2015 Kia Sportage

small SUV / 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle	Not available

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2011-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Hyundai Tucson GLS 4-door 4wd

The Hyundai Tucson was redesigned for the 2010 model year, and the Kia Sportage was redesigned for the 2011 model year. The small overlap frontal ratings apply to 2010-15 models of the Tucson and to 2011-16 models of the Sportage.

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 barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved 14 cm to the right. 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 did not deploy, leaving the dummy's head vulnerable to contacts with side structure and outside objects.

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 wasn't maintained well.

During the crash, the dummy's head and torso barely contacted the airbag before sliding off to the left, and the seat belt allowed the dummy to move too far forward, as is evident from the gap between the seat back and the dummy's torso.

Parking brake pedal (not visible), instrument panel, and door hinge pillar intrusion was extensive as the left front wheel was forced rearward during the crash. (The tire can be seen below the dummy's ankle.) This intrusion contributed to a significant risk of injury to the left knee and a moderate risk to the left lower leg.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1237
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	22
Footrest (cm)	16
Left toepan (cm)	17
Brake pedal (cm)	11
Parking brake (cm)	41
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	8
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	11
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	22
Upper dash (cm)	22
Lower instrument panel (cm)	22

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1237
Head
HIC-15	158
Peak gs at hard contact	35
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.7
Extension bending moment (Nm)	12
Maximum Nij	0.33
Chest maximum compression (mm)	20
Femur (kN)
Left	4.0
Right	2.4
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	18
Right	4
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	1
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.98
Right	0.54
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	2.2
Right	1.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	59
Right	70

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2011-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2010 Hyundai Tucson GLS 4-door 4wd

The Kia Sportage was redesigned for the 2011 model year, and the Hyundai Tucson was redesigned for the 2010 model year. The frontal ratings apply to 2011-16 models of the Sportage and to 2010-15 models of the Tucson.

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

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained well.

Smeared pink greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head hit the roof rail during rebound. Head acceleration from this hit was negligible.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and all leg and foot injury measures were low.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEF1004
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	4
Left (cm)	10
Center (cm)	10
Right (cm)	7
Brake pedal (cm)	9
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	0
Right (cm)	0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	0
Rearward (cm)	-3
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEF1004
Head
HIC-15	213
Peak gs at hard contact	negligible
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm)	11
Maximum Nij	0.20
Chest maximum compression (mm)	35
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	2.5
Femur force - right (kN)	0.4
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	0
Maximum tibia index - left	0.27
Maximum tibia index - right	0.26
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	1.4
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	2.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	49
Right	74

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2012-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 Kia Sportage LX 4-door 4wd with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Kia Sportage was redesigned for the 2011 model year, and the Hyundai Tucson was redesigned for the 2010 model year. Beginning with 2012 models, Hyundai/Kia modified the side airbags and side structure in slightly different ways between the two vehicles to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes. Therefore, for the 2012-16 models, the Sportage and Tucson can no longer be regarded as twins for side impact rating purposes. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2012 Kia Sportage conducted by Hyundai/Kia.

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

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS1117
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-13.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1117
Head HIC-15	334
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.6
Compression (kN)	0.7
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	27
Lateral force (kN)	1.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	30
Average deflection (mm)	24
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.89
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.52
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.2
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.7
Combined force (kN)	2.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.0
L-M moment (Nm)	72
A-P moment (Nm)	15

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1117
Head HIC-15	207
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.1
Compression (kN)	1.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	31
Lateral force (kN)	1.7
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	22
Average deflection (mm)	17
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	2.63
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.21
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.4
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.6
Combined force (kN)	2.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.8
L-M moment (Nm)	79
A-P moment (Nm)	57

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2011-16 models

Tested vehicle: 2010 Hyundai Tucson GLS 4-door 4wd

This rating applies to the Kia Sportage based on a test of the structurally similar Hyundai Tucson.

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,359 lbs
Peak force	14,887 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	4.43

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual seats AHR

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Manual seats AHR
Geometry
Backset (mm)	9
Distance below top of head (mm)	31
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	11.9
Head contact time (ms)	48
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	2
Max neck tension (N)	157

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.