The new 2012 Kia Picanto is offered in parts of Europe without Electronic Stability Control system as standard. Therefore it could only be a four-star car in EuroNCAP tests.

Now Kia announced that all UK-Spec Picantos do come with ESC.

Having electronic stability control is a must for every car in order to achieve five-star safety rating from NCAP. Euro NCAP rate the lowest specification version on offer within Europe and, as such, tested a version without Electronic Stability Control. That’s OK for most of the markets the Picanto is offered in, but not in the UK.

So Kia decided to clarify the safety equipments standard on all 2012 Picantos in Britain. They are confident that with this specs they can easily achieve all of the five stars.

• Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with
  • Brake-Assist System (BAS)
  • Hill Assist Control (HAC)
  • Vehicle Stability Management (VSM)
• Emergency Stop Signal (Adaptive Brakelights)
• ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD)
• Six airbags:
  • Twin front airbags
  • Side airbags
  • Curtain airbags
• Side Impact Protection System
• Front Passenger Airbag Cut-off Switch
• All-round 3-Point Seatbelts
• ISOFIX Child Seat Top Tethers & Anchor Fixings
• Front Seatbelt Pre-tensioners & Load-limiters
• Impact Sensing Automatic Door Unlocking
• Child Safety Rear Door Locks