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IIHS Top Safety Pick Status Awarded to 2018 Kia Soul and Sportage

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2018 Kia Soul
Photo: Kia

When equipped with high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights, the 2018 Kia Soul and 2018 Kia Sportage are worthy of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) top Safety Pick Plus (TSP+), the organization’s most impressive distinction.

In addition to the highly advanced high-intensity discharge headlights, the 2018 Kia Soul and 2018 Kia Sportage had to garner “good” ratings in five test categories that determine a vehicle’s crashworthiness—moderate overlap front, small overlap front, roof strength, side impact, and head restraints. Plus, the Kia vehicles had to be rated as “superior” or “advanced” in the front crash prevention test as well as “good” or “acceptable” in the headlight testing category.

“Kia’s world-class lineup continues to earn quality, reliability and safety awards at an increasing rate and these IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus ratings for Soul and Sportage reflect Kia’s continuous improvement and effort to improve all aspects of safety,” said Orth Hedrick, vice president, product planning, KMA.

The 2018 Kia Soul is available in three trims—Base, + (Plus), and ! (Exclaim). The Base trim comes equipped with a 1.6-liter inline four cylinder engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission that generates 130 horsepower and 118 lb-ft of torque. The + trim features a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine that is mated to an electronically controlled six-speed automatic transmission that generates 161 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque. The ! trim comes equipped with a 1.6-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that generates 201 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque.

2018 Kia Sportage
Photo: Kia

The 2018 Kia Sportage is also available in three trims—LX, EX, and SX Turbo. Both the LX and EX trims feature a 2.4-liter DOHC four-cylinder with Gasoline Direct Injection and Dual Continuously Variable Valve Timing, which is paired to a six-speed automatic transmission with Sportmatic®. This drivetrain generates 181 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. The SX Turbo trim is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and generates 240 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque (FWD) and 237 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque (AWD).