Kia Soul Scores Five Star In European Crash Tests
Providing even more evidence that the Korean automotive industry has come of age is the Kia Soul’s outstanding five-star result in the latest Euro NCAP crash test results. This newly launched urban crossover vehicle has crossed over to join the world’s safest B-Segment family cars.
Scoring 87 per cent for adult occupant protection, and 86 per cent each for child protection and safety assist equipment, the Soul demonstrates the excellence of its engineering. Paul Vainamo, general manager marketing for Kia Motors Europe, describes this result as a ‘major landmark’. He made the point that Soul was designed to meet or surpass the expectations of customers around the world.
'Kia's safety engineers developed the new Soul to provide the highest levels of occupant protection in real-world accident scenarios. Our engineers predicted that Soul would achieve a 5-star rating in the Euro NCAP. This Euro NCAP result confirms the major advances made by Kia with its latest family car,' he said.
'The combination of this new model's many talents, plus the 5-star safety rating and the unique Kia 5-Year warranty (in Europe), will make the Soul even more attractive to consumers, offering real peace-of-mind and low ownership costs,' he concluded.
During the development of Soul, Kia engineers initially concentrated on ensuring that the car had high levels of 'active safety' with good visibility, responsive and agile handling, and powerful braking, to enable Kia drivers to avoid accidents and other everyday motoring hazards.
Every Soul model supplied in Western Europe features an Electronic Stability Programme as standard. Fully automatic, ESP is increasingly a 'proven technology' in accident avoidance, countering excess oversteer and understeer so the car follows the course intended by the driver. Soul buyers in other European markets can specify ESP as a factory-fitted option. This system comes together with TCS (all-speed Traction Control System) and BAS (emergency Brake Assistance System).
If a collision is unavoidable, new Kia Soul is engineered to safeguard the occupants with a range of 'passive safety' measures as standard - starting with a robust all-steel bodyshell. State-of-the-art computer-aided design was employed by Kia engineers, together with 'closed loop' engineering techniques, to create the Soul five-door bodyshell structure. Featuring high-tensile strength steel in key areas, the bodyshell is designed to offer occupants good protection in front, side, rear and roll-over accidents.
Every Soul sold in Europe is equipped as standard with dual front airbags, front side and full-length curtain airbags (to protect the occupants in both seat rows), height-adjustable front seatbelts with pretensioners and belt load-limiters, plus three 3-point seat belts for rear seat occupants. In addition, all Soul models can be ordered with optional 'active' front seat head restraints.
The Kia Soul range was launched in Australia during April 2009.
*2009 Kia Soul The full Euro NCAP test results for Kia Soul are:
Adult Occupant Protection 87% (31.2 points of max possible 36)
Child Protection 86% (42 points of max possible 49)
Pedestrian Protection 39% (13.9 points of max possible 36)
The Kia cee'd earned a 5-star rating under the previous Euro NCAP testing regime in 2007 - the first Korean brand vehicle to achieve this top safety rating. Starting in January 2009, Euro NCAP revised its testing strategy to encompass four main zones of interest - Adult Occupant Protection, Child Protection, Pedestrian Protection and Safety Assist - which contribute 50%, 20%, 20% and 10% to a single overall rating, expressed as a star rating. Ratings achieved under the old regime are not comparable with those achieved under the new scheme.
