2006 Kia Optima

midsize car / 4-door sedan

2006 Kia Optima 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
G
Side: original test
A
Roof strength
M
Head restraints & seats
G

Key

GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Tested vehicle: 2006 Kia Optima LX 4-door
Rating applies to 2006-10 models built after September 2005

The Kia Optima was redesigned during the 2006 model year. It no longer shares its body structure with the Hyundai Sonata, which was also redesigned for 2006.

All 2006-10 manufactured after September 2005 are redesigned (note: information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door). 2006 Optima models manufactured in Sept. 2005 or earlier share the previous design with 2001-05 models.

Evaluation criteria Rating
Overall evaluation
G
Structure and safety cage
G
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
G
Chest
G
Leg/foot, left
G
Leg/foot, right
M
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
G
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CEF0606
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 6
Left (cm) 7
Center (cm) 11
Right (cm) 9
Brake pedal (cm) 13
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 3
Right (cm) 4
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 1
Rearward (cm) 1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 1

Driver injury measures

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CEF0606
Head
HIC-15 275
Peak gs at hard contact 38
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.0
Extension bending moment (Nm) 20
Maximum Nij 0.42
Chest maximum compression (mm) 33
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 2.8
Femur force - right (kN) 3.8
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 3
Maximum tibia index - left 0.49
Maximum tibia index - right 1.05
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.7
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 3.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 76
Right 99

About the original moderate overlap front test

Tested vehicle: 1999 Hyundai Sonata 4-door
Rating applies to 2001-06 models built before October 2005

The Hyundai Sonata was redesigned for the 1999 model year, and the Kia Optima was introduced in the 2001 model year. The Sonata was again redesigned for 2006, but the Kia Optima remained unchanged for the early part of the 2006 model year (2006 cars manufactured before October 2005). Therefore the ratings listed here also apply to early 2006 Optimas.

Evaluation criteria Rating
Overall evaluation
A
Structure and safety cage
M
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
G
Chest
G
Leg/foot, left
A
Leg/foot, right
M
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
G
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CF99003
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 12
Left (cm) 23
Center (cm) 25
Right (cm) 22
Brake pedal (cm) 27
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 12
Right (cm) 10
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -3
Rearward (cm) 9
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 10

Driver injury measures

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CF99003
Head
HIC-15 275
Peak gs at hard contact 13
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm) 11
Maximum Nij 0.32
Chest maximum compression (mm) 36
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 5.8
Femur force - right (kN) 3.0
Knee displacement - left (mm) 9
Knee displacement - right (mm) 3
Maximum tibia index - left 0.84
Maximum tibia index - right 1.10
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 1.5
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 6.9
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 82
Right 123

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Tested vehicle: 2008 Kia Optima LX 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags
Rating applies to 2006-10 models built after June 2006

The Kia Optima was redesigned during the 2006 model year. It no longer shares its body structure with the Hyundai Sonata, which was also redesigned for 2006.

Beginning with 2006 models manufactured after June 2006, design changes were made to the rear door structure and trim to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes (note: information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door).

Evaluation criteria Rating
Overall evaluation
A
Structure and safety cage
M
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
G
Torso
G
Pelvis/leg
A
Driver head protection
G
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
G
Torso
G
Pelvis/leg
G
Rear passenger head protection
G
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES0812
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -1.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CES0812
Head HIC-15 273
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.0
Compression (kN) 0.7
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 43
Lateral force (kN) 1.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 39
Average deflection (mm) 33
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 6.34
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.81
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 3.0
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.9
Combined force (kN) 5.9
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.8
L-M moment (Nm) 77
A-P moment (Nm) 45

Passenger injury measures

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CES0812
Head HIC-15 304
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 32
Lateral force (kN) 1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 29
Average deflection (mm) 25
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.18
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.33
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.2
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.3
Combined force (kN) 2.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.3
L-M moment (Nm) 176
A-P moment (Nm) -61

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Tested vehicle: 2009 Kia Optima LX 4-door
Rating applies to 2006-10 models built after September 2005

Overall evaluation
M
Curb weight 3,203 lbs
Peak force 9,998 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 3.12

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats AHR built after Sept 2005

Overall evaluation
G
Dynamic rating
G
Seat/head restraint geometry
G
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seats AHR mfg after Sept 2005
Geometry
Backset (mm) 28
Distance below top of head (mm) 32
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 12.6
Head contact time (ms) 60
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 16
Max neck tension (N) 376

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