Hyundai Motor Co.'s Accent subcompact and Kia Motors Corp.'s Sportage SUV and Rio compact each earned four out of five stars in a U.S. collision test, a report showed Friday.

According to the overall safety test conducted by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Hyundai's Accent scored four stars out of five in all three crash tests administered by the agency.

The NHTSA releases the outcome of its crash tests for new vehicle models by major carmakers each year, reviewing the cars based on tests for head-on collisions, side impacts and rollovers.

Kia's Sportage SUV received five stars for the front and side collision tests, but its overall rating was lowered after it earned four stars in the turnover accident test, according to the NHTSA.

The Rio was rated four stars for the front crash and turnover tests, while getting five stars for the side collision test.

In contrast, the all-new Carnival minivan, another recently released model by Kia, received the highest safety rating with five stars from the NHTSA earlier this week, according to the carmaker. (Yonhap)