The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has bestowed its highest honor — the Top Safety Pick+ award — on the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe.

The midsize SUV was put through the paces, undergoing six rigorous crashworthiness tests — and acing every one. These included the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint tests. 

But as automakers well know, that wasn’t quite enough to roll away with “plus status.” 

Rather, the Santa Fe had to prove its worth with both high quality front crash prevention and at lest acceptable headlights. The SUV pulled it off on both counts.

The Santa Fe comes with a standard front crash prevention system that earns superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations — safety features that can’t be topped and make it a key competitor for the coveted “plus” award. 

Headlights are the area where many vehicles fall short. But the 2022 Santa Fe did not disappoint. All Santa Fe vehicles built after July 2021 come exclusively with good or acceptable headlights — giving the SUV the final element it needed to call itself a Top Safety Pick+ winner.