Kia Seltos Safety Fails at Entry Level

Kia Seltos is one of the cars that has created in the Indian market as far as the SUV segment is considered. This car has come very close to the sales of Hyundai Creta which was the king of this segment. But now there might be questions that might be raised on the Kia Seltos Safety.

Global NCAP Testing

Global NCAP tests the entry-level variants of the cars. This ensures that the real safety rating of the cars is revealed. Although car manufacturers will provide 6 airbags on the top trim if it is neglecting the lower-priced variants then that should be known by what margin.

As a part of #SaferCarsForIndia campaign, Global NCAP recently crash-tested a range of cars sold in the Indian market. The Kia Seltos was launched in the Indian Market in 2019 August and is one of the best selling Mid-Size SUV in Indian Market.

Safety Score

The Kia Seltos scores 3-stars for adult protections test and 2-stars for child occupancy protection. Out of 17 possible points, the Seltos secured 8.03 in adult occupant protection, while the child occupant protection is rated at 15, out of the maximum 49. The bodyshell integrity of the car has been rated unstable.
Now with the lower variant, the car comes with dual airbags and other safety features like disc brakes on the diesel and rear parking sensors. Seatbelts with pretensions and high-speed alert systems.

Now if you compare that with the top variant of the car, it gets 6 airbags, traction control, electronic stability and other electronic aids which count a lot in the vehicle’s assessment according to Global NCAP.

Should You buy a Car with 3-star Safety?

Taking in general, 3 star is above the half safety mark. If you take a look at the safety of the upper trims of the SUV Kia Seltos does a good job. The car also has a lot of engine options and the car will also have good technology to avoid accidents. Also if those variants were tested then the safety rating would be higher as a lot of safety features were missing on the base variant.

Going for the entry-level variant will not be advised as adding safety features on a car is not really possible in the aftermarket. Of course, you could get a reverse parking camera and TPMS but getting other features like airbags and braking technology is not possible.

The current price of the Kia Seltos is Rs 9.89 lakhs and it goes up to Rs 17.34 lakhs. So if you are putting in almost 10 lakhs and getting 3-star safety it is not a good deal. Instead, you could go for another car that offers higher safety and get their top-level variants. Compromising on space is always prefered than compromising on Safety.

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