2018 Kia Sorento

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights built after May 2017

2018 Kia Sorento 4-door SUV
2017 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

Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system
Superior

Other available safety features

  • Standard daytime running lights
  • Optional blind spot detection
  • Optional lane departure warning

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 2016-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2016 Kia Sorento EX 4-door 4wd

The Kia Sorento was redesigned for the 2016 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the driver-side 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 maintained very well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

The driver's space was maintained well, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1501
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 7
Footrest (cm) 9
Left toepan (cm) 7
Brake pedal (cm) 5
Parking brake (cm) 7
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 4
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 5
Upper dash (cm) 6
Lower instrument panel (cm) 6

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1501
Head
HIC-15 98
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 19
Maximum Nij 0.22
Chest maximum compression (mm) 24
Femur (kN)
Left 1.6
Right 0.3
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 3
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.41
Right 0.65
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.3
Right 0.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 67
Right 73

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2016-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2016 Kia Sorento LX 4-door 4wd

The Kia Sorento was redesigned for the 2016 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 VTF1418
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 2
Left (cm) 3
Center (cm) 4
Right (cm) 4
Brake pedal (cm) 5
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 0
Right (cm) 0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -3
Rearward (cm) -4
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1418
Head
HIC-15 193
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm) 12
Maximum Nij 0.22
Chest maximum compression (mm) 22
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.0
Femur force - right (kN) 0.2
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 0
Maximum tibia index - left 0.30
Maximum tibia index - right 0.34
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 1.6
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 35
Right 64

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2016-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2016 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 redesigned for the 2016 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 VTS1420
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -16.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1420
Head HIC-15 210
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Compression (kN) 0.6
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 32
Lateral force (kN) 1.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 34
Average deflection (mm) 29
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 4.25
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.76
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 2.1
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.3
Combined force (kN) 3.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.7
L-M moment (Nm) 98
A-P moment (Nm) -45

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1420
Head HIC-15 85
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 24
Lateral force (kN) 1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 35
Average deflection (mm) 24
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.98
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.55
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.5
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.8
Combined force (kN) 2.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.3
L-M moment (Nm) 123
A-P moment (Nm) -27

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2016-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2016 Kia Sorento EX 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 4,154 lbs
Peak force 19,533 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 4.70

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 9
Distance below top of head (mm) -2
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 11.2
Head contact time (ms) 53
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 331

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

Headlights

Ratings are given for 3 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

  • SX V6 trim equipped with SX Advanced Technology package; built after May 2017
  • SXL V6 trim; built after May 2017
Low-beam headlight type HID projector
High-beam headlight type Halogen projector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination Some glare

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good on the sharp left and both right curves and fair on the gradual left curve.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and fair on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on the sharp left and both right curves and fair on the gradual left curve.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • SX V6 trim equipped with SX Advanced Technology package
  • SXL V6 trim
Low-beam headlight type HID projector
High-beam headlight type Halogen projector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Applies to 2018 models built after May 2017
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 87.5 m None
Straightaway left edge 54.8 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 73.7 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 60.4 m 24.7%
150m radius right curve, right edge 69.2 m None
150m radius left curve, right edge 60.9 m 11.0%
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 161.7 m
Straightaway left edge 129.7 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 79.8 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 71.2 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 69.1 m
150m radius left curve, right edge 66.3 m

Trim level(s)

  • L trim
  • LX trim
  • LX V6 trim
  • EX 2.0T trim
  • EX V6 trim
  • SX trim
Low-beam headlight type Halogen projector
High-beam headlight type Halogen projector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination Some glare

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • L trim
  • LX trim
  • LX V6 trim
  • EX 2.0T trim
  • EX V6 trim
  • SX trim
Low-beam headlight type Halogen projector
High-beam headlight type Halogen projector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Applies to 2016-20 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 83.7 m 33.8%
Straightaway left edge 46.0 m 33.8%
250m radius right curve, right edge 51.7 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 41.9 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 43.8 m 8.9%
150m radius left curve, left edge 38.7 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 162.1 m
Straightaway left edge 156.0 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 62.8 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 58.5 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 49.8 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 48.0 m

Trim level(s)

  • SX trim equipped with Advanced Technology package; built before June 2017
  • SX Limited trim; built before June 2017
Low-beam headlight type HID projector
High-beam headlight type Halogen projector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was inadequate on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was fair on the sharp right curve and inadequate on the gradual right and both left curves.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and fair on the left side. On curves, visibility was fair on the sharp right curve and inadequate on the gradual right and both left curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • SX trim equipped with Advanced Technology package
  • SX Limited trim
Low-beam headlight type HID projector
High-beam headlight type Halogen projector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Applies to 2017-18 models built before June 2017
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 45.0 m None
Straightaway left edge 28.1 m None
250m radius right curve, left edge 47.4 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 40.5 m None
150m radius right curve, left edge 50.8 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 38.4 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 151.3 m
Straightaway left edge 131.4 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 55.5 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 49.5 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 56.4 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 44.6 m

How headlights are evaluated

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

  • Optional Autonomous Emergency Braking

Package name

  • Optional LX, LX V6, and SX trims with Advanced Technology Package or EX 2.0T and EX V6 trims with Advanced Touring Package
  • Standard with SX Limited Trim

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2017-18 models

Superior
Superior
with optional equipment
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

How front crash prevention is evaluated