Kia Seltos scores five stars for safety

All variants of the Kia Seltos have scored five-star ratings from Ancap, but the vehicle safety authority urges buyers to pick models equipped with “advanced” features.

Ancap chief executive James Goodwin says while the Kia vehicles meet the five-star thresholds in all four key areas of assessment, there are differences in performance for entry-level options. 

“We’ve seen some impressive results this year and consumers should be encouraged by the high standards the majority of vehicle brands continue to achieve,” Goodwin says.

“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 autonomous emergency braking (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.” 

The S Plus, Sport Plus and LX Plus variants and the S, Sport and LX variants fitted with the optional Safety Pack are equipped with a radar-fusion system, which is capable of detecting and avoiding or mitigating collisions with other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. This system also allows for crash avoidance at low and higher speeds, up to 80kph.

The S, Sport and LX variants sold without the Safety Pack have a camera-only collision avoidance system and, while they meet five-star standards, are not designed to detect cyclists, and offer reduced AEB performance at higher speeds with functionality limited to a top speed of about 55kph.