elantra |
Malibu |
| OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
| HIC |
83 |
160 |
| Chest Movement |
1.2 inches |
1.3 inches |
|
|
Rear Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
| HIC |
345 |
365 |
| Hip Force |
355 lbs. |
1117 lbs. |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Max Damage Depth |
11 inches |
12 inches |
| HIC |
184 |
279 |
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 Elantra the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 141 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Malibu last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.