DETROIT, Mich.–The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has awarded its best rating possible, Top Safety Pick Plus (TSP+), to the 2019 Kia Stinger fastback sedan when equipped with optional Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist with Pedestrian Detection and LED headlights.
The Stinger’s TSP+ rating increases the total number of Kia vehicles with 2019 Top Safety Pick3 or Top Safety Pick Plus4 ratings to 10.
“No detail was too small to be obsessed over during the Stinger’s development process,” said Michael Cole, chief operating officer and EVP, KMA. “Stinger was engineered to be the fastest and highest performing vehicle in Kia‘s history, undergoing the company’s most intense R&D effort to date, but it also continues Kia’s tradition of offering advanced collision avoidance systems. Earning another TSP+ award is just one more piece of evidence demonstrating our commitment to ‘Give it Everything.'”
To qualify for a 2019 TSP+ award, a vehicle must earn “Good” ratings in six crashworthiness tests – driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint – as well as an “Advanced” or “Superior” rating for front crash prevention and a “Good” headlight rating.
The Stinger earned “Good” ratings for all six crash-worthiness tests, and a “Superior” rating for the optional front crash prevention system, which helped it avoid collisions in the IIHS’s 12-mph and 25-mph track tests. The “Good” rating for the headlights applies to the Stinger’s static LED projector headlights.
The Stinger was the first Kia to introduce two new available technologies to the Kia Drive Wise suite of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems: Driver Attention Warning and Lane Keeping Assist. Driver Attention Warning is designed to help combat distracted or drowsy driving in certain conditions. The system monitors a number of inputs from the vehicle and will sound a warning chime and display a graphic in the instrument binnacle that it’s time to take a break from driving if it detects inattentive driving practices. Lane Keeping Assist is designed to detect and monitor the vehicle’s intended lane and in certain situations, alert the driver with an audible warning along with providing steering input to help maintain the vehicle’s position.