2015 Kia Sorento

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

2015 Kia Sorento 4-door SUV
2014 Kia Sorento shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Front crash prevention
Not available

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

  • Optional blind spot detection
  • Optional daytime running lights

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2014-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Kia Sorento LX 4-door 4wd

The Kia Sorento was re-engineered for the 2014 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved 13 cm to the right. The side curtain airbag did not deploy, leaving the dummy's head vulnerable to contacts with side structure and outside objects.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was not maintained well.

The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved to the right. The side curtain airbag did not deploy.

Door hinge pillar and instrument panel intrusion was extensive and contributed to a high risk of injury the left lower leg and a moderate risk to the left thigh and knee.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1406
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 27
Footrest (cm) 19
Left toepan (cm) 10
Brake pedal (cm) 6
Parking brake (cm) 28
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 15
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 7
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 21
Upper dash (cm) 18
Lower instrument panel (cm) 18

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1406
Head
HIC-15 179
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.5
Extension bending moment (Nm) 11
Maximum Nij 0.30
Chest maximum compression (mm) 18
Femur (kN)
Left 7.5
Right 1.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 17
Right 4
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 14
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 1.51
Right 0.47
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 3.0
Right 1.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 120
Right 51

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2014-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Kia Sorento EX 4-door 4wd

The Kia Sorento was re-engineered for the 2014 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Hyundai/Kia as part of frontal crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1224
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 6
Left (cm) 10
Center (cm) 8
Right (cm) 5
Brake pedal (cm) 6
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 1
Right (cm) 1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 2
Rearward (cm) 1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 1

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1224
Head
HIC-15 218
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm) 17
Maximum Nij 0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm) 14
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.6
Femur force - right (kN) 2.0
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 6
Maximum tibia index - left 0.40
Maximum tibia index - right 0.54
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 1.7
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 1.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 64
Right 91

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2014-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Kia Sorento EX 4-door 4wd with standard front and second row head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Kia Sorento was re-engineered for the 2014 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Hyundai/Kia as part of side crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1229
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -13.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1229
Head HIC-15 199
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Compression (kN) 0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 30
Lateral force (kN) 1.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 24
Average deflection (mm) 23
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 4.40
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.40
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.8
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.4
Combined force (kN) 4.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.6
L-M moment (Nm) 98
A-P moment (Nm) 25

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1229
Head HIC-15 156
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.3
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 22
Lateral force (kN) 1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 27
Average deflection (mm) 22
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.50
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.40
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.6
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.7
Combined force (kN) 1.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.4
L-M moment (Nm) 123
A-P moment (Nm) 20

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2011-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Kia Sorento EX 4-door 4wd

Re-engineering of the vehicle for 2014-15 did not affect roof strength. Therefore, rating applies to the 2011-15 models.

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 4,048 lbs
Peak force 17,455 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 4.31

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat (AHR)

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seat (AHR)
Geometry
Backset (mm) 51
Distance below top of head (mm) -8
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 9.6
Head contact time (ms) 66
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 53
Max neck tension (N) 488

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2015 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim LX
Seat type cloth

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim LX
Seat type cloth
1 2 3
G Good
A Acceptable
M Marginal
P Poor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
2
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
none available
3
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) -2-0
Force (lbs) 17
Clearance angle (degrees) 67
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 0-2
Force (lbs) 16
Clearance angle (degrees) 64
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
No

Seat position 22

2

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
No

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) -2-0
Force (lbs) 20
Clearance angle (degrees) 61
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 0-2
Force (lbs) 14
Clearance angle (degrees) 62
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
No

How child seat anchors are evaluated

End of main content