The Safest Luxury Car of 2023 is an Unexpected Choice
When you think about luxury cars and safety, names like Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, and even Lexus spring to mind. But when IIHS tested the latest crop of new cars, the safest luxury car of 2023 came as a surprise. Unexpectedly, the 2023 Genesis G90 ranked highest for safety in the latest round of IIHS testing. Let’s dive in and see how it bested its long-standing competition.
How the Genesis G90 became the safest luxury car of 2023
In testing the 2023 Genesis G90, the safest luxury car of 2023 earns high marks for it’s front crash prevention systems. For both day and nighttime testing, the largest Korean luxury sedan demonstrated great ability to both detect and prevent collisions.
When looking at vehicle-to-vehicle crash detection, the G90 can avoid collisions at up to 25 mph. Tested both during the day and at night, the safest luxury car of 2023 produces the same result. That indicates the radar and camera system, standard on every model, can detect a hazard and apply the brakes at least two seconds before an impact.
When testing for pedestrian crash avoidance, the 2023 Genesis luxury car continued its impressive string of results. In tests up to 25 mph, the car detected and stopped short of colliding with child-sized pedestrians crossing its path. It passed the same test for a crossing adult, and avoided a collision from 37 mph with an adult walking parallel to the road. In the latter test, the G90 issued a warning 2.1 seconds before a crash, while automatic braking stopped the vehcle in time.
Crash testing the new G90
While collision avoidance is a bigger part of IIHS testing these days, crash testing is still a major factor in determining the safest luxury car of 2023. Once again, the Genesis G90 shone above its competition in every category.
In front overlap crash testing, the Genesis earned high marks for every metric but one. The lower leg injuries of a front-seat passenger ranked as Acceptable, one mark away from the top score of “Good”.
In all other areas including head and neck injury for both driver and passenger, the G90 earned top scores.
In side-impact testing, the Genesis rated as the safest luxury car in all but two categories. The updated side impact test kocked Torso injury preventon from Good to Acceptable. In this area, the Genesis was able to prevent intrusion, however the rate of impact was slightly too high to earn top scores. That also impacted the Structure and Safety Cage rating, which also earned the second-highest score.
Headlights fall short in the G90
As with most vehicles today, the Genesis G90 earned just an Acceptable score for its headlight output. Low beams and high beams fell just short of the optimum ranking in a straight line. A lack of steering-adjusted headlights knocks the G90 down even further, an issue affecting a majority of cars in 2023.
NHTSA safety rating for the Genesis G90
Critically, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has no crash test data for the Genesis G90. Since this type of crash test is not required for every vehicle, the G90 has only been thrown at a wall by the IIHS.
However, NHSTA does rate the included safety technologies on the G90. In those evaluations, the large luxury barge earned top marks across the board for forward collision warning, lane departure warning, collision imminent braking, and dynamic brake support.
The Genesis G90 outranks the competition as the safest luxury car
While popular options like the Volvo S90 and Mercedes-Benz S-Class performed well, none earned the combined safest luxury car score like the Genesis G90. With a starting price of just under $90,000, the G90 won’t come cheap, but those who can afford one can drive with greater peace of mind.
