Kia Soul crash test: maximum 5 star safety rating by EuroNCAP!
The popular Kia Soul crossover has been awarded with the highest possible 5-star safety rating in the latest European New Car Assessment Programme -Euro NCAP crash tests reported Kia today.
Despite it’s compact size, the Soul achieved a great overall weighted score of 75 percent, more than enough to achieve a 5-star rating.
Breaking down the latest crash test results, the Soul crossover was rated 87 percent for adult protection, 86 percent for child protection (based on 18-month- and three-year-old child), 39 percent for pedestrian protection and 86 percent for Safety Assist equipment.
The five star safety rating places Soul among the safest B-segment family cars in the world. The 2010 Soul crossover is following the European-built cee’d as the second vehicle in the Kia’s model range that received the highest possible 5-star safety rating at EuroNCAP.
It was back in 2007 when cee’d scored the first 5-star safety rating at strict European crash tests for Kia. Since January 2009 Euro NCAP have been using a different ratings calculation and their new testing scheme is even more strict than it was in 2007 when cee’d was tested.
Euro NCAP test results for Kia Soul:
Adult Occupant Protection 87 percent (31.2 points of max possible 36)
Pedestrian Protection 39 percent(13.9 points of max possible 36)
Child Protection 86 percent (42 points of max possible 49)
Safety Assist 86 percent (6 points of max possible 7)
The perfect 5-star EuroNCAP safety rating is enabled in part by the use of high-tensile strength steel and all the up-to-date safety technology fitted to the 2010 Kia Soul crossover.
In addition to Kia Soul, EuroNCAP also crash-tested Hyundai’s latest B-segment car called i20. The five door hatchback has also achieved the maximum safety rating of five stars. Both models share the same B-segment car platform, developed by Hyundai-Kia for it’s sub-compact sized cars.
Kia plans to use the same platform for several other new vehicles, including the next generation Rio and Venga MPV, so I’m confident that all of them will also achive the coveted five star safety ratings at EuroNCAp crash tests.
Related link: Kia Soul crash test video conducted by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). [Source: Kia, EuroNCAP]
Fantastic, well done KIA.
well, 5 Stars is the minimum I’d expect from any new car. It’s an essential rating in the year 2009 if you ask me, but it’s good KIA achived that with the Soul. Congratulations!
That’s right Paul! Anything lower than 5 stars would be a big dissapointment and would likely turn off many potential consumers from buying the Soul.
Um, five stars in Euro NCAP is not five stars in NHTSA. Five stars in Euro NCAP is the equivalent of a “Best Pick” designation by IIHS, and not all new cars earn that.
The US side impact results were 5 star (front) and 4 star (rear).
I agree with Brian. Euro NCAP is making it INCREASINGLY difficult for cars to earn 5 star ratings.
US crash tests and EuroNCap, are different ways of testing safety of cars. Both do that in a theoretical matter and no accident is exactely like a crash test (different angle, different speed, different climatic conditions etc…) thus they should only be considered as (reliable) guidelines.
I’m guessing the last test is the whiplash test and if it is, thats pretty impressive as the head hardly jerks back. First time I’ve seen that test.