In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid are reminded to check the back seat when a sensor determines the back seat is occupied. The XC60 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid Prestige has a standard Parking Collision Avoidance-Rear that use rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The XC60 doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid. But it costs extra on the XC60.
Both the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid and the XC60 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
The Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid weighs 428 to 633 pounds more than the Volvo XC60. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 113 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The XC60 is only a standard “Top Pick” for 2019.