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2026 Kia K5 Safety Rating

Midsize cars Β· Current IIHS listing Β· IIHS data updated 2026-09-04

Provisional record

The 2026 Kia K5 is not yet ranked. IIHS has published 3 of 4 primary tests and 4 of 4 selected occupant-protection details, and no pedestrian front crash prevention result yet. Missing results are shown as missing, never assumed.

Reported so far: Small overlap front Good; Moderate overlap front (updated test) Poor; Side (updated test) Marginal; Seat belt reminders Acceptable; Latch ease of use Acceptable.

β€”
Safety score / 100
Awaiting 2 results
No award
IIHS award
No current award
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
NHTSA overall
Reference only, not scored
60
Class driver death rate
per million vehicle-years; all vehicles 38

IIHS crash-test results

Small Overlap Front Good
Moderate Overlap Front: Updated Test Poor
Side: Updated Test Marginal
Seat Belt Reminders Acceptable
Latch Ease Of Use Acceptable
Detailed results by test (49 entries)

IIHS publishes these under the test they belong to, so the same label can appear more than once. Rear restraints and kinematics, rear head protection, structure and safety cage, and front restraints are the four that count toward the score (25%).

Small overlap front

Overall driver-side evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Overall passenger-side evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good

Moderate overlap front: updated test

Overall evaluation Poor
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Thigh/hip Good
Leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck Poor
Chest Marginal
Thigh Good
Rear passenger restraints and dummy kinematics Marginal

Side: updated test

Overall evaluation Marginal
Structure and safety cage Marginal
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Marginal
Pelvis Acceptable
Driver head protectionThe dummy's head moved downward past the side curtain airbag and struck the window sill of the driver door. The head protection is inadequate. Acceptable
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Good
Pelvis Marginal
Rear passenger head protection Good

Seat belt reminders

Overall evaluation Acceptable

Child seat anchors

Overall evaluation Acceptable
View the IIHS report

Opens on iihs.org in a new tab

How the score is built

Primary IIHS tests (55%)
40.4
3/4 reported Β· small overlap, updated moderate overlap, updated side, headlights
Occupant-protection details (25%)
55.0
4/4 reported Β· rear restraints, rear head, safety cage, front restraints
Pedestrian front crash prevention (10%)
Not reported
IIHS pedestrian AEB result: not yet published
Class context (10%)
43.7
Damped class-level driver death-rate term; award status is shown above but carries no weight
Injury-measure average (tiebreak only)
82.5
Mean of 40 published injury measures across the three crash tests. Orders vehicles with equal scores; carries no weight in the score.

Full formula, weights, and missing-data rules β†’

NHTSA 5-star rating

2026 KIA K5 4 DR N/A FWD

Overallβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
Frontal crashβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†
Side crashβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
Rolloverβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜† 10.7% risk

NHTSA stars are shown for reference and carry no weight in the score. NHTSA source. Why the two programs disagree β†’

Real-world context

MeasureResultWhat it covers
Class driver death rate60 per million registered vehicle-yearsMidsize cars as a class, adjusted for driver age and sex (Farmer, 2023); all vehicles average 38. Class context only.

Compared with other midsize cars

Closest-scoring current midsize cars with complete IIHS records, plus the class leader. See every midsize car ranked β†’

VehicleClass rankIIHS awardRear restraintsStarts atScore
2026 Honda Accord #1 of 4 TSP Good $28,395 94.4
2026 Toyota Camry #2 of 4 TSP+ Acceptable $29,100 89.9
2026 Hyundai Sonata #3 of 4 TSP+ Acceptable $27,450 89.4
2026 Nissan Altima #4 of 4 β€” Poor $27,580 39.1

Our analysis

The 2026 Kia K5 belongs to the Midsize cars class. This class has an above-average driver death rate compared with the national average of 38 deaths per million registered vehicle-years, which usually reflects lighter weight and smaller size in multi-vehicle crashes. The class figure is adjusted for driver age and sex, which removes a large part of the selection effect in raw death rates. It is still a class average, not a measurement of this model.

The Kia K5 has no IIHS Top Safety Pick award for 2026. That can mean a result below the award threshold in one test, or tests IIHS has not completed. Absence of an award is not evidence that the vehicle is unsafe.

Across the 5 IIHS rating categories reported, the Kia K5 earned 1 Good ratings. Results below Good deserve attention, especially the updated frontal and side tests that IIHS toughened in 2022 and 2023. Our updated crash test analysis explains what changed.

This analysis is produced independently; we have no affiliation with Kia or any manufacturer. Read the full methodology or learn more about us.

Safety recalls for the 2026 Kia K5

No recalls on record. NHTSA lists this model year and currently shows no recall campaigns against it.

Check your VIN at NHTSA

Questions about the 2026 Kia K5

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Shopping for a family? Compare three-row vehicles and rear-seat evidence. Buying used? See real driver death rates by model.