ASEAN NCAP – 0 Stars for Kia Morning and Hyundai EON

The results of seven car models tested by the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) has just been announced at the fourth ASEAN Automobile Safety Forum (AASF) 2016 that is being held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Models tested this round consist of the Hyundai EON, Isuzu MU-X, Kia Morning, Nissan NP300 Navara, Nissan X-Trail T32, Suzuki Ciaz, and Suzuki Ertiga.

The representatives from Korea performed disappointingly; both the Hyundai EON (Philippine-spec) and Kia Morning (Indonesian-spec) attained shocking 0-star rating for Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and meagre 1-star rating for Child Occupant Protection (COP). Neither vehicle came fitted with airbags.

This is not the first time which a Korean marque was tested offering vehicles with below-par safety in the region. The first round of testing in 2013 found the Hyundai i10, a vehicle rated with four stars in Euro NCAP, scoring only two in the ASEAN equivalent. A repeat test in 2015 saw the i10 pick up a solitary star for Adult Occupant Protection and four stars for Child Occupant Protection.

The Kia Morning featured in this round of testing is essentially Indonesia’s version of the Picanto, which has been tested previously by ASEAN NCAP in two guises. The Malaysian version, which comes fitted with six airbags and electronic stability control, was rated four stars for both its Adult and Child Occupant Protection ratings. The Thai variant, on the other hand, which similarly had neither airbags nor ESC, fared no better than its Indonesian counterpart.

The Hyundai EON is not currently offered in Malaysia. It makes unwanted history by actually scoring 0.00 out of 16.00 points for Adult Occupant Protection, the first vehicle in ASEAN NCAP’s short history to do so.

“The Kia Morning and Hyundai EON, respectively are the second and third 0-Star cars in the history of ASEAN NCAP, after the non-airbag version of Kia Picanto tested in 2014 for the Thailand market. The Hyundai EON’s result comes alongside the latest results released for popular Indian cars by Global NCAP in New Delhi on 17 May 2016. The 0-Star result of the Morning and EON shows it is important that the cars are not only fitted with at least frontal airbags but it is also crucial that the structure of the car remains stable in a crash,” said ASEAN NCAP Secretary-General, Mr. Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim.

Of the remaining vehicles, the Nissan X-Trail secured a five-star Adult Occupant Protection rating whilst all others achieved four stars. For Child Occupant Protection, the Navara and both Suzukis attained two stars whilst the X-Trail and MU-X were both rated four stars.

ASEAN NCAP revealed that scores for the MU-X were extrapolated from test results obtained when testing its pick-up equivalent, the D-Max, back in 2013, with adjustments based on technical evidence provided by Isuzu. The MU-X’s Child Occupant Protection score of 73% is, in fact, an improvement over the D-Max’s 71%.

Latest results of ASEAN NCAP are summarized below: