The Kia Carens has scored a 3-star rating for both adult and child occupant protection in the latest round of crash tests by the Global New Car Assessment Programme (GNCAP).
The India-spec Kia Carens MPV was tested in its most basic safety specification, fitted with two frontal airbags, two side-body airbags, and two side head protection airbags. ESC is also a standard fit in this spec. An average 3-star rating is, therefore, surprising.
The Kia Carens were also side-impact tested and fulfilled the UN95 regulatory requirement.
During the assessment, the Kia Carens MPV demonstrated an unstable structure, marginal protection to the driver’s chest, and weak protection to the driver’s feet. Global NCAP noted that the model is still sold with a lap belt in the rear middle seating position instead of a three-point seatbelt. The Kia Carens scored 9.30 points out of a total of 17 points in adult safety and 30.99 out of 49 points in child safety. The car was tested at a speed of 64 kmph.
The dummy for the 3-year-old child was placed in a child seat facing frontwards with an adult seatbelt and a support leg. Excessive forward movement was prevented for the same. The dummy mimicking a 1.5-year-old child was placed in a child seat using an adult belt and support and the protection level offered was deemed good. The cars do not offer a 3-point seatbelt in all seating positions and the passenger airbag cannot be disconnected in case of a rearward-facing child seat in the front passenger seat.
Alejandro Furas, secretary general of Global NCAP, said, “We expected a better performance from this model. It remains a cause for concern that global car brands such as Kia, that normally achieve 5-star ratings in other markets, are still not reaching this level in India.”
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