IRVINE, Calif., October 23, 2007 – A recipient of a five-star crash safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and a "Good" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Kia Sedona minivan also was recently picked as the safest family car by Forbes.com.

"Sedona has long been recognized as a leader in standard safety and protection," said Len Hunt, executive vice president and COO of Kia Motors America (KMA). "This latest recognition from Forbes.com only validates Kia’s commitment to providing consumers, and more importantly families, one of the safest and most reliable minivans on the market."

Factors that Forbes.com took into account in their overall evaluation included whether a vehicle comes with standard electronic stability control, side-curtain airbags for all rows, has good crash-test results and has reliability. According to the Web site, finding the safest vehicle for families also meant assessing the overall risk to occupants, which is indicated by a number of factors including top IIHS and NHTSA crash-test ratings, good side-impact protection (including airbags), the presence of electronic stability control and a low propensity to roll over (indicated by a high NHTSA rollover star rating).

Serving as Kia’s flagship safety vehicle, the current generation Sedona, both Long and Short Wheel Bases, touts other standard safety features including a four-channel, four-sensor, antilock brake system (ABS), electronic brake distribution (EBD), a traction control system (TCS), a brake assist system (BAS) and a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS).

Kia Motors America – the sales, marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation in Seoul, South Korea – offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 630 dealers throughout the United States. For more information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.

Government star ratings are part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA's) New Car Assessment Program (www.safercar.gov).

Model tested with standard side-impact airbags (SABs).