The battery-electric Kia EV 9 has secured a 5-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). This safety rating applies to all variants of the Kia EV9 introduced in New Zealand in October 2023 and subsequently in Australia in November 2023.
According to ANCAP’s assessment, the vehicle scored 84% for Adult Occupant Protection, 87% for Child Occupant Protection, 76% for Vulnerable Road User Protection, and 85% for Safety Assist.
The large SUV garnered maximum points for car-to-car Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and lane-keeping assist functionalities, underscoring its capacity to avoid and mitigate collisions.
Highlighting its focus on driver safety, the EV9 comes equipped with a standard Direct Driver Monitoring System (DMS). This cutting-edge system boasts the ability to detect instances of driver distraction, drowsiness, and microsleep, ensuring enhanced crash avoidance capabilities by alerting and sensitising the driver when such conditions are detected.
Additionally, the EV9 boasts an indirect Child Presence Detection (CPD) system as standard for all second and third-row passenger seats. This feature aims to situations where a child may be left in the vehicle.
However, ANCAP’s rigorous evaluation of destructive crash tests uncovered areas for improvement. While the EV9 offered commendable protection for adult and child occupants, marginal performance was recorded for specific scenarios such as the driver’s chest in the oblique pole test and the rear passenger’s chest in the full-width test.
Notably, the EV9 comes loaded with standard safety features including a comprehensive airbag system, autonomous emergency braking, lane support systems, and advanced speed assistance.
A full list of the Kia EV 9’s safety features can be found here.
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