The all-new Kia Carens compact MPV has been awarded a maximum five-star safety rating by Europe’s leading road safety organisation, Euro NCAP.
The Carens achieved high scores for Adult Occupant Protection (94%), Child Occupant Protection (76%), Safety Assist equipment (81%) and Pedestrian protection (64%) and is one of only two compact MPV models to earn five-stars in the 2013 Euro NCAP tests.
“From the beginning of the new Carens’ development programme, Kia engineers were dedicated to creating a compact MPV with the very best structure and safety technology to protect drivers, their families and pedestrians in the event of an accident,” said Benny Oeyen, vice president marketing and product planning at Kia Motors Europe.
“In the last five years, Euro NCAP testing criteria has become tougher, making it harder for manufacturers’ products to be awarded top marks.
“It is a testament to Kia’s ongoing commitment to improving vehicle safety that we are able to once again achieve the highest rating with new Carens which has great appeal for families with an active lifestyle who seek both style and practicality.”
Euro NCAP testers awarded the Carens maximum point scores for side impact protection against a barrier, child protection for 18-month old infants, front seat whiplash protection and protection for pedestrians’ legs.
The safety organisation also noted that new Carens is equipped with a ‘belt-up’ reminder for all seats, a driver-set adjustable speed limiter and that all of the child restraint types for which the car is designed could be properly installed and accommodated in the car.
Standard safety equipment fitted to the new Kia Carens includes six airbags (front, front side and curtain), seatbelt reminders for all occupants, ESC (Electronic Stability Control), HAC (Hill-start Assist Control) to prevent roll-back and ESS (Emergency Stop Signalling) which flashes the brake lights to alert other motorists when the driver is making an emergency stop.
The Carens range starts from £17,895 and is available with three engines a 1.6 GDi engine with 133 bhp and a 1.7 CRDi engine with two states of play of 114bhp and 134bhp with CO2 from 124g/km.
With standard specification such as air conditioning, leather trimmed steering wheel, seven seats, all round electric windows, body coloured bumpers, door handles and wing mirrors as well as a comprehensive list of safety features. The Carens is available in four specifications- ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’ and ‘3 Sat Nav’.
The new Kia Carens joins six other Kia models – cee’d, Rio, Venga, Soul, Sportage and Sorento – in scoring a five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash test results.
Sarah - 26/09/2013 08:45
I just wanted to add one small but important note. The Chil Protection score is poor when you look at other vehicles tested in recent years. The Dacia Lodgy manages to get a higher score. The smaller Kia Venga got 85% after the re-test vs 76% on the Carens. Is this good enough? I don't think so.