To start with the conclusions, the little city car offers acceptable levels of occupant protection, the safety body found fault with it in the Safety assist department, where the lack of standard ESP resulted in a 43 percent overall score.
The safety organization subjected the Kia city car to the same set of tests it did all other vehicles and found that the vehicle gives its occupants a four-star protection.
The crash tested vehicle obtained 31 points (86 percent) for adult occupant protection, 40 points (83 percent) for child occupants, only 17 points (47 percent) for pedestrian and 3 points (71 percent) for the safety assist section.
The passenger compartment of the Picanto remained stable in the frontal impact. Dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees, femurs and pelvis of both the driver and front passenger. The side test also found the Kia as being adequate, with most body regions were well protected in the side barrier test.
“Electronic stability control is available as an option on the Picanto. However, its sales as standard equipment are not expected to meet Euro NCAP's 2011 requirements and the system was not assessed. A seatbelt reminder is standard equipment for the driver, front passenger and rear seats,” the safety body states, clarifying why the Picanto got only 4 stars.
We expect a bit of controversy to be stirred over this test.
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