For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-30 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Kia Seltos doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Mazda CX-30 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Seltos doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The CX-30 has standard Whiplash-Reducing Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Seltos doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
With its standard Smart Brake Support with Pedestrian Detection, the Mazda CX-30 is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Kia Seltos, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
CX-30 |
Seltos |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-20 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-1 MPH |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-13 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-3 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-21 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.3 sec |
1.4 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
-35 MPH |
-5 MPH |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.7 sec |
.3 sec |
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-30. But it costs extra on the Seltos.
The CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus has a standard 360° View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Seltos only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.
The CX-30 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Seltos S/EX/X-Line/SX offers a blind spot warning system.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the CX-30 has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Smart Braking Support - Rear Crossing on the Turbo Premium Plus automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Only the Seltos S/EX/X-Line/SX offers Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning.
Both the CX-30 and the Seltos have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and driver alert monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Kia Seltos:
|
CX-30 |
Seltos |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Stress |
216 lbs. |
237 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
18 lbs. |
23 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
201/172 lbs. |
460/429 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
179 |
405 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
33.5% |
41% |
Neck Compression |
85 lbs. |
171 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the CX-30 is safer than the Seltos:
|
CX-30 |
Seltos |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh/hip Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh Forces L/R |
112/225 pounds |
495/270 pounds |
Leg/foot Rating |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Thigh Forces L/R |
112/225 pounds |
495/270 pounds |
Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Rear Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Kia Seltos:
|
CX-30 |
Seltos |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
73 |
109 |
Chest Movement |
1 inches |
1.2 inches |
Hip Force |
275 lbs. |
428 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
197 |
234 |
Spine Acceleration |
60 G’s |
70 G’s |
Hip Force |
525 lbs. |
754 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
13 inches |
HIC |
178 |
225 |
Spine Acceleration |
30 G’s |
33 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Mazda CX-30 is much safer than the Seltos:
|
CX-30 |
Seltos |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
89 |
234 |
Neck Tension |
156 lbs. |
268 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
45 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.87 in |
1.42 in |
Shoulder Force |
223 lbs. |
290 lbs. |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
POOR |
Pelvis Force |
759 lbs. |
1383 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
144 |
258 |
Neck Tension |
89 lbs. |
112 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Shoulder Deflection |
.94 in |
2.17 in |
Shoulder Force |
245 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.71 in |
2.01 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
11 MPH |
14 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
379 lbs. |
759 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Mazda CX-30 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Seltos is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.