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Watch the 2015 Hyundai Sonata crash its way to an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating

Hyundai has managed to get another vehicle on the prestigious Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick +, as its new 2015 Sonata sedan performed admirably in crash testing.
The redesigned Sonata's new look belied an improved crash test in the difficult small overlap front test, where Hyundai's family sedan improved from a "Marginal" score to "Acceptable." Meanwhile, the Sonata's optional Forward Collision Warning system garnered a "Basic" rating on IIHS' three-tier rating scale for these sort of automatic safety systems.
Netting a spot on the Top Safety Pick + list requires a "Good" or "Acceptable" score on the small overlap test, as well as "Good" scores on the four standard tests and some form of automated safety system.

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study

Hyundai i20 Sport previews future N Division hot hatches

Hyundai is in the process of launching its own performance sub-brand that, eventually, will yield its own line of hot hatches. But while we wait for those to arrive, the Korean automaker has given us a little taste of what's to come with the i20 Sport you see here. Launched exclusively in Germany (where Hyundai Motorsport is based), the Hyundai i20 Sport is based on the Korean automaker's Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo rival – and the basis for its World Rally Championship contender. The new Sport variant is more of a warmed-over job than an outright hot hatch, but it's not without its share of performance enhancements. The suspension is lowered and mounted to 18-inch OZ wheels. It features a new aero kit, though you might have missed it given the attention-grabbing (but optional) graphics. And the engine – while just a modest 1.0-liter turbocharged inline-three – produces a not inconsequential 120 horsepower. That's fairly competitive for an engine that size... especially when you can row the most out of it with a six-speed manual like the one fitted to the i20 Sport. Those specs are a promising harbinger of things to come. Hyundai's N division has already recruited top talent from BMW M GmbH, shown us where its heart is at with the N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo concept, and promoted itself through the company's WRC effort. We're looking forward to seeing how the i20 N (or whatever it's called) will shape up, but in the meantime the Sport model you see here gives us an idea of what it will look like. Related Video: Featured Gallery Hyundai i20 Sport News Source: Hyundai Hyundai Hatchback Performance hyundai i20