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2015 Kia Sorento nets one of ANCAP’s highest scores to date

The 2015 Kia Sorento family SUV has been awarded one of the highest ANCAP scores ever, days ahead of the car’s official local launch


ANCAP awarded the Sorento 36.62 out of 37 against its most stringent 2015 criteria, with perfect scores in the side impact and pole test. All impact zones on test dummies in front-offset and whiplash tests ranged between good and acceptable.

The only area where points were lost were the chest region and the lower leg area in the frontal offset test, which rated 3.75 out of 4 and 3.87 out of 4 respectively.

This score makes the Sorento among the safest cars tested by Australia’s safety watchdog. Fellow Korean car, the Hyundai Genesis, managed 36.88 against 2014 criteria — to some fanfare from ANCAP — while the BMW 3 Series scored 36.76 in 2012.

As we know, ANCAP’s test criteria progressively get tougher, meaning stars with a previous-year stamp do not necessarily translate to the same star rating against the latest tests (that’s not to say that the 3 Series or Genesis wouldn’t still be five-star cars — both are very safe options).

Interestingly, while ANCAP often commends brands that manage an exceptional score, it was somewhat more austere about the Kia’s result.

“ANCAP requirements continually increase encouraging manufacturers to provide consumers with safer cars. ANCAP has been raising this bar annually since 2011," said ANCAP CEO Nicholas Clarke.

"Consumers should continue to look for cars which have been awarded the maximum 5 star ANCAP safety rating. In addition, ANCAP also publishes the Rating Year for each car it rates. This important reference indicates the standards against which a vehicle has been assessed.”

Kia will no doubt be relieved about the Sorento’s score, given the headache it endured around the launch of the new Carnival people-mover this year, which managed a sub-par four-star score to deserved criticism.

Kia has said repeatedly it is working on a fix with the factory in Korea and hopes to re-test that car, and score the maximum, in the third quarter of 2015.

The new Kia Sorento seven-seater launches to the press this week, and we’ll bring you full details and a review soon.

Note: the images have 'Euro NCAP' stamps on them because that's who tested the car. ANCAP is a sister organisation. 

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