Kia Picanto Retains 5-Star ANCAP Rating But Audit Finds Increased Injury Risk

Kia’s Picanto city car launched in Australia this year with the maximum 5-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), but an audit from the Program has taken some of the gloss from the safety rating.

The audit found an increased risk of injury to the driver, compared with initial findings from May which scored the Picanto at 34.26 points out of 37.

The initial crash testing for the Picanto was conducted by sister program Euro NCAP in 2011, as the current model has taken its time, so to speak, in arriving locally. 

But a poorer result from crash testing for a similar model sold in the Indonesian market prompted ANCAP to reassess its results.

“The trigger for this audit test was the considerable variation in structural performance seen on the Indonesian-sold Picanto,” ANCAP CEO, James Goodwin, said.

“We wanted to confirm the validity of our existing rating for the safety of Australian and New Zealand consumers with the key driver being to provide assurance they can rely on ANCAP information when buying a new car.”

ANCAP