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 Elantra are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Corolla doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
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 Corolla doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
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 Corolla’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 Corolla.
Both the Elantra and the Corolla 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, driver alert monitors 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 Toyota Corolla:
|
Elantra |
Corolla |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
142 |
187 |
Neck Injury Risk |
21% |
27% |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
66/48 lbs. |
330/310 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 Toyota Corolla:
|
Elantra |
Corolla |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
83 |
92 |
Hip Force |
327 lbs. |
330 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
355 lbs. |
367 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
11 inches |
12 inches |
HIC |
184 |
239 |
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 front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Elantra its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 134 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Corolla is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.