Kia Seltos Awarded 5 Star ANCAP Rating

The Australia spec Kia Seltos has been awarded a 5-star rating in the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), Australia’s independent vehicle safety authority. The rating is applicable to all the variants of the Kia Seltos sold in Australia and New Zealand since October 2019. 

THE TEST AND RATINGS

Multiple tests were carried such as the oblique pole test at 32 km/h, the frontal offset test at 64 km/h and the side impact test at 50 km/h. the ratings have been divided into three categories: Adult occupant protection, where the Australia and New Zealand spec Seltos scored 32.5 out of 38 (85%), 40.9 out of 49 (83%) in the Child occupant protection, 29.3 out of 48 (61%) in Vulnerable road user protection, 9.1 out of 13 (70%). These tests combined have yielded a 5-star rating for the Seltos. The test results are applicable to all the variants: 7 in the Australian market and 5 in the New Zealand market.

SAFETY FEATURES

The Seltos comes with a long list of safety features that helped it achieve the 5-star rating. These features are standard on all the variants. The features include standard dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags, head restraints, anti-lock braking system, electronic brakeforce distribution, electronic stability control, fatigue reminder and detection, , forward collision warning, hill launch assist, Autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist system with lane departure warning and emergency lane keeping, reversing collision avoidance camera, manual speed limiter and tyre pressure monitoring system.

For child occupant protection, the Kia Seltos is fitted with lower ISOFIX anchorages on the rear outboard seats and top tether anchorages for all rear seating positions. Optional features include blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic alert system, adaptive cruise control and a more advanced version of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) takes the safety to 68% for vulnerable road user protection and 78% for safety assist. 

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

James Goodwin, ANCAP Chief Executive, said: “The Seltos has performed well, but it is important consumers are aware that there are some differences in safety performance for the entry level Seltos variants. Base models of the Seltos miss out on some of the more advanced features available with the radar-fusion AEB system, and we would encourage consumers to purchase a variant which offers the enhanced collision avoidance capability as this can translate to real differences on the road.”

IS THE INDIAN SPEC SELTOS DIFFERENT FROM THE AUSTRALIAN ONE?

The Kia Seltos sold in Australia differs from the one in India as it gets different powertrain options. In Australia, the Seltos is offered in two engine options: a 2.0 litre petrol engine, producing 250 hp and a 1.6 turbo petrol engine, producing 177 hp. While in India, we have 3 different engine configurations: a 1.5 litre petrol engine that produces 115 PS and 144 Nm of torque, a 1.5 litre diesel engine producing 115 PS and 250 Nm of torque and a 1.4 litre turbo petrol engine that produces 140 PS and 242 Nm of torque.

The standard safety features in the India spec Seltos include six airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, traction control, blind spot monitor, hill start assist, 360-degree camera and TPMS. The base model only gets two airbags, ABS with EBD and rear parking sensors. Thanks to the solid bodyshell structure and safety features, we expect the Seltos to grab a very good rating in the Global NCAP crash tests.

MORE ON THE KIA SELTOS

Kia is also developing the electric version of the Seltos and will be launched in 2020 only. The all electric SUV might share powertrain with Kia Soul, Kia Niro and Hyundai Kona. Kia is also gearing up for the launch of its second product for India- the Carnival CBU, that will be launched via the CBU route.

You can check our review of the Kia Seltos here:

www.mynewcar.in/advice/new-car-launch/Review-Kia-Seltos 

Also do check out www.trivz.com for booking the test drive of any car. www.trivz.com  is an exciting platform, first of its kind that enables you to connect with car owners for test drives as well as for ownership feedback. You can also download Trivz app from Google Play and App Store.