The Kia Sportage shares a common platform with the Hyundai Tucson, tested last year. Where necessary, Euro NCAP has carried out tests on the Sportage but, for others, the results of the Tucson are used.

The passenger compartment of the Sportage remained stable in the frontal offset test. Dummy numbers showed good protection of the knees and femurs of both the driver and passenger. Kia showed that a similar level of protection would be provided to occupants of different sizes and to those sitting in different positions.  Analysis of the deceleration of the impact trolley during the test, and analysis of the deformable barrier after the test, revealed that the Sportage would be a moderately benign impact partner in a frontal collision. In the full width rigid-barrier impact, protection of the chest of the driver was rated as marginal, based on dummy readings of chest compression. Otherwise, protection was good or adequate.  In the side barrier test, protection of all critical body areas was good or adequate. In the more severe side pole impact, dummy readings of rib compression indicated marginal protection for that area, but protection of other body regions was good. Control of excursion (the extent to which a body is thrown to the other side of the vehicle when it is hit from the far side) was found to be adequate. The Sportage has a counter-measure to mitigate against occupant to occupant injuries in such impacts and this performed well in Euro NCAP's test. Tests on the front seats and head restraints demonstrated good protection against whiplash injuries in the event of a rear-end collision.  A geometric analysis of the rear seats also indicated marginal whiplash protection.   The Sportage has an advanced eCall system which alerts the emergency services in the event of a crash.   The car also has a system which applies the brakes after an impact, to avoid secondary collisions.

In both the frontal offset and the side barrier tests, protection of all critical body areas was good or adequate, for both the 6 and 10 year dummy.  The front passenger airbag can be disabled to allow a rearward-facing child restraint to be used in that seating position.  Clear information is provided to the driver regarding the status of the airbag and the system was rewarded.  All of the restraint types for which the Sportage is designed could be properly installed and accommodated in the car.

The protection offered by the bonnet to the head of a struck pedestrian was predominantly good or adequate, with some poor results recorded on the stiff windscreen pillars.  The bumper provided good protection to pedestrians’ legs at all test locations but protection of the pelvis, while mixed, was mostly weak or poor.  The autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system of the Sportage can detect vulnerable road users, as well as other vehicles.  In tests of its response to pedestrians, the system performance was adequate while its response to cyclists was rated as good.

The AEB system performed marginally well in tests of its response to other vehicles, with deteriorated performance at higher test speeds.  A seatbelt reminder system is standard and the car is equipped with Driver Attention Warning, which monitors steering inputs and issues a warning when a pattern characteristic of drowsy or impaired driving is detected.  A camera-based speed limit system detects the local limit and provides the information to the driver, allowing the limiter to be set accordingly.  If the car is drifting out of lane, a camera-based system gently corrects the vehicle’s path.  The system also intervenes in some more critical situations, to avoid road departure for example.