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 A5 Sportback doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Hyundai Sonata achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Audi A5 Sportback has not been tested.
The Sonata has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the A5 Sportback’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Sonata has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Audi charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Assist on the A5 Sportback.
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 A5 Sportback doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Sonata and the A5 Sportback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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 and available all wheel drive.
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 Audi A5 Sportback:
|
Sonata |
A5 Sportback |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
22% |
26% |
Neck Stress |
171 lbs. |
232 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
33 lbs. |
55 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
321/341 lbs. |
431/395 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
1 inches |
Neck Stress |
98 lbs. |
119 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
29/21 lbs. |
324/341 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 Audi A5 Sportback:
|
Sonata |
A5 Sportback |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
125 |
172 |
Chest Movement |
.9 inches |
1.1 inches |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
250 |
277 |
Hip Force |
223 lbs. |
777 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
264 |
333 |
Spine Acceleration |
38 G’s |
47 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The Hyundai Sonata (Built after November 2024) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The A5 Sportback has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.