2016 Kia Forte

small car / 4-door sedan

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

Seat belts & child restraints

Evaluation criteria	Rating
LATCH ease of use

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 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.

Technical measurements for this test

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

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

About the small overlap front test

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

Technical measurements for this test

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

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

About the original moderate overlap front test

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

Technical measurements for this test

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.

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

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

About the original side crash test

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

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats built after May 2013

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

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
shared lower achors symbol	Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
	No hardware available

Details by seating position

Position	Rating
1
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
2	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	none available
3
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

Technical measurements for this test

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

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

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

About the child seat anchor evaluation