BMW 5 Series, Hyundai Sonata get top score on revised U.S. crash tests

WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) -- BMW AG's 5 series and Hyundai Motor Co.'s Sonata got the highest rating among passenger cars and trucks tested for crashes under a new U.S. rating system.

Female crash-test dummies were added to the male figures for the first time as the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rated 34 models under a redesigned testing regime, the regulatory agency said today in a statement.

BMW's four-door, rear-wheel-drive 5 Series and the latest model of Hyundai's Sonata were the only vehicles in the first batch rated to receive five stars, the top overall safety score. Both vehicles scored five stars on side-crashes and rollovers and four stars in frontal crashes.