The Kia Seltos was recently crash-tested by Bharat NCAP, receiving a full 5-star safety rating for both adult and child occupant protection. Notably, the Seltos is one of the most recently updated offerings in the midsize SUV segment, and one of its key rivals is the Tata Sierra, which has also received a 5-star Bharat NCAP rating. So, which among the Seltos and Sierra is the safer SUV as per BNCAP? Let us find out.
Seltos vs Sierra Bharat NCAP: Results and scores
While both got 5 stars, the Seltos has better adult and child safety scores
Both midsize SUVs have achieved a 5-star safety rating in adult occupant protection (AOP) and child occupant protection (COP) tests. However, the Seltos scored 0.56 points more in AOP and 0.27 points more in COP.
Seltos vs Sierra Bharat NCAP: Adult occupant protection tests
In the frontal crash test, the Seltos did better than the Sierra
The Seltos has achieved 0.56 points more in the frontal offset deformable barrier test, although the side crash-test results are identical.
In the frontal offset deformable barrier test, protection to the Seltos driver’s left shin and both feet was ‘adequate’, but for the other critical parts, it was ‘good’. All parts of the co-driver received ‘good’ protection.
In comparison, the Tata Sierra offered only ‘adequate’ protection for the driver’s chest, which is particularly significant because the chest is one of the most critical areas in a crash. Also, both of the driver’s tibiae and the co-driver’s right tibia were rated as ‘adequate’, while protection for the other body parts was ‘good’. These comparatively lower ratings in key impact areas, especially the chest, are why the Seltos achieved a higher AOP score than the Sierra.
In the side movable deformable barrier and side pole impact tests, both midsize SUVs offered ‘good’ protection to all critical parts of the occupants.
Seltos vs Sierra Bharat NCAP: Child occupant protection tests
Unlike the Sierra, the Seltos had a full child safety dynamic score
While both the Kia Seltos and Tata Sierra have a 5-star safety rating, the Kia achieved a score of 45/49, 0.27 points more than the Tata, thanks to a higher child safety dynamic score.
Both models scored full marks in the frontal and side-impact tests involving the 3-year-old dummy. But with the 18-month-old dummy, the Sierra scored 7.73 out of 8 in the frontal test, losing 0.27 points; the Seltos retained full points. This explains the Sierra’s slightly lower overall COP score compared to the Seltos. Both again scored full marks in the side-impact test with the younger dummy.
Notably, both the Seltos and Sierra received a full CRS (child restraint systems) installation score but lost 4 points in vehicle assessment.
Seltos vs Sierra Bharat NCAP: Safety features
Both midsize SUVs offer an identical safety kit
The Kia Seltos and Tata Sierra offer a similar suite of safety features, including 6 airbags as standard, a 360-degree camera, front and rear parking sensors, Level 2 ADAS, a tyre-pressure monitoring system (TPMS), hill-start assist and hill-descent control, an electronic parking brake and disc brakes on all wheels.
Uday Singh
Saptarshi Mondal
Rivan RS 
Saumil Shah
