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2026 Hyundai Elantra Safety Rating

Small cars Β· Current IIHS listing Β· IIHS data updated 2026-09-04

Complete evidence record

The 2026 Hyundai Elantra scores 94.1/100, ranking #1 of 16 current small cars and #37 of 137 vehicles overall with complete IIHS records. It holds the IIHS Top Safety Pick award for 2026.

Every primary IIHS test is rated Good. Rear-passenger restraints in the updated moderate-overlap test: Good; rear-passenger head protection: Good.

94.1
Safety score / 100
Complete record
TSP
IIHS award
IIHS Top Safety Pick
#1
of 16 small cars
See the class ranking
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
NHTSA overall
Reference only, not scored
$22,625
Starting MSRP
Approximate base trim
54
Class driver death rate
per million vehicle-years; all vehicles 38

IIHS crash-test results

Front Crash Prevention: PedestrianGood
Small Overlap Front Good
Moderate Overlap Front: Updated Test Good
Side: Updated Test Good
Headlights Good
Seat Belt Reminders Acceptable
Latch Ease Of Use Acceptable
Detailed results by test (53 entries)

IIHS publishes these under the test they belong to, so the same label can appear more than once. Rear restraints and kinematics, rear head protection, structure and safety cage, and front restraints are the four that count toward the score (25%).

Small overlap front

Overall driver-side evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Acceptable
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Overall passenger-side evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematicsThe dummy’s head contacted the right side of the frontal airbag but began to slide into the gap in coverage between the frontal and side curtain airbags, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward structure. The inflated side curtain airbag has sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects. Acceptable
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good

Moderate overlap front: updated test

Overall evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Thigh/hip Good
Leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Acceptable
Thigh Good
Rear passenger restraints and dummy kinematics Good

Side: updated test

Overall evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Acceptable
Pelvis Acceptable
Driver head protection Good
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Acceptable
Pelvis Good
Rear passenger head protection Good

Headlights

Overall rating Good
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Overall ratingApplies to 2024-26 models Good

Front crash prevention: pedestrian

Overall evaluation Good

Seat belt reminders

Overall evaluation Acceptable

Child seat anchors

Overall evaluation Acceptable
View the IIHS report

Opens on iihs.org in a new tab

How the score is built

Primary IIHS tests (55%)
100.0
4/4 reported Β· small overlap, updated moderate overlap, updated side, headlights
Occupant-protection details (25%)
97.5
4/4 reported Β· rear restraints, rear head, safety cage, front restraints
Pedestrian front crash prevention (10%)
100.0
IIHS pedestrian AEB result: Good
Class context (10%)
47.5
Damped class-level driver death-rate term; award status is shown above but carries no weight
Rear-seat-priority score
94.1
Alternate published view: rear restraints weighted 20%
Injury-measure average (tiebreak only)
96.25
Mean of 40 published injury measures across the three crash tests. Orders vehicles with equal scores; carries no weight in the score.

Full formula, weights, and missing-data rules β†’

NHTSA 5-star rating

2026 HYUNDAI ELANTRA 4DR N/A FWD

Overallβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
Frontal crashβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†
Side crashβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
Rolloverβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 10.1% risk

NHTSA stars are shown for reference and carry no weight in the score. NHTSA source. Why the two programs disagree β†’

Real-world context

MeasureResultWhat it covers
Class driver death rate54 per million registered vehicle-yearsSmall cars as a class, adjusted for driver age and sex (Farmer, 2023); all vehicles average 38. Class context only.
Hyundai Elantra (2020) driver death rate103 (95% CI 48–157)Earlier model years of this nameplate; class average for that study 60.5. Reflects who bought and drove those cars as well as the car.
Theft claim frequency (Hyundai Elantra hybrid 4dr)13 (100 = average)HLDI whole-vehicle theft, 2022–24 model years: 13% of average. See the theft ranking.

Compared with other small cars

Closest-scoring current small cars with complete IIHS records, plus the class leader. See every small car ranked β†’

VehicleClass rankIIHS awardRear restraintsStarts atScore
2026 Hyundai Elantra (this page) #1 of 16 TSP Good $22,625 94.1
2026 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid #2 of 16 TSP+ Acceptable $33,995 91.0
2026 Nissan Sentra #3 of 16 TSP+ Acceptable $22,600 89.8
2026 Kia K4 #4 of 16 TSP+ Good $22,290 89.6
2026 Honda Civic #5 of 16 TSP Acceptable $27,895 89.1

Our analysis

The 2026 Hyundai Elantra belongs to the Small cars class. This class has an above-average driver death rate compared with the national average of 38 deaths per million registered vehicle-years, which usually reflects lighter weight and smaller size in multi-vehicle crashes. The class figure is adjusted for driver age and sex, which removes a large part of the selection effect in raw death rates. It is still a class average, not a measurement of this model.

The Hyundai Elantra earned Top Safety Pick for 2026. The difference from Top Safety Pick+ is usually the updated moderate-overlap result or a headlight or pedestrian-braking threshold; the linked IIHS report shows which.

Across the 6 IIHS rating categories reported, the Hyundai Elantra earned 4 Good ratings. Results below Good deserve attention, especially the updated frontal and side tests that IIHS toughened in 2022 and 2023. Our updated crash test analysis explains what changed.

This analysis is produced independently; we have no affiliation with Hyundai or any manufacturer. Read the full methodology or learn more about us.

Safety recalls for the 2026 Hyundai Elantra

No recalls on record. NHTSA lists this model year and currently shows no recall campaigns against it.

Check your VIN at NHTSA

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2026 Hyundai Elantra safety score 94.1 out of 100

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Questions about the 2026 Hyundai Elantra

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Shopping for a family? Compare three-row vehicles and rear-seat evidence. Buying used? See real driver death rates by model.