For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic Type R have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Elantra N doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Honda Civic Type R has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Elantra N doesn’t offer knee airbags.
Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Civic Type R deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Civic Type R’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Elantra N’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
Both the Civic Type R and the Elantra N have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Honda Civic Type R is safer than the Hyundai Elantra N:
|
Civic Type R |
Elantra N |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Stress |
241 lbs. |
268 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
23 lbs. |
51 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
25% |
42% |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Civic Type R is safer than the Elantra N:
|
Civic Type R |
Elantra N |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh/hip Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Leg/foot Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Rear Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 Honda Civic Type R is safer than the Hyundai Elantra N:
|
Civic Type R |
Elantra N |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
1.2 inches |
Hip Force |
286 lbs. |
327 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
268 |
345 |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
805 lbs. |
954 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.