Hyundai is one of the most popular automakers in the United States, and it’s earned those sales by producing excellent vehicles at reasonable prices. However, although the South Korean brand is typically known for safety and reliability, two Hyundai SUVs are considered poor in rear-seat safety. Those two SUVs are the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe and the 2022 Hyundai Tucson performed.

These 2 Hyundai SUVs are not good for rear-seat safety

Despite their reputation as family-friendly Hyundai SUVs, the 2022 Santa Fe and 2022 Tucson are not the safest vehicles for rear-seat safety. They aren’t the worst, but they are among them. The Santa Fe comes out better than the Tucson because the midsize SUV does well in child car safety. For example, the Santa Fe is higher in child-seat fit, but it is similar to the Tucson in the other categories. However, it should be remembered that the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe is still a Top Safety Plus pick from the IIHS.

Both the Santa Fe and the Tucson are good SUVs for rear-occupant alerts and rear head restraints. However, they are abysmal regarding rear-seat reminders and advanced rear restraints. In comparison, other automakers known for their safety, such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, are better for rear seat safety. That said, three other Hyundai models scored worse than the Santa Fe and Tucson: the Santa Cruz compact pickup, the Elantra compact car, and the Ioniq 5 electric crossover.

These 5 SUVs do well in rear-seat safety

The SUV that does the best in rear-seat safety is the Nissan Rogue. It performs well in all categories but excels in child-seat fit. The Nissan Pathfinder follows its smaller sibling by a tight margin. The Pathfinder also holds up well overall but really succeeds in rear head restraints.

Though Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are among the best, Ford boasts two SUVs with good rear-seat safety scores. The Mustang Mach-E trails close behind the Pathfinder. That said, the Mustang Mach-E performs well in all related categories, but it doesn’t perform exceptionally well in any particular area. Likewise, the Ford Bronco is an all around solid SUV for rear seat safety.

The last SUV that holds up in this regard is the Toyota Venza. It has good scores overall but doesn’t do particularly well in advanced rear restraints.