Kia Australia surely isn’t pleased to settle for an oddly split dual-tier safety rating from ANCAP, with the lower priced entry-level variants (200S, 330S) robbed of a full 5-star rating because it lacks the Autonomous Emergency Braking system standard on grades above it.
To remedy this, it seems the the local arm of the South Korean automaker got straight to work to squeeze in AEB for all Stingers in Australia, as confirmed by Kia’s Kevin Hepworth to CarAdvice. When it underwent regional safety tests, the base variants (either with the 2.0-litre turbo-four or 3.3-litre V6) received a 3-star rating.
Hepworth confirmed that Stingers produced onward from February 2018 have included features such as Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist in addition to the crucial AEB. However, when exactly these units will arrive on Australian shores remain unknown, neither did he comment on the possibility of a base price increase to accommodate for the upgraded standard equipment.
The base model Stingers, which start at $45,990 and $48,990 respectively, are some $7,000 less expensive than their upgrade tier counterparts, making each a far more accessible proposition to buyers. It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine, then, that Kia will require some additional outlay.
Another murky topic surrounds how quickly following the slated feature update that ANCAP will update their scoring to reflect the new safety systems. You can bet Kia will be pushing for that change as soon as possible.
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