The New Car Assessment Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean, Latin NCAP, publishes today the third crash tests results for 2024 with a surprising and encouraging five star result for the Kia K3/K3 Sedan and the K3 Hatchback/Cross.
The Kia K3/K3 Sedan and K3 Hatchback/Cross, produced in Mexico, achieved five stars. The K3/K3 Sedan and K3 Hatchback/Cross that offer 6 airbags and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as standard and optional ADAS, achieved 87.08% in Adult Occupant, 83.67% in Child Occupant, 65.46% in Pedestrian Protection and Vulnerable Road Users and 80.84% in Safety Assist.
The cars were assessed in frontal impact, side impact, pole impact, whiplash, pedestrian protection, ESC, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) for Vulnerable Road Users, AEB City, AEB Interurban and Speed Assist System (SAS).
The K3/K3 Sedan and K3 Hatchback/Cross showed, in general, good performance with stable structure in the frontal impact but unstable footwell area. The car showed adequate to good adult chest protection in all its tests with full head and neck protection. Slight head exposure of one of the child occupants was recorded. Pedestrian Protection showed few marginal protection areas for the head and poor protection for the upper leg. The three AEB systems tested, that meet the fitment rates requirements to score in Latin NCAP, reached average to good levels of performance and SAS met the technical requirements and is fitted as standard. The model was tested as a voluntary decision of the manufacturer.
Latin NCAP tests the most basic passive safety specification of the models and strongly recommends to buy those versions equipped with tested good performing ADAS technologies, as AEB.
Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Latin NCAP said:
“Congratulations to Kia for this achievement and for its remarkable corporate shift to safer cars. The K3 is the first ever five star Latin NCAP model for the group and reflects its new direction. This result gives a clear message to consumers that five star performing models in more affordable segments are possible and are reaching our markets. This model is also an answer to fleet managers seeking for more popular models with five star safety performance. Latin NCAP calls all governments to bring mandatory star rating safety labelling in support of independent and clear information to consumers”.
Stephan Brodziak, Latin NCAP Chairman said:
“It is very satisfying to see how a brand like Kia, which had several models rated with zero stars, one with two stars and only one model with three stars, has decided to take the protection offered to their consumers more seriously. We congratulate Kia for its safety performance with the Kia K3/K3 Sedan and K3 Hatchback/K3 Cross models. We hope that these results mark Kia’s commitment to vehicle safety and that we only have more Kia cars rated with five stars in the future. Although there are still areas of opportunity regarding the protection provided to pedestrians and child passengers, we urge Kia to continue improving its models. This result is further proof that it is possible to offer affordable models with the safety standards that Latin American consumers deserve.
I take this opportunity to make a special call to governments to adopt a mandatory safety labeling system based on the Latin NCAP star rating. This system would provide consumers with clear, objective and impartial information on vehicle safety, facilitating informed purchasing decisions and promoting greater competitiveness in the automotive industry”.
SOURCE: Latin NCAP
