2010 Kia Forte Sedan Gets Top Safety Pick
Kia continues to make inroads with safety-minded shoppers on its most recent models. The 2010 Kia Forte sedan joins the Kia Soul as a 2010 Top Safety Pick, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced today.
The company made some revisions to the car’s B-pillar and roof to improve occupant protection, so the rating only applies to Fortes built after October 2009. You can find a car’s build date listed on a sticker applied to the driver’s door or doorjamb.
The Forte brings the number of cars achieving 2010 Top Safety Pick status to 31, a much lower number than in 2009 because of a new roof-strength test the safety organization implemented. Other small cars with 2010 Top Safety Pick status are the VW Golf, Toyota Corolla, Subaru Impreza, Scion xB and Nissan Cube. Honda Civics equipped with optional stability control also earned the award; the other cars listed offer stability control standard.
To receive IIHS’ Top Safety Pick status, a car must receive the top score of Good in frontal-offset, side-impact, roof-strength and rear crash tests. It also must have stability control.
While having just two models with Top Safety Pick status might not sound significant, Toyota, Honda, Ford and GM also have just two picks each; Nissan has just one.
