2015 Kia Forte
small car / 4-door sedan
Small overlap front: driver-side
Rating applies to 2015-16 models
Tested vehicle: 2015 Kia Forte LX 4-door
The Kia Forte was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Beginning with the 2015 models, Kia increased the strength of the occupant compartment structure (A-pillar, door sill, seat support crossmember, among other parts) to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Hip/thigh | |
| Lower leg/foot | |
|
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head contacted the frontal airbag but slid off the left side. Additionally, the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the dummy’s head and torso, contributing to the head hitting the instrument panel. The side curtain airbag deployed but does not have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with forward side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag deployed. | |
Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.
The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was not maintained well.
During the crash, the dummy's head and torso contacted the airbag before moving to the left. The seat belt allowed the dummy to move too far forward, and the head hit the instrument panel.
Despite considerable intrusion of the door hinge pillar, door sill, and instrument panel, risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CEN1436 |
| Lower occupant compartment | |
| Lower hinge pillar max (cm) | 20 |
| Footrest (cm) | 10 |
| Left toepan (cm) | 5 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 5 |
| Parking brake (cm) | |
| Rocker panel lateral average (cm) | 6 |
| Upper occupant compartment | |
| Steering column | 6 |
| Upper hinge pillar max (cm) | 16 |
| Upper dash (cm) | 17 |
| Lower instrument panel (cm) | 15 |
Driver injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CEN1436 |
| Head | |
| HIC-15 | 149 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | not meas. |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.5 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 12 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.24 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 21 |
| Femur (kN) | |
| Left | 1.4 |
| Right | 0.0 |
| Knee displacement (mm) | |
| Left | 1 |
| Right | 0 |
| Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%) | |
| Left | 0 |
| Right | 0 |
| Maximum tibia index | |
| Left | 0.51 |
| Right | 0.61 |
| Tibia axial force (kN) | |
| Left | 1.6 |
| Right | 1.2 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |
| Left | 108 |
| Right | 52 |
Moderate overlap front: original test
Rating applies to 2014-18 models
Tested vehicle: 2014 Kia Forte EX 4-door
The Kia Forte was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Hyundai/Kia.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall evaluation | |
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Leg/foot, left | |
| Leg/foot, right | |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics | |
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | VTF1305 |
| Footwell intrusion | |
| Footrest (cm) | 4 |
| Left (cm) | 8 |
| Center (cm) | 6 |
| Right (cm) | 3 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 4 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | |
| Left (cm) | 0 |
| Right (cm) | 0 |
| Steering column movement | |
| Upward (cm) | -4 |
| Rearward (cm) | -4 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 0 |
Driver injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | VTF1305 |
| Head | |
| HIC-15 | 298 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | no contact |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 2.1 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 11 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.40 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 28 |
| Legs | |
| Femur force - left (kN) | 0.0 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 0.8 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 2 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 1 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 0.32 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 0.33 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 2.3 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 2.0 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |
| Left | 59 |
| Right | 81 |
Side: original test
Rating applies to 2015-18 models
Tested vehicle: 2015 Kia Forte LX 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags
The Kia Forte was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Beginning with 2015 models, the seat-mounted side torso airbags and front door trim were modified to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Hyundai/Kia.
