“Did only Koreans mock ‘Korean cars’ for being too scary to ride?” … Kia saves another life, this time Minnie Driver [World on Wheels]

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia score a major safety win overseas EV2 saves the actor from ‘Good Will Hunting’ Hyundai Motor Group has the most ‘safe cars’

사진 확대 Kia EV2 that saved Minnie Driver’s life [Photo source: SNS, Kia / Edited by Choi Ki-seong, Maeil Business Newspaper digital news room reporter]

“I didn’t drive it myself, but I think I should change my name to’Kia Driver'”

Minnie Driver, the British actress who appeared opposite Matt Damon in the film ‘Good Will Hunting,’ thanked Kia after saying she survived a car crash thanks to the EV2 electric vehicle.

On the 6th local time, Driver said on social media that she had been in a serious accident while driving through the French countryside with a friend.

In the video she posted, Driver is seen lying in bed with a neck brace on.

She explained that while riding in an EV2 driven by a friend, another vehicle came speeding toward them and failed to stop at an intersection, causing their car to slam into its side.

사진 확대 Minnie Driver [Photo source: SNS, still image from ‘Good Will Hunting’ / Edited by Choi Ki-seong, Maeil Business Newspaper digital news room reporter]

Driver said, “I couldn’t walk out of the car, so I had to crawl out, but I survived anyway. The reason I lived is because of the car we were in.”

She added, “The car wasn’t completely crushed because of the 360-degree airbags and the vehicle’s structural design. Kia is truly an amazing automaker. I’m grateful for the car that saved my life.”

Photos she shared showed the EV2 badly damaged, with a broken bumper and a crumpled hood pushed upward. Although the crash was severe, the passenger compartment remained relatively intact, and the front and side airbags designed to protect occupants had deployed.

사진 확대 Kia EV2, recognized as a life saver after saving Minnie Driver’s life [Photo source: Kia]

The EV2 that saved Driver is Kia’s compact electric vehicle sold in Europe.

As a strategic European model, it measures 4,060 x 1,800 x 1,575 mm. It is longer and wider than Hyundai Inster, which measures 3,825 x 1,610 x 1,575 mm.

Its safety features go beyond its class. They include forward collision avoidance assist, including at intersections and for oncoming vehicles, Lane Keeping Assist 2, and the In-Cabin Monitoring Unit (ICMU).

The ICMU uses a camera built into the rearview mirror to detect occupants’ condition in real time, warn against inattentive driving, and work with occupant protection systems such as seat belts and airbags in a crash.

“Korean cars saved lives” — the sixth known case

사진 확대 Hyundai Elantra N saved a life in a cliff fall accident [Photo source: SNS]

Since the 2020s, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia have repeatedly saved lives in the United States, proving safety performance on par with Volvo Cars.

Genesis GV80 saved golf legend Tiger Woods from a rollover crash in 2021. Later, Hyundai Elantra N saved a couple in a fall accident from 300 feet, or 91 meters, below.

Kia Soul protected its driver from serious injury in a horrific accident in which a tire detached from another vehicle, struck the car, sent it flying 3 meters into the air, and caused it to roll after landing.

사진 확대 Ioniq 5 crash test scene [Photo source: IIHS]

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia have also been recognized for safety in the electric vehicle segment.

Kia EV6 saved a Czech ice hockey player active in the NHL from a collision with a tram in 2022.

After surviving the crash, Jaromir Jagr posted a photo of the damaged EV6 on social media and said, “Kia saved me.”

Last year, Hyundai Ioniq 5 protected 18-month-old twins in the back seat from a rear-end collision without injury.

Driver Shane Barrett, grateful that the twins were unharmed, said, “I think I’ll probably buy an Ioniq again.”

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia prove their safety through IIHS

사진 확대 Genesis GV80 crash test scene [Photo source: IIHS]

At this point, it is not a coincidence, luck, or a miracle. It is skill.

In South Korea, some people still dismiss Hyundai Motor Company and Kia’s safety record, saying they are too afraid to ride in them because of past experiences, or treating it as mere luck.

Overseas, however, Hyundai Motor Group is seen as having safety performance comparable to Volvo Cars.

This is not blind patriotism. In the notoriously tough crash tests, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia posted results comparable to Volvo Cars, the brand synonymous with safety.

In November last year, Hyundai Motor Group was named the automaker with the most vehicles earning ‘safe car’ ratings in the IIHS crash evaluations. It was the second consecutive year, following 2024.

Founded in 1959, IIHS is a nonprofit organization that annually evaluates vehicles launched in the U.S. market for crash safety and crash avoidance performance, then publishes the results.

In IIHS crash evaluations, vehicles that achieve the highest level of safety receive the Top Safety Pick Plus (TSP+) designation, while those with strong results receive Top Safety Pick.

사진 확대 Hyundai Ioniq 9, which received the top TSP+ rating in IIHS crash evaluations [Photo taken by Choi Ki-seong, Maeil Business Newspaper digital news room reporter]

In the crash safety ratings released by IIHS last year, Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Kia Sportage earned TSP+, while Hyundai Santa Cruz received TSP.

Ioniq 9 received the top rating of ‘Good’ in every category, including frontal and side crash tests and the forward collision avoidance system evaluation.

Sportage was upgraded from TSP last year to TSP+ this year after improvements to its collision avoidance system and headlight performance.

Ioniq 9 and Sportage also earned top overall ratings in the vehicle safety assessment conducted by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority and KATRI, once again proving their outstanding safety.

Santa Cruz was the only model in the compact pickup segment, competing with the Chevrolet Colorado and Toyota Tacoma, to receive a rating of TSP or higher. It was recognized for strong safety and crash avoidance performance among vehicles in its class.

With this announcement, Hyundai Motor Group’s total number of models that earned TSP+ or TSP this year rose to 18, including nine Hyundai models, five Genesis models, and four Kia models.

The group also firmly solidified its standing as the global automaker with the most vehicles named ‘the safest car’ for two straight years.

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.