When looking for a family car, safety is certainly one of the top considerations. If you’re looking to buy Kia’s best-selling 7-seater, the Kia Carens, you’ll be keen to know what its safety rating is. With a reputation for offering great value for money, a roomy interior, a feature-packed cabin, and a versatile driving experience, the Kia Carens has become a best-seller here in the Indian market.
This in-depth article looks at the Kia Carens safety rating as determined by Global NCAP, discussing in depth its performance in the crash tests and the long list of safety features that it includes.
Kia Carens Global NCAP Safety Rating Overview
The Kia Carens was put through a stringent crash test by the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP), a foremost institution that tests vehicles for how well they perform in real-life crashes. The assessments give consumers valuable information for understanding how well a vehicle can safeguard its inhabitants in the event of a crash.
In the latest Kia Carens NCAP rating tests, announced in December 2023 under Global NCAP’s revised and stricter testing standards, the Kia Carens achieved:
- 3 stars for adult occupant protection
- 5 stars for child occupant protection
These outcomes demonstrate Kia’s dedication to outfitting the Carens with vital protective features. Whilst the child occupant protection rating is outstanding, the adult protection rating pinpoints certain aspects that need further scrutiny.
Kia Carens Adult Occupant Protection Rating
The adult occupant protection rating for the Kia Carens NCAP rating stands at 3 stars, with the vehicle earning a score of 22.07 out of a total of 34 points. This is reflective of a moderate protection of adult passengers by the vehicle. A detailed summary of how it performed in the different tests is as follows:
Bodyshell Integrity
Global NCAP’s testing observed that the Carens’ bodyshell became unstable in the frontal offset crashworthiness test. An unstable bodyshell could jeopardize the structural integrity in serious crashes, with a higher risk for occupant injury by not distributing crash forces effectively.
Frontal Impact Protection
- The chest area for the driver was rated as marginal.
- The passenger’s chest showed adequate protection.
- Importantly, the vehicle offered good protection to both the driver’s and passenger’s head and neck zones, both essential for avoiding serious injury.
Side Impact Protection
The Kia Carens crash test performed well, which met the standards for the United Nations Regulation 95 (UN95) side impact test. It shows that the car is well-protected against a side collision, with internal door structural reinforcements playing a substantial role in ensuring the occupant’s safety.
Kia Carens Child Occupant Protection Rating
The Kia Carens NCAP rating for child occupants is really excellent, with the vehicle faring very well in this area, earning a 5-star rating with a remarkable score of 41 out of 49 points. The rating highlights Kia’s keen emphasis on keeping young riders safe.
- Dynamic Score: The dynamic crash test, conducted with a simulated crash involving child occupants (using child dummies), yielded excellent scores. The child restraint systems (CRSs) successfully reduced movement and the chances of injury for both 1.5-year-old and 3-year-old child dummies.
- CRS Installation: The Carens is fitted with ISOFIX anchor points for all models so that a child seat can be safely mounted. The Child Restraint System (CRS) fitting revealed no incompatibility with suggested universal child seats, and there were easy-to-follow guidelines for fitting.
- Child Safety Features: Certain features, including a child lock on the rear door and seatbelt reminders for every seating position, add to the child occupant’s overall safety.
Kia Carens Safety Features: Comprehensive Protection
The Kia Carens is also fitted with a comprehensive list of safety features that help protect the occupants. Although certain basic features come with every trim, higher trims provide additional advanced technologies for improved protection and convenience.
Standard Safety Features Across All Variants:
Every version of the Kia Carens involves the following key safety features:
- Six Airbags: This is a notable standard feature, featuring front, side, and curtain airbags, giving full protection to everyone on board in frontal, side, and rollover impacts. This is a big contributor to the overall Carens safety rating.
- Electronic Stability Control (ESC): Designed to prevent loss of control, particularly in sudden manoeuvres or on wet roads, by detecting and minimising loss of grip.
- Vehicle Stability Management (VSM): It functions in conjunction with ESC to help the car stay stable and controllable in adverse driving situations, enhancing overall handling.
- Anti-lock Braking System (ABS): ABS prevents the wheels from locking up during emergency braking, allowing the driver to maintain steering control and potentially avoid obstacles.
- Brake Assist System (BAS): This system offers extra brake power in emergency situations, so that stopping distances in situations where sudden, hard braking is necessary can be shortened.
- Hill-Start Assist Control (HAC): HAC stops the vehicle from rolling backwards after starting on a slope by maintaining temporary brake pressure, providing extra convenience and security on hills.
- Downhill Brake Control (DBC): DBC guarantees a safe descent on slopes by braking automatically in case you need it, making downhill driving safer.
- All-Wheel Disc Brakes: Four-wheel disc brakes provide improved braking performance and even stopping power, even in heavy use.
