Today it was announced the 2007 Kia Amanti received a “Good” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in a side impact crash test for large luxury cars. A "Good" is the highest possible rating given by IIHS and the results show a range of performance in how well large cars are designed to protect people in serious side impact crashes, according to the institute.

"It comes as no surprise to learn how well Amanti did when compared to higher priced vehicles in this test," said Len Hunt, executive vice president and COO of Kia Motors America. "We are pleased that the IIHS test of the 2007 Amanti validates Kia’s philosophy of providing high-value and safe vehicles for our customers."

According to IIHS, a vehicle’s side impact crash evaluation is based on performance in a crash test in which the side of the vehicle is struck by a barrier representing the front end of a pickup or SUV. Injury measures obtained from the test are used to determine the likelihood that a driver and/or rear passenger in a real-world crash would sustain serious injury to various body regions.

The lowest priced vehicle in the group IIHS recently tested, the Kia Amanti, was one of the best performers. "The Amanti shows that you don’t have to buy an expensive car to get good protection in crashes with SUVs and pickup trucks," said IIHS president Adrian Lund. "The standard head curtain airbags for front- and back-seat occupants kept the dummies' heads from hitting any hard structures including the intruding crash test barrier."

A standard safety feature leader, the Amanti has more standard airbags (eight) than any other vehicle in its segment, including dual front advanced airbags, front and rear seat-mounted side airbags and full-length side curtain airbags. Other standard safety features for the 2007 Amanti include tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), four anti-pinch windows – which sense obstructions and automatically roll down – height-adjustable front seatbelts with pretensioners and force limiters, three-point seatbelts for all five seating positions, lower anchors and tethers for children (LATCH), side impact door beams and front and rear crumple zones.

On the active safety equipment front, Amanti features a standard four-wheel disc antilock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake distribution (EBD), which apportions braking force front and rear according to the vehicle’s load distribution. Electronic stability control, traction control and brake assist also are available, and help control the vehicle in the event of a severe stop, applying the brakes to individual wheels while reducing engine power to help bring the vehicle safely back on its intended course.