Top Safety Pick +Top Safety Pick criteria

2019 Kia Sorento

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2019 Kia Sorento 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-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
Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)
Optional system
Advanced

Other available safety features

  • Optional blind spot detection
  • Optional lane departure warning
  • Optional lane departure prevention

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

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2019-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2019 Kia Sorento EX 4-door 4wd

The Kia Sorento was redesigned for the 2016 model year. Beginning with the 2019 model year, the passenger-side toepan and door sill were reinforced to improve occupant protection in passenger-side small overlap frontal crashes. Passenger-side small overlap 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
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID VTP1803
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 9
Footrest (cm) 11
Right toepan (cm) 7
Center toepan (cm) 3
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 2
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm) 5
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 7
Upper dash (cm) 6
Right lower dash (cm) 8

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTP1803
Head
HIC-15 93
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm) 13
Maximum Nij 0.22
Chest maximum compression (mm) 19
Femur (kN)
Left 0.7
Right 2.0
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 3
Right 10
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.46
Right 0.64
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.8
Right 1.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 76
Right 43

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTP1803
Head
HIC-15 137
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 15
Maximum Nij 0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm) 34
Femur (kN)
Left 0.2
Right 0.4
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 0
Right 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.24
Right 0.23
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 0.4
Right 1.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 47
Right 52

How the passenger-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 weight4,154 lbs
Peak force19,533 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio4.70

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 2 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

  • SX trim equipped with SX Touring package
  • SXL trim
Low-beam headlight typeLED projector
High-beam headlight typeLED projector
Curve-adaptive?Yes
High-beam assist?Yes
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 High-beam assist credit

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good 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 never exceeded glare limits.

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

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on both left curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • SX trim equipped with SX Touring package
  • SXL trim
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED projector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2019-20 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 132.4 m None
Straightaway left edge 83.5 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 80.9 m None
250m radius left curve, right edge 63.8 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 64.9 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 58.8 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 153.9 m
Straightaway left edge 108.8 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 79.6 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 73.3 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 62.9 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 59.1 m

Trim level(s)

  • L trim
  • LX trim
  • LX V6 trim
  • EX V6 trim
  • SX trim
Low-beam headlight typeHalogen projector
High-beam headlight typeHalogen 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 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

How headlights are evaluated

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

  • Optional Forward Collision-Avoidance with Pedestrian Detection

Package name

  • Optional by trim
  • Standard on EX V6, SX, and SX Limited

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2019 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

Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)

System details

  • optional Forward Collision Avoidance with Pedestrian Detection

Overall evaluation

This rating applies to 2019-20 models of the following trim lines: EX trim, SX trim, SX Limited trim

Advanced
Advanced
with optional equipment

Crossing child

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 10 mph.

Crossing adult

  • In the 12 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 7 mph.
  • In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 13 mph.

Parallel adult

  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 37 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 17 mph. A warning was issued 1.7 seconds before impact.