Kia Magentis Earns Five Star Safety Rating From U.S. Government

STOCKPORT, England - October 28, 2006: The Kia Magentis has earned the highest possible safety rating – five stars – for all seating positions in the latest frontal and side impact crash tests by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The NHTSA rating, like the Euro NCAP rating, uses calibrated dummies to measure potential impact forces on specific parts of the human body and is the benchmark of automotive safety in the U.S.

The Magentis boasts a longer wheelbase, a wider track, increased horsepower, better fuel economy and dramatically improved driving dynamics for enhanced performance and passenger comfort and has six airbags, including full-length side-curtain airbags, as standard – improvements that will only seek to reinforce the Magentis’s and Kia’s already high regard amongst consumers.

A high regard which Mr Byung-Kwang Jang, President of Kia Motors (UK) Ltd believes illustrates the great strides that the Kia brand has made in recent years. He said: “We are extremely pleased that our focus on the key area of safety has been rewarded by the NHTSA in this way. This rating is a positive step for us and provides a good indication as to the likely results of the Magentis’s forthcoming Euro NCAP test. We believe with this model, our commitment to building high quality vehicles with unprecedented levels of standard safety and convenience features, has paid dividends.

“We believe that listening to our consumers is the reason that we, as a company, have progressed so much in recent years. In the car industry, safety is and always will be a key selling point.”

The Magentis employs standard front active headrests that move up and forward to help mitigate neck injuries to front occupants in the event of a rear-impact collision, and an energy-absorbing steering column which helps reduce the possibility or severity of chest injury to the driver in a collision. “With this award the Magentis is really staking a claim to be a D-segment main-player,” he added.

Earlier this year, Magentis also earned a ‘Good’ rating – the highest possible – from the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for its remarkable safety performance with top marks in the frontal and rear impact tests.