The Kia Cars has secured a 3-star rating for both adult and child safety in the latest round of crash tests by the Global New Car Assessment Program (GNCAP).
Cairns was tested at its most basic specification which hosts all the security features as standard. This means that the test unit was equipped with six airbags, ESC, seatbelt pretensioners, ABS, all wheel disc brakes, brake assist system and TPMS. Therefore, the average 3-star rating is surprising.
The Carrier is the last model to be tested under the automotive safety watchdog’s current testing protocol, as from July, the testing protocol is set to be extended.
Karens scored a total of 9.30 out of 17 in Adult Occupant Protection. The Global NCAP report stated that both the structure of the cairn and the footwell area were ‘unstable’, and that the body shell was not able to ‘withstand the forward load’.
Head and neck protection for both adult crash test dummies was noted as good, however, driver’s chest protection was rated modest. The front occupant knee protection was also modest, due to the potential impact of ‘dangerous structures behind the dashboard’.
In terms of child occupant protection, the MPV equipped with ISOFIX mounting points and child restraint system scored a total of 30.99 points out of 49. It provided limited protection to a three-year-old dummy in a forward-facing child seat, although it was rated as good for a 1.5-year-old dummy in a rear-facing child seat. However, the Carens gets a lap belt for the rear center seat, thus missing out on some important points there.
Having two side body and head protection airbags, the carrier was also subjected to a side impact test, which it duly passed.
The Carrens is a three-row derivative of the Seltos, and uses the same platform as the latter. Kia Seltos also achieved 3-star rating in GNCAP in 2020. Importantly, the Cairns have improved their overall score as compared to the Seltos. Karens has 9.30 points in Adult Occupant Protection as opposed to Seltos with 8.03 points. Meanwhile, in child occupant protection, the Cairns is much better with 3-stars and 30.99 points as opposed to Seltos’s only 2 stars and 15 points. This is mainly due to the addition of ISOFIX mounting points and the recommendation of a child restraint system on cairns.