The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has awarded its best rating possible, Top Safety Pick Plus (TSP+), to the 2018 Kia Niro when equipped with available Forward Collision Warning System (FCWS) and Autonomous Emergency Braking System (AEB)[i] as well high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights.
“The Niro is one of our most popular models,” said Orth Hedrick, vice president, product planning, KMA, “and receiving the highest possible safety rating from IIHS provides yet another reason why it should be the top choice for anyone shopping for a small hybrid SUV.”
The TSP+ rating for Niro increases the total number of Kia vehicles with 2018 Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick Plus ratings to nine.
“We’re very pleased with this new TSP+ award for Niro,” William Freels, President of Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. (HATCI), the research and development center for Kia Motors America. “It validates our efforts to develop vehicles that meet some of the industry’s highest safety standards and it endorses the skill and commitment of our designers and engineers.”
To qualify for TSP+, the IIHS testing parameters require a vehicle earn “Good” ratings in six crashworthiness tests – driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side impact, roof strength, and head restraint – as well as a “Good” or “Acceptable” rating in the passenger side small overlap front test, an “Advanced” or “Superior” rating for front crash prevention, and a “Good” rating in headlight testing. To qualify for a TSP rating, a vehicle must earn “Good” ratings in five crashworthiness tests—driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests. It also must earn an “Advanced” or “Superior” rating for front crash prevention, and an “Acceptable” or “Good” rating in headlight testing.
