India-spec Kia Seltos Awarded Rather Ordinary 3-Star Rating From Global NCAP

Under the #SaferCarsForIndia campaign, the Global NCAP has tested a number of cars sold in India including the Maruti S-Presso, Hyundai Grand i10 Nios and Kia Seltos. Being the best-selling mid-size SUV in India, the Kia Seltos has secured a three-star rating from the GNCAP. Launched in 2019, the Kia Seltos was Kia’s maiden product for India. It has maintained its top-selling position in the mid-size SUV segment ever since its introduction. The car tested by the Global NCAP is the base HTE variant which misses out on some certain safety features that are offered in the higher-spec versions.

The India-spec Kia Seltos has been rated three stars in the adult protection test while it gained only two stars for child occupancy protection. Specifically, the Seltso secured 8.03 out of 17 points in the adult and 15 out of 49 points in the child occupant protection. That said, the head protection for the adult dummies was adequate while that for the neck area was rated to be good. The protection for the knee areas of the driver and the front passenger was marginal. The bodyshell integrity of the Kia Seltos was rated unstable as well.

On the children protection front, the Kia Seltos didn’t do well with a mere two-star rating. The Kia Seltos doesn’t offer a child restraint system (CRS) that could be the primary reason for the poor score. During the crash test, the three-year-old child dummy got an excessive forward movement that causes limited protection for the head and neck. The 18-month-old child dummy which sat in a backwards-facing child seat received ‘acceptable’ safety protection.

Once again, it should be noted that the overall 3-star rating was given to the entry-level variant of the Kia Seltos. The said model comes with dual airbags, ABS, high-speed alert, rear parking sensors, front seatbelt reminders with pre-tensioners, disc brakes on all wheels (diesel) as standard safety features. The top-of-the-range variant of the Seltos gets six airbags, tractional control, ESC, hill-assist control, vehicle stability management, a TPMS, front parking sensors, blind-view monitor, head-up display and a 360-degree camera view.