Safety

5-Star rating, with advanced ‘active’ & ‘passive’ systems

Kia Motors puts the safety of people using its products as a top priority and invests heavily in R&D to ensure its cars and vehicles are designed and equipped to achieve the highest levels of ‘active’ and ‘passive’ occupant protection.

New Sorento is the third Kia to be awarded a 5-Star Euro NCAP safety rating, following this accolade’s presentation to the Kia cee’d and Kia Soul. Kia’s latest SUV recorded remarkable scores of 87% (Adult), 84% (Child), 44% (Pedestrian) and 71% (Safety Assist) in the testing system’s four categories.

Buyers of New Sorento are presented with a range of state-of-the-art systems and equipment as standard or as options – depending on market – to ensure that owning and driving this all-new SUV will be a safe and enjoyable experience.

Active safety technologies that the new Sorento buyers can specify include ESC, HAC, DBC, TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) and rear parking sensors, plus several systems to boost braking performance during extreme conditions.

ESC is fitted as standard in Europe. It is a proven accident-reducing system much praised by the Euro NCAP organisation, which will be compulsory for new cars sold in Europe from the end of 2011. Sensors monitor the vehicle’s progress and then reduce engine power and/or apply individual brakes to correct understeer or oversteer and mitigate possible roll-over situations, by ensuring that the car follows the course intended by the driver. v

HAC (Hill-start Assist Control) prevents slip-back during stop-start driving when climbing inclines, while DBC (Downhill Brake Control) maintains a steady 8 kph (5 mph) speed on steep descents. Both systems are standard-fit in Europe.

A TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) will also be available as an option on EX models. Air pressure sensors within each tyre transmit the tyre’s status every three minutes to the instrument cluster display – alerting the driver to ‘low pressure’ if any tyre suffers a pressure drop of more than 25 %.

During reversing, the optional rear parking sensors help to avoid contact with pedestrians and other vehicles. It uses four ultrasonic sensors to accurately detect obstructions behind the car. An audible warning is also triggered, the sound intensifying in both volume and frequency as the car moves closer to the obstruction.

Reversing is made even safer by the availability of a new KRSC (Kia Reversing Safety Camera) mounted on the tailgate. This camera is fitted with a 130 degree wide-angle lens and transmits images to a 3.5-inch LCD display panel set within the cabin’s auto-dimming rear view mirror. The system, which only operates when reverse gear is selected, enables the driver to check the rear view and the blind spot below the rear window simultaneously, in the rear view mirror.

In addition, EBD (Electronic Brake-force Distribution) monitors the car’s load – the combined weight of occupants and cargo – and adjusts the front/rear distribution of the braking pressure to maximise stopping power.

Good visibility is an important aspect of safe motoring and the new Sorento EX can be ordered with the optional HID (high intensity discharge) headlamps. These lamps, which feature automatic self-levelling, have 2.5 times the power of regular halogen lamps and four times the bulb life, while also being 30% more efficient.

Maximising protection with ‘passive’ safety technology

As well as improving refinement and NVH, the new Sorento’s robust bodyshell structure delivers real passive safety benefits with increased impact resistance. Using a much higher percentage (70.4%) of high-tensile strength steel the new vehicle achieves excellent rigidity and strength.

Particular attention was paid to the B-pillar areas, with a roll-over hoop incorporated into the B-pillars, and much stronger (60 kg grade) steel is used in the side sills and the floor cross members. Additional side-impact protection is provided by re-designed interior door trim panels with broader, flatter areas to minimise injuries to the pelvis during a side-impact.

The new Sorento bodyshell was designed to achieve the top-score 5-Star rating in Europe’s Euro NCAP (and did exactly that…) and in the USA’s current official NHTSA crash tests – plus a ‘Good’ rating (again the top-score) in IIHS tests for both frontal and side impacts.

Inside, the new Sorento can be equipped with up to six airbags as standard – depending on the market. Dual front airbags, dual front side airbags and full-length side curtain airbags (linked to rollover sensors as well as impact sensors) offer head protection to all occupants.

As standard on all models, both front seats are equipped with ‘active’ head restraints. These move forwards during a rear impact to minimise movement of the occupants’ heads and protect them against whiplash injuries.