2022 Kia Stinger earns Top Safety Pick+

The safety spotlight shines brightly on the 2022 Kia Stinger hatchback. The refreshed 2022 Stinger sedan earned a Top Safety Pick+, the IIHS announced Tuesday.

The non-profit safety agency funded by the insurance industry bestowed the industry’s toughest safety award for standard LED reflector headlights that earned “Good” ratings in testing over the 2021 Stinger’s standard halogen lights that rated “Poor.”

Another improvement from last year is the addition of standard automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection that earned “Superior” ratings in avoiding crashes with other cars at 12 mph and 25 mph, and an “Advanced” rating for mitigating crashes with pedestrians in those tests. Active lane control and blind-spot monitors also come standard.

Safety options include navigation-based adaptive cruise control and an advanced emergency braking system that can stop the car when an oncoming vehicle is detected during a left-hand turn. 

Like last year, the Stinger earned top “Good” ratings in the Institute’s six crash tests. The NHTSA awarded the 2021 model five stars for crashworthiness and that should continued for the 2022 model’s carryover structure. 

The 2022 Stinger joins 62 other models that earned a TSP+ award from the IIHS, and 44 models that earned a TSP award. For 2020, the number of vehicles earning either safety award was 64 total. Rivals earning a 2021 TSP+ include the 2021 Acura TLX, 2021 Genesis G70, and 2021 Honda Accord.