New headlights helped Hyundai Kona in gaining Top Safety Pick+ Award

MANILA: Yes, you read it right, the 2018 Hyundai Kona has bagged the Top Safety Pick+ award due to the upgraded set of headlights. Last year, the Kona received poor ratings for the ‘inadequate visibility’ on its entire range of variants. This time, the manufacturer managed to improve the headlight unit, resulting in better efficiency.

One of the major changes is the introduction of the LED projector headlights on its Limited and Ultimate variants, which limit glare for oncoming cars. The new feature helped in improving the overall rating and Kona qualified for the Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The 2018 Hyundai Kona also managed to score well on the optional front crash prevention system. In the particular test, the updated Kona was able to avoid collisions at 19 kmph, and 40 kmph track tests. Though the tests were done on the US market models, it is expected that the upgraded features will float in the other markets as well.

It is to be noted that the Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Kona are the only models, which also happen to compete against each other, to receive IIHS’ highest safety rating for their highly efficient headlights. Where Mazda CX-5 has a good hold on the segment in the local as well as global market, Hyundai Kona, being a new player is trying to slowly level up its position with consistent improvements.

So, next time when you go through the safety list of any particular model, do focus on the headlights visibility as well.