Kia Sedona With Optional Features Qualifies for 2018 Top Safety Pick

ARLINGTON, Virginia, April 10 -- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued the following news release:

The 2018 Kia Sedona minivan qualifies for the Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety when equipped with optional front crash prevention and good-rated headlights.

To qualify for the 2018 award, vehicles must earn a good rating in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests; an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention; and an acceptable or good headlight rating.

The Sedona has earned good ratings in the five main crashworthiness tests since the 2015 model year, when it was last redesigned. It hasn't yet been rated for passenger-side small overlap front protection. An acceptable or good passenger-side rating is a requirement for Top Safety Pick+, the Institute's highest award.

The Sedona earns a superior rating for front crash prevention when equipped with the optional automatic braking system. In IIHS track tests at 12 mph and 25 mph, the minivan avoided a collision.

The optional headlights on Sedonas built after May 2017 have high-intensity discharge, curve-adaptive low beams that provide good visibility in all scenarios without too much glare, while the high beams provide fair to good visibility. The system comes with high-beam assist, which automatically switches between high beams and low beams depending on the presence of other vehicles.

The Sedona's standard halogen headlights are rated poor. They provide inadequate visibility in some scenarios and also produce excessive glare for drivers of oncoming vehicles.