2020 Kia Soul Captures Top Safety Pick+

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has given its top safety award to the redesigned 2020 Kia Soul, when the small car is outfitted with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights.

The Soul aced six rigorous IIHS crashworthiness tests, garnering good ratings across the board. These included the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests.

But to earn Top Safety Pick+ status a vehicle must also have an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good headlight rating.

The Soul met the stringent criteria, as the car is available with two optional front crash prevention systems that both earned superior ratings from HIS engineers. In track tests at 12 and 25 mph, they avoided collisions with a stationary target designed to simulate the back of a car.

The Soul's Top Safety Pick+ recognition applies to vehicles equipped with one of those optional systems as well as good-rated LED projector headlights, which come with the GT-Line Turbo trim or as an option on the EX trim.