The Kia EV5 has picked up a full five-star safety rating in the latest round of Euro NCAP tests, giving the brand’s new electric SUV a strong start in Europe.
The result from Euro NCAP’s findings puts the EV5 among the safest battery-powered family cars currently on sale.
Euro NCAP’s independent crash programme scored the EV5 at 83% for adult occupant protection and 85% for child occupants.
Protection for vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, came in at 74%, while the Safety Assist score, which looks at active collision-avoidance tech, reached 80%.
In adult occupant tests, the passenger cell stayed stable in a frontal impact, with good readings for the driver’s and front passenger’s knees and femurs. Side barrier tests earned maximum points, and both front and rear seats showed good protection against whiplash in a rear-end hit.
The EV5 also carries an automatic eCall system for summoning emergency services and a function designed to reduce the risk of a second impact after the first crash.
Child protection was slightly better again.
All critical body areas of the test dummies were well shielded in both frontal and side impacts, and the front passenger airbag can be switched off to safely take a rear-facing child seat. All approved child restraints for the EV5 could be fitted without drama.
For people outside the car, Euro NCAP noted mostly good or adequate head and leg protection across the front of the SUV.
The autonomous emergency braking system responds not only to other vehicles but also to pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and it performed particularly strongly in cyclist scenarios.
On the active safety side, the test body picked out the EV5’s AEB performance and lane-keeping system, which can nudge the car back into its lane when needed. There is also Intelligent Speed Limit Assist that reads the local limit, a driver-status monitor and seatbelt reminders for both rows.
All of this sits on Kia’s Electric-Global Modular Platform, with a high-strength body and a full suite of driver assistance systems.
In Europe, the EV5 pairs an 81.4kWh battery with a 160kW motor for up to 530km of WLTP range, backed by regenerative braking, an advanced heat pump and DC fast charging from 10–80% in about 30 minutes.
European deliveries began in the fourth quarter of this year.
