2012 Kia Soul

small car / 4-door wagon

2012 Kia Soul 4-door wagon

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

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 2010-13 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Kia Soul wagon

The Kia Soul was introduced in the 2010 model year. Information from Hyundai/Kia indicated the front structural modifications added beginning with 2012 models would have no effect on small overlap frontal test performance; therefore the ratings below apply to all 2010-13 Soul models.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved 14 cm to the right. The side curtain airbag did not deploy, leaving the dummy's head vulnerable to contacts with side structure and outside objects, and the driver's seat tipped forward and toward the B-pillar.

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 barely contacted the airbag before sliding off to the left as the steering column moved to the right, and the driver's seat pitched forward and tipped outward.

Door hinge pillar, driver footwell, and instrument panel intrusion was extensive and contributed to a significant risk of injury to the lower left leg.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1317
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 29
Footrest (cm) 17
Left toepan (cm) 11
Brake pedal (cm) 3
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 17
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 15
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 23
Upper dash (cm) 23
Lower instrument panel (cm) 22

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1317
Head
HIC-15 83
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm) 13
Maximum Nij 0.26
Chest maximum compression (mm) 24
Femur (kN)
Left 4.5
Right 0.4
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 11
Right 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 2
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 1.03
Right 0.80
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 3.3
Right 0.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 81
Right 55

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2012-13 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 Kia Soul wagon

The Kia Soul was introduced in the 2010 model year. Beginning with 2012 models, structural improvements were made to improve occupant protection in frontal offset crashes. Frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Hyundai/Kia as part of frontal crash test verification.

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

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1105
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 5
Left (cm) 11
Center (cm) 12
Right (cm) 6
Brake pedal (cm) 8
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 1
Right (cm) 3
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -7
Rearward (cm) -1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 1

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1105
Head
HIC-15 370
Peak gs at hard contact 68
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm) 30
Maximum Nij 0.42
Chest maximum compression (mm) 22
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.8
Femur force - right (kN) 2.3
Knee displacement - left (mm) 4
Knee displacement - right (mm) 3
Maximum tibia index - left 0.68
Maximum tibia index - right 0.62
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.0
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.5
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 80
Right 56

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2012-13 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 Kia Soul wagon with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Kia Soul was introduced in the 2010 model year. For 2011 models, Kia made design changes to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes. Beginning with 2012 models, additional improvements were made upgrading the structure of the front and rear doors and B-pillar. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test of a 2012 model conducted by Hyundai/Kia as part of side crash test verification.

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

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1105
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -10.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1105
Head HIC-15 248
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3
Compression (kN) 0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 28
Lateral force (kN) 1.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 24
Average deflection (mm) 22
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.49
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.27
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 3.1
Acetabulum force (kN) 0.1
Combined force (kN) 3.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.4
L-M moment (Nm) 18
A-P moment (Nm) 52

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1105
Head HIC-15 203
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 1.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 42
Lateral force (kN) 1.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 30
Average deflection (mm) 19
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.40
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.37
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.2
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.7
Combined force (kN) 1.6
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.6
L-M moment (Nm) 61
A-P moment (Nm) 140

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2010-13 models

Tested vehicle: 2010 Kia Soul Plus wagon

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 2,886 lbs
Peak force 12,489 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 4.33

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats AHR

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seats AHR
Geometry
Backset (mm) 50
Distance below top of head (mm) 16
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 10.5
Head contact time (ms) 66
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 264

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.