2022 Kia EV6 takes five stars in ANCAP crash tests

The 2022 Kia EV6 has taken home five stars in ANCAP's safety testing, managing slightly higher overall scores than its Hyundai Ioniq 5 cousin.

Having gone on sale earlier this year, the Kia EV6 won the 2022 Wheels Car of the Year award, beating the Ioniq 5 to the coveted prize – irrespective of the model's eventual ANCAP scores.

The independent crash test authority gave its adult occupant protection the highest score of all four categories, scoring 90 per cent with 34.48 points out of 38 available taken thanks to its perfect side impact, oblique pole and rescue/extraction results.

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Despite sharing many of the same safety assist systems as the Ioniq 5, the EV6 was scored one per cent lower, culminating in an 88 per cent result with 14.17 from 16 available points – just 0.07 lower than the Hyundai.

Although it scored within half a point of a perfect score for its occupant status, speed assistance systems and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) tech, dropping 0.75 in the lane support category was ultimately the biggest loss.

Only just behind on 87 per cent was the EV6's child occupant protection rating, faring particularly well with full marks in the front dynamic test, although a loss of four points for on-board safety features led to an overall score of 42.96 out of 49.

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Finally the EV6's vulnerable road user protection score which was the weakest of the four – just 64 per cent thanks to it acquiring 35.08 points from 54 on the table.

As opposed to the safety system scores, this one was higher than the Ioniq 5 by 0.69 points, although it dropped over half of the points available in upper leg impact (2.37 out of 6) and AEB pedestrian tests (0 out of 2).

Head impacts only just managed a pass on 12.37 from 24 points, however the lower leg impact, AEB pedestrian forward and cyclist scores all brought its overall back up to an acceptable level.

“The Kia EV6 is equipped with the range of collision avoidance systems we’ve come to expect in today’s five star cars, and it performed particularly well for its ability to prevent collisions with cyclists, and oncoming vehicles in avoidance tests simulating intersection turns,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Carla Hoorweg.

The Kia EV6 starts at a list price of $67,990 before on-road costs in Australia, ranging up to $82,990 in dual-motor GT-Line guise.