Kia says it won't adjust ADAS stance

KIA Australia has launched yet another car with an abundance of safety technology, some of which might be frustrating to live with for everyday drivers.

The new EV3 joins the South Korean brand’s range of electric models as its most affordable option, but as with almost every other Kia on sale today, it comes brandishing an extensive range of safety technology and equipment.

The systems include a driver monitoring camera system that has two-stage alerts for fatigue and also distraction, while there’s a speed sign warning system that alerts the driver if the speed zone is perceived to have changed, and will also continuously alert the driver if they are over what is understood to be the relevant speed limit.

The problem - as this correspondent found at the launch - is that the speed sign monitoring system can get it wrong, often suggesting speed limits that don’t exist, or defaulting to a ridiculously low limit in parking areas.

Drivers or owners can elect to turn these systems off each time they drive their vehicle, as they must default on by European standards – an explanation of which was offered up by Roland Rivero, product planning manager for Kia Australia, at the launch of the EV3.

“If it wouldn’t default ‘on’, it would be a breach of the policy for ANCAP, and therefore (it) wouldn’t be a five-star car, under 2023 and beyond protocols,” he said.

When asked if it’s more important to please the customer, rather than the regulatory safety watchdog, Mr Rivero played a straight bat.

“Not if certain customers require a five-star (rating) to get on the shopping list,” he said.

“I’ll give you an example. A Ford Ranger, which is a 2022 rating, didn’t have that respective protocol applied. The products coming from 2023 and beyond, if you want the five (-star rating) you're going to need that driver attention alert coming through with the camera, infrared reading your pupils.

“It's not something that we necessarily love. Clearly, you don't love it. But a product like EV3 will have a bit of fleet appeal, and EV5 too for that matter, so a couple of fleets and whatnot are big on that five-star rating.

“So it is a customer request as well, albeit there is a broad range of customers out there,” he said.

Kia does offer a form of shortcut for its speed sign recognition system, by holding down the ‘mute’ button on the steering wheel. In the EV3, that will turn off the ‘overspeed’ warning, in other words, the beeping to tell you that you’re speeding. But if you want to turn off the alert sound the chimes each time a new speed zone is (perceived to be) entered, you have to go through multiple menus on the infotainment screen.

“The overspeed alert is not just an ANCAP thing,” Mr Rivero explained. “It’s a European regulation as well, and it was just more efficient to apply that European regulation across the board.”

The conversation around safety technology and tailoring the drive experience to the customer’s preferences was spurred by detail that the brand has made it so the car will have configurable regenerative braking, which can be tailored – and remembered – by the car.

Other brands offer advanced speed sign recognition systems that do not have ‘audible’ alerts, and likewise some nimble Chinese brands have altered their safety systems to be less intrusive with significantly toned-down chimes for speed sign tech and driver attention warnings.