Because the side structure and the rear occupant compartment of the car were not changed, the injury ratings for the passenger and the structure rating are based on tests of both the 2014 and 2015 models.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall evaluation | |
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Torso | |
| Pelvis/leg | |
| Driver head protection | |
| Rear passenger injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Torso | |
| Pelvis/leg | |
| Rear passenger head protection | |
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | VTS1232 | VTS1410 |
|---|---|---|
| B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) | -17.0 | -17.0 |
| Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline. | ||
Driver injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | VTS1410 |
| Head HIC-15 | 376 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.0 |
| Compression (kN) | 0.3 |
| Shoulder | |
| Lateral deflection (mm) | 38 |
| Lateral force (kN) | 1.8 |
| Torso | |
| Maximum deflection (mm) | 39 |
| Average deflection (mm) | 35 |
| Maximum deflection rate (m/s) | 5.82 |
| Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) | 0.84 |
| Pelvis | |
| Iliac force (kN) | 2.1 |
| Acetabulum force (kN) | 1.7 |
| Combined force (kN) | 3.8 |
| Left femur | |
| L-M force (kN) | 1.0 |
| L-M moment (Nm) | 41 |
| A-P moment (Nm) | 214 |
Passenger injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement | |
|---|---|---|
| Test ID | VTS1232 | VTS1410 |
| Head HIC-15 | 279 | 307 |
| Neck | ||
| Tension (kN) | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Compression (kN) | 0.4 | 1.0 |
| Shoulder | ||
| Lateral deflection (mm) | 33 | 43 |
| Lateral force (kN) | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Torso | ||
| Maximum deflection (mm) | 34 | 38 |
| Average deflection (mm) | 27 | 33 |
| Maximum deflection rate (m/s) | 3.51 | 2.88 |
| Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) | 0.47 | 0.46 |
| Pelvis | ||
| Iliac force (kN) | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Acetabulum force (kN) | 1.4 | 0.6 |
| Combined force (kN) | 1.4 | 0.6 |
| Left femur | ||
| L-M force (kN) | 1.4 | 1.3 |
| L-M moment (Nm) | 79 | 26 |
| A-P moment (Nm) | -219 | -206 |
Roof strength
Rating applies to 2014-18 models
Tested vehicle: 2014 Kia Forte LX 4-door
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Curb weight | 2,812 lbs |
| Peak force | 14,015 lbs |
| Strength-to-weight ratio | 4.98 |
Head restraints & seats
Seat type: Manual cloth seats built after May 2013
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Dynamic rating | |
| Seat/head restraint geometry |
| Seat type | Manual cloth seats mfg after May 2013 |
|---|---|
| Geometry | |
| Backset (mm) | 0 |
| Distance below top of head (mm) | -13 |
| Seat design parameters | |
| Pass/fail | Pass |
| Max T1 acceleration (g) | 10.5 |
| Head contact time (ms) | 52 |
| Force rating | 1 |
| Neck forces | |
| Max neck shear force (N) | 0 |
| Max neck tension (N) | 262 |
About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.
Child seat anchors
Rating applies to 2015-18 models
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall evaluation | |
| Vehicle trim | LX |
| Seat type | cloth |
This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.
It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall evaluation | |
| Vehicle trim | LX |
| Seat type | cloth |
| Rating icon | Rating |
|---|---|
| G | Good |
| A | Acceptable |
| M | Marginal |
| P | Poor |
| Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated. | |
thether anchor symbol | Tether anchor |
lower anchor symbol | Lower anchors |
| Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s) | |
| No hardware available |
Details by seating position
| Position | Rating |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| Tether anchor | |
| easy-to-find location | |
| no other hardware could be confused for anchor | |
| Lower anchors | |
| too deep in seat | |
| not too much force needed to attach | |
| easy to maneuver around anchors | |
| 2 | |
| Tether anchor | |
| easy-to-find location | |
| no other hardware could be confused for anchor | |
| Lower anchors | |
| none available | |
| 3 | |
| Tether anchor | |
| easy-to-find location | |
| no other hardware could be confused for anchor | |
| Lower anchors | |
| too deep in seat | |
| not too much force needed to attach | |
| easy to maneuver around anchors |
Seat position 21
| Lower anchor A | |
|---|---|
| Open access rated | No |
| Depth (cm) | 0-2 |
| Force (lbs) | 23 |
| Clearance angle (degrees) | 71 |
| Lower anchor B | |
| Open access rated | No |
| Depth (cm) | 2-4 |
| Force (lbs) | 29 |
| Clearance angle (degrees) | 74 |
| Tether anchor | |
| Location | Rear deck |
| Confusing hardware present | No |
| Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor |
No |
| Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH |
Not measured |
Seat position 22
| Lower anchor A | |
|---|---|
| No lower latch for this seat position | |
| Lower anchor B | |
| No lower latch for this seat position | |
| Tether anchor | |
| Location | Rear deck |
| Confusing hardware present | No |
| Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor |
No |
| Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH |
Not measured |
Seat position 23
| Lower anchor A | |
|---|---|
| Open access rated | No |
| Depth (cm) | 2-4 |
| Force (lbs) | 26 |
| Clearance angle (degrees) | 71 |
| Lower anchor B | |
| Open access rated | No |
| Depth (cm) | 2-4 |
| Force (lbs) | 28 |
| Clearance angle (degrees) | 69 |
| Tether anchor | |
| Location | Rear deck |
| Confusing hardware present | No |
| Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor |
No |
| Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH |
Not measured |