Top Safety Pick +Top Safety Pick criteria

2023 Kia EV6

small SUV / 4-door SUV

Fully electric
2023 Kia EV6 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

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

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Standard system
Superior
Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)
Standard system
Superior

Other available safety features

  • Standard blind spot detection
  • Standard lane departure warning & prevention

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 2022-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SEL 4-door 4wd

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 were introduced in the 2022 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the driver-side 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 maintained reasonably well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

The driver's space was maintained well, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN2205
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 12
Footrest (cm) 10
Left toepan (cm) 8
Brake pedal (cm) 2
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 3
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 5
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 9
Upper dash (cm) 9
Lower instrument panel (cm) 9

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN2205
Head
HIC-15 99
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.8
Extension bending moment (Nm) 17
Maximum Nij 0.19
Chest maximum compression (mm) 29
Femur (kN)
Left 1.8
Right 0.1
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 1
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.41
Right 0.36
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.5
Right 1.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 53
Right 44

About the small overlap front test

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2022-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SE EV 4-door 4wd

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 were introduced in the 2022 model year. Passenger-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2022 Ioniq 5 conducted by Hyundai.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID VTP2209
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 13
Footrest (cm) 12
Right toepan (cm) 8
Center toepan (cm) 5
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 1
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm) 6
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 10
Upper dash (cm) 9
Right lower dash (cm) 9

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTP2209
Head
HIC-15 138
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 37
Maximum Nij 0.34
Chest maximum compression (mm) 20
Femur (kN)
Left 0.5
Right 1.6
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 4
Right 7
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.40
Right 0.58
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.2
Right 1.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 52
Right 60

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTP2209
Head
HIC-15 56
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.6
Extension bending moment (Nm) 10
Maximum Nij 0.14
Chest maximum compression (mm) 25
Femur (kN)
Left 0.0
Right 0.1
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 0
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.29
Right 0.24
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.0
Right 0.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 52
Right 85

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2022-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SE EV 4-door 4wd

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 were introduced in the 2022 model year.

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 moderate overlap frontal 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 greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head contacted the side curtain airbag during rebound.

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

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEF2212
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 8
Left (cm) 10
Center (cm) 11
Right (cm) 9
Brake pedal (cm) 16
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 2
Right (cm) 5
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 0
Rearward (cm) 2
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEF2212
Head
HIC-15 206
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.7
Extension bending moment (Nm) 11
Maximum Nij 0.18
Chest maximum compression (mm) 29
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.1
Femur force - right (kN) 0.4
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 1
Maximum tibia index - left 0.66
Maximum tibia index - right 0.64
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.0
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 1.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 51
Right 92

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2022-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SE EV 4-door 4wd

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 were introduced in the 2022 model year.

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

View of the vehicle just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side airbags.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES2224
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -15.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES2224
Head HIC-15 242
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.7
Compression (kN) 0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 36
Lateral force (kN) 1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 32
Average deflection (mm) 29
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.53
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.39
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.2
Acetabulum force (kN) 0.8
Combined force (kN) 1.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.6
L-M moment (Nm) 96
A-P moment (Nm) 54

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES2224
Head HIC-15 128
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.3
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 25
Lateral force (kN) 1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 39
Average deflection (mm) 25
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.75
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.52
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.1
Acetabulum force (kN) 0.6
Combined force (kN) 1.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.9
L-M moment (Nm) 113
A-P moment (Nm) -29

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2022-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SEL 4-door 4wd

Ratings apply to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (tested) and the structurally similar all new 2022 Kia EV6.

Overall evaluation
Curb weight4,521 lbs
Peak force18,197 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio4.02

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Power leather seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 20
Distance below top of head (mm) -6
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 10.5
Head contact time (ms) 60
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 333

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

Headlights

Trim level(s)

  • All trims
Low-beam headlight typeLED reflector
High-beam headlight typeLED reflector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination High-beam assist credit

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the left side of the road and fair on the right side. On curves, visibility was good on both right curves and fair on both left curves.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on both right curves, fair on the gradual left curve and inadequate on the sharp left curve.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and on both left curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • All trims
Low-beam headlight type LED reflector
High-beam headlight type LED reflector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2022-24 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 88.6 m None
Straightaway left edge 65.3 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 70.3 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 63.2 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 61.0 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 48.2 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 152.7 m
Straightaway left edge 114.9 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 79.7 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 69.6 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 65.7 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 50.4 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

  • Standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2022-23 models

Superior
Superior
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

About the original front crash prevention test

Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)

System details

  • standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist

Overall evaluation

This rating applies to all 2022-24 models

Superior
Superior

Crossing child

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 22 mph.

Crossing adult

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

Parallel adult

  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 37 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision. A warning was issued 2.3 seconds before impact.

About the pedestrian front crash prevention test