- Highline Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS): TPMS warns the driver in case the tyre pressure falls below the specified pressure, preventing accidents due to under-inflation as well as improving fuel efficiency.
- Rear Parking Sensors: These sensors help the driver in reversing by detecting things behind the vehicle, alerting them through sound to avoid slight impacts.
- Seatbelt Reminders: Seatbelt reminders for every seat position (front, centre, and third row) guarantee that every occupant is in a seatbelt, increasing the overall safety for everyone on board.
Advanced Safety Features (Available in Higher Variants):
The top-range models of the Kia Carens come equipped with advanced safety features that not only add extra protection and driving ease but also aid in preventing accidents and helping the driver in different situations on the road.
- Front Parking Sensors: These detect objects in front of the vehicle, allowing for parking and manoeuvring in tight spots to be less difficult. They give real-time warnings to avoid bumping into things.
- 360-Degree Camera: This system generates a bird’s-eye perspective for the car, allowing the driver to visually scan for blind spots and make safe manoeuvres in tight parking spaces. It immensely enhances visibility when reversing and parking.
- Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS): The Kia Carens ADAS offers a variety of active safety features to assist the driver:
- Forward Collision Warning (FCW): Notifies the driver in the event of a potential front-end collision, enabling time to act and engage the brakes.
- Lane-Keeping Assist (LKA): Keeps track of road markings and steers the vehicle back onto the right course if it begins to drift unintentionally.
- Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC): Keeps a constant speed and automatically adjusts to traffic conditions by maintaining a safe gap from the leading vehicle.
- Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB): In the event that a collision is imminent and the driver fails to react in time, it automatically brakes to prevent or reduce the collision.
- Blind-Spot Monitoring (BVM/BCW): This alerts the driver if another vehicle is coming from the side or is in the blind spot, minimizing the chances of accidents occurring when changing lanes.
- Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA): Alerts the driver and can even brake in case a vehicle is spotted coming from the side while reversing from a parking space.
- High-Beam Assist (HBA): It automatically turns between high and low beams depending on traffic conditions.
Conclusion
The Kia Carens presents a convincing proposition for those looking for a practical and feature-rich 7-seater for family use. Its Global NCAP rating of 3 stars for adult occupant protection and a commendable 5 stars for child occupant protection indicates that it is strong in keeping its youngest travelers safe, yet also offers a solid basis for adult protection features.
Having six airbags as standard in every model, in addition to robust active safety features such as ESC, ABS, HAC, and all-wheel disc brakes, the Carens guarantees a great amount of foundation-level safety. To top this, the fitment of advanced features such as Level-2 ADAS and a 360-degree camera in higher trims further boosts its protective standards.
Though the unstable bodyshell in the frontal test is a cause for merit for adult protection, the overall safety focus, particularly towards children, ensures the Kia Carens is a solid choice in its segment. Considering your next family car, the Carens safety rating and support for multiple features must be a major consideration for you.
FAQs about the Kia Carens Safety Rating
Q1. What is the Global NCAP rating of the Kia Carens?
A1. The Kia Carens NCAP rating is 3 stars for adult occupant protection and 5 stars for child occupant protection, as per its Global NCAP crash test results from December 2023.
Q2. Does the Kia Carens have ISOFIX anchor points?
A2. Indeed, the Kia Carens safety rating is improved due to the presence of ISOFIX anchor points in all variants for correct child seat fitting, which helps it achieve a top-notch child occupant protection rating.
Q3. How many airbags does the Kia Carens have?
A3. The Kia Carens airbag count is six as standard in every version: front airbags, side airbags, and curtain airbags. These offer total protection for the occupant and passersby in numerous types of crashes.
Q4. Does the Kia Carens have ADAS?
A4. Yes, Kia Carens ADAS functions can be found in upper trims. The lineup features sophisticated functions such as Forward Collision Warning, Lane-Keeping Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Blind-Spot Monitoring, and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist.
Q5. What safety features are standard in the Kia Carens?
A5. The Kia Carens offers a number of standard safety features in every model, such as six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESC, VSM, Hill-Start Assist Control, Downhill Brake Control, all-wheel disc brakes, Highline TPMS, rear parking sensors, and seatbelt reminder for every seat position.
Q6. What was the performance of the Kia Carens in the frontal crash test for adult protection?
A6. In the frontal offset crash test, the Kia Carens’ bodyshell became unstable. The chest protection for the driver was marginal, with that for the front passenger being adequate. Both driver and passenger head and neck protection was good.
Q7. Is the Kia Carens a safe car for families?
A7. With a 5-star child occupant protection rating and a comprehensive list of standard safety features, including airbags for six occupants, the Kia Carens is a solidly safe choice for families, particularly for children. Although protection for adult occupants is moderate, the car is designed to minimise risk.
