By Park Jin-hai
Ssangyong Motor’s Tivoli compact SUV received the top score in the Korean New Car Assessment Program (KNAP), the automotive safety test conducted by the land ministry.
It scored 91.9 points out of 100.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport applied new standards for the tests. Five local and imported models were tested in the categories of crash safety, passenger protection, driving performance and accident prevention. The other vehicles were the Infiniti Q50 sedan, the BMW X3 compact SUV, the Kia Soul compact and the Hyundai Tucson SUV.
The Tivoli, in particular, posted a strong result in the crash test, scoring 65.8 points, the highest among leisure vehicles since 2013.
“The 71.4 percent use of high-strength steel as well as 40 percent ultra-high-strength steel, the biggest in the segment, has made Tivoli’s body very rigid,” said Ssangyong Motor. “By having a perfect score on front and side crash tests, its crash safety has been verified.”
Ssangyong’s popular compact SUV, since its launch in January, has been leading the local carmaker’s sales, selling more than 22,000 here as of last month.
Infiniti’s compact sedan Q50 received the top safety score for imported cars, earning 92.1 points.