The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has awarded the 2024 Kia EV9 electric vehicle (EV) with its TOP SAFETY PICK award. This recognition arrived after Kia made crucial adjustments to the EV’s headlights, addressing previous concerns.

When it comes to qualify for the 2024 TOP SAFETY PICK award, vehicles must achieve good ratings in several critical safety tests including small overlap front, original moderate overlap front, and updated side crash evaluations. IN addition, they must earn an acceptable or good rating in pedestrian front crash prevention and have acceptable or good-rated headlights across all trim levels.

Kia’s EV9 excelled in most areas from the outset, receiving good ratings in small and moderate overlap tests, as well as the updated side impact test according to IIHS. However, its initial headlight design for the Land and GT-Line trims posed a significant obstacle, earning a poor rating due to excessive glare.

In response, Kia quickly addressed this issue by adjusting the headlight aim on models produced after January 2024, successfully cutting down glare while maintaining strong illumination. As a result, all EV9 models produced from February 2024 onwards now possess good-rated headlights across both available trims, meeting the IIHS criteria for the award.

Notably, Kia EV9 models built before February 2024 do not qualify for the TOP SAFETY PICK award due to the earlier headlight configuration. This change appears to be a hardware modification, which means it cannot be applied to previously produced EVs through over-the-air (OTA) updates.

Moreover, the EV9 also did well with its standard front crash prevention system, which earned a good rating in the IIHS pedestrian test. Other notable safety features that received good ratings include seat belt reminders and child seat anchor access.

It should be noted that the Kia EV9 recently recalled 2,401 units of the 2024 EV9 Light models produced between September 25, 2023, and March 21, 2024, due to inadequate headliner protection. However, the EV getting this safety award certainly reassures the model’s safety standard.

Despite the 2024 Kia EV9 making major strides in safety, it narrowly missed out on the higher-tier TOP SAFETY PICK+ award due to the EV not undergone the IIHS’s updated moderate overlap front test yet, which is required for the “plus” designation. 

Nevertheless, the Kia EV9 receiving another award underlines its award-winning status while enhancing its safety and maintaining high standards. The Kia EV9 also notably achieved the 2024 World Car of The Year and 2024 World Electric Vehicle. 

Read More: Kia EV9 Crowned 2024 World Car of the Year

With Kia EV9 still achieving awards, this particular model certainly will lead the company’s strategy as its EV lineup broke sales records for the first half of 2024. Keeping this in mind, there may be more to come in terms of good results from the Kia EV9.

If you are looking for the 2024 Kia EV9, we can help you get started. Click Here to find the best deals near you. Want to learn more about EV? Thinking of buying an EV? Head over to EV.com discover more.

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