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 Niro are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Niro LXS/LXS SE/Touring SE/EX Premium’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Niro and the Outlander Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia Niro is safer than the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport:
|
Niro |
Outlander Sport |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
139 |
208 |
Neck Injury Risk |
27% |
29% |
Neck Stress |
291 lbs. |
412 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
37 lbs. |
90 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
74/269 lbs. |
334/511 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Kia Niro is safer than the Outlander Sport:
|
Niro |
Outlander Sport |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Restraints |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Neck Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Peak Head Forces |
0 G’s |
0 G’s |
Steering Column Movement Rearward |
0 cm |
1 cm |
Chest Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Hip & Thigh Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Lower Leg Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Tibia index R/L |
.32/.48 |
.68/.36 |
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 Kia Niro is safer than the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport:
|
Niro |
Outlander Sport |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
138 |
163 |
Hip Force |
342 lbs. |
518 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
170 |
349 |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
11 inches |
17 inches |
HIC |
214 |
365 |
Spine Acceleration |
31 G’s |
41 G’s |
Hip Force |
712 lbs. |
807 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Niro is 4.8% to 7% less likely to roll over than the Outlander Sport.
For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Niro the rating of “Top Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 214 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Outlander Sport was not even a “Top Pick” for 2016.