Kia announced on Friday that its compact electric SUV, the EV3, has earned the highest safety rating in Euro NCAP, Europe’s prestigious new car safety assessment program.
The EV3 received high marks for its ability to maintain a secure passenger compartment during collisions, effectively protect occupants, and incorporate various safety features, including driver condition monitoring.
Despite smaller vehicles’ inherent challenges in crash safety evaluations, the EV3’s robust body structure and comprehensive safety features have secured top safety recognition. This achievement marks Kia’s third consecutive top-tier Euro NCAP rating for its dedicated electric vehicles, following the EV6 in 2022 and the EV9 in 2023.
Established in 1997, Euro NCAP is Europe’s leading new car assessment program. It conducts annual safety verification tests on vehicles sold in Europe. The evaluation comprises four main categories: adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, pedestrian protection, and safety assist systems. Overall ratings are assigned based on performance across these areas.
According to Euro NCAP, the EV3 maintained a safe passenger compartment in both frontal and side impact tests, providing excellent protection for all occupants. It was also highly praised for being equipped with a driver monitoring system and a system to notify emergency rescue centers in case of an accident automatically. The multi-collision brake system, which helps prevent secondary collisions, also received favorable reviews.
Kia has enhanced the EV3’s safety by expanding the use of ultra-high-strength hot-stamped components and optimizing the front body structure for improved energy dispersion during collisions. The automaker has also reinforced key materials and structures in the passenger compartment.
The EV3 comes equipped with an extensive suite of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), including forward collision-avoidance assist, blind-spot collision-avoidance assist, rear cross-traffic collision-avoidance assist, rear parking collision-avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, blind-spot view monitor, driver attention warning, safe exit warning, navigation-based smart cruise control, lane following assist 2, and highway driving assist 2.
Pablo Martinez, Senior Vice President of Product and Marketing at Kia Europe, described the EV3 as an incredibly versatile vehicle that caters to a wide range of customer lifestyles. He stated that the evaluation result confirms that the EV3 is safe for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
The Euro NCAP assessment was conducted on an EV3 equipped with the Drive Wise ADAS package, which includes advanced features such as forward collision-avoidance assist (FCA) and highway driving assist 2 (HDA2).
Building on its strong product competitiveness, the EV3 clinched the prestigious World Car of the Year award in April. It has also garnered numerous other accolades, including 2025 UK Car of the Year, 2025 Finland Car of the Year, 2025 Denmark Car of the Year, 2025 World Women’s Car of the Year in the compact SUV category, the Crossover of the Year at the 2024 TopGear.com Awards, and the 2024 Golden Steering Wheel Award for the best car under 40,000 EUR (about 45,250 USD).