VIDEO: Kia Soul aces Euro NCAP crash tests
Click above to watch the Kia Soul's Euro NCAP crash tests
There is no rating yet for the Kia Soul in the U.S., but in Europe the car did the business: the Soul scored five stars on the NCAP frontal offset, side impact and pole crash tests, doing no worse than "marginal" in just two areas. In the frontal offset test the windshield doesn't crack and there is only minor cosmetic damage aft of the front door's front shut line. It's a big result for a little car, and if it has the reliability to match it should do very, very well. Thanks for the tip, GenGT!
Gallery: Kia Soul Euro NCAP Test
[Source: YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bryant 5:12PM (5/30/2009)
That was unexpected.
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Kitko 7:42PM (5/30/2009)
Why exactly was that?
James 1:30PM (5/31/2009)
Congrats to Kia! This is actually one of my choices for my next ride..I just hope they tone down the interior colors a bit, and introduce a diesel in a year or so in the US and I'm SOLD.
darkstardk 5:18PM (5/30/2009)
i thought it looks pretty safe. nice job
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VW GTi 5:23PM (5/30/2009)
Yea, but lets see it take on an SUV.
Yes, these cars score excellent when tested against something their own size, but don't do as well against anything bigger.
EU_reader 5:33PM (5/30/2009)
@VW GTi
That's a stupid argument... so therefore buying cars should be a race to the biggest one available, because that's 'safest'? If everyone thinks like that, everyone can go and have crashes against other big cars, which in the end changes nothing.
And speaking of trucks: this is how they perform
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdvEIMq6vGI&feature=channel_page
I don't know about you, but I'll take my chance in the KIA, thank you very much. That guy got the front wheel in his legs and the doors won't even open. Everything happens at the same (standard) speed
In the same category:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ygYUYia9I
Heavy old volvo against a well designed new mediumsized hatchback.
mikhalian 5:44PM (5/30/2009)
@VW GTi: Well actually that tends to be the case with all automobiles, except for SUVs which tend to fair WORSE than average against something of equal size/weight.
British_Rover 8:02PM (5/30/2009)
Hadn't seen that Fifth gear clip but here is another one with a Disco and an Espace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIKu1UDoa6s
Now I love Rovers and Discos but that old school Body on Frame design even with a fully boxed frame doesn't stand a chance against a modern unibody chassis.
David 11:18AM (5/31/2009)
VW GTI:
That's a pretty silly thing to say:
1) Have you SEEN one in real-life? It's a big, tall car -- as tall as an "SUV"
2) If you indeed drive a GTI, then that's a doubly stupid remark. You've survived this long.
Tyler 5:24PM (5/30/2009)
I think its sort of astounding that people blindly buy Volvos under the perception that Volvo has a monopoly on safety. Sure, Volvos are safe, but we see that safety isn't the exclusive dominion of Volvo. /volvo rant
Good on you, Hyundai/Kia. You're starting to prove yourself.
That was a quick industrialization. 5 years ago, I would have never entered one of their dealer's showrooms.
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ASEVENSEE4 7:47PM (5/30/2009)
Obviously you don't have a clue.
Most cars built today are built to perform well in standardized testing. Volvo's are not. They're built to perform the best they can, not just in IIHS or NHSTA testing. Much like the Kia Sportage failing the roof crush test because the roof strength was only was built to withstand the the government standard and not a pound more. There is more to crash safety than the standardized testing which only gives you an idea of how it will perform under the EXACT or similar condition.
Joel 9:33PM (5/30/2009)
Don't get me wrong, I love Volvo and how they're notorious with Safety, but Saabs are just as safe. The Swedes definitely know how to protect passengers
P.V. 11:29PM (5/30/2009)
It has even more presence on the road than pictures would lead one to believe. It looks really nice!
Also, kudos KIA for the good safety test!
@Tyler:
With regards to the supposed dominance of Volvo over safety, at this point I think there has been reached an upper bound on structural safety, so at this point all they can do is simply develop more ultra-high-tech safety prevention gadgetry, which will just continue pushing them up the luxury car strata. In terms of fundamental safety (without the use of electronic pre-crash devices), Volvos of today are not inherently safer than other cars, so I agree with you there.
PJ 6:09PM (5/30/2009)
I hope Hyundai/Kia keeps the ball rolling on sporty car development, because they're emerging as one of this industry's major players. Today they're Korea's Toyota--I sincerely hope they end up being Korea's Honda.
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xtasi 6:31PM (5/30/2009)
From the link, it looks like it does "marginal" on pedestrian safety only... or am I missing something? If pedestrians don't want to get run over, then they should stay out of the sidewalk.
But I kid, I kid... Looks like a good result.
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korona 8:21PM (5/30/2009)
This car is nothing special on photo, but on the street it actually looks great.
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Xa 8:21PM (5/30/2009)
am i the only person on autoblog that doesn't like this car?
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jsnoose 10:32PM (5/30/2009)
it looks better in commercials I saw one last week thought it was hideous
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ken 11:25PM (5/30/2009)
+1 gotta keep those hamsters safe!
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jinsei888 10:45PM (5/31/2009)
I put those hamsters in my butt