Compare the2023 Kia Sorento HybridVS 2023 Chevrolet Traverse

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

© 1999 - 2024Advanta-STAR Automotive Research, all rights reserved. This vehicle comparison and all of the content in it are provided only by license from Advanta-STAR Automotive Research Corporation of America (“Advanta-STAR”). If you are not a legally licensed user of this vehicle comparison, it is against federal law to access it, copy it, forward it, or use it in any manner whatsoever. Any unauthorized use of this vehicle comparison is a violation of U.S. and international law and is punishable criminally and civilly. Removal of this watermark/notification without prior written license and approval received from Advanta-STAR is an agreement, understanding, and/or stipulation by the person(s), entities, agents, attorneys, and any other persons involved in the removal of this watermark/notification (including but not limited to Search Optics, LLC and any and all parent entities, sister entities, and subsidiary entities of Search Optics, LLC and/or any other entity, agent, attorney, and persons related in any manner to Search Optics, LLC) to: 1) an agreed upon amount of liquidated monetary damages of a minimum of $1,250,000.00 US Dollars in favor of Advanta-STAR; 2) the jurisdiction and enforcement of any legal claims associated with this matter asserted by Advanta-STAR in the United States Federal District Court in Portand, Oregon; and 3) service of process of any legal claims asserted by Advanta-STAR associated with this matter may be accomplished by First-Class Postage by the United States Postal Service or comparable service. XPYNN-M34HG 2a06:98c0:3600::103 2024/05/06

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Kia Sorento Hybrid are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Chevrolet Traverse doesn’t offer height-adjustable front seat belts.

Both the Sorento Hybrid and Traverse have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Sorento Hybrid has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Traverse’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Kia Sorento Hybrid has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Traverse doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Sorento Hybrid SX 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 Traverse doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Sorento Hybrid has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Traverse’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Sorento Hybrid has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Traverse.

The Sorento Hybrid’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 Traverse doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Sorento Hybrid and the Traverse have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia Sorento Hybrid is safer than the Chevrolet Traverse:

	Sorento Hybrid	Traverse
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.9 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	81/191 lbs.	258/133 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia Sorento Hybrid is safer than the Chevrolet Traverse:

	Sorento Hybrid	Traverse
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	34 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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 vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Sorento Hybrid the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 175 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Traverse has not been fully tested, yet.

Warranty

The Sorento Hybrid comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Traverse’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Sorento Hybrid 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Chevrolet covers the Traverse. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Traverse ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked 10th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 11 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Sorento Hybrid gets better mileage than the Traverse:

			MPG
Sorento Hybrid
	FWD	1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	39 city/35 hwy
	AWD	1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	36 city/33 hwy
Traverse
	FWD	3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/27 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	17 city/25 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the Sorento Hybrid’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Traverse doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia Sorento Hybrid higher (7 out of 10) than the Chevrolet Traverse (6). This means the Sorento Hybrid produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Traverse every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Sorento Hybrid’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Traverse:

	Sorento Hybrid	Traverse
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	12.4 inches

The Sorento Hybrid’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Traverse are solid, not vented.

The Sorento Hybrid stops much shorter than the Traverse:

	Sorento Hybrid	Traverse
60 to 0 MPH	121 feet	135 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

The Sorento Hybrid EX handles at .80 G’s, while the Traverse Premier AWD pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Sorento Hybrid’s turning circle is 1.1 feet tighter than the Traverse’s (37.9 feet vs. 39 feet).

Chassis

The Kia Sorento Hybrid may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 1000 pounds less than the Chevrolet Traverse.

The Sorento Hybrid is 1 foot, 4.5 inches shorter than the Traverse, making the Sorento Hybrid easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Sorento Hybrid has .4 inches more front legroom and 2.3 inches more rear legroom than the Traverse.

Cargo Capacity

The Sorento Hybrid has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Traverse doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Sorento Hybrid. The Traverse doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

The Sorento Hybrid’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Traverse’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds).

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the Sorento Hybrid uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Traverse doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Ergonomics

The Sorento Hybrid has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Traverse doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The Sorento Hybrid SX Prestige’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Traverse’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Sorento Hybrid’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Traverse’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

The Sorento Hybrid has a standard center folding armrest for the middle row passengers. A center armrest helps make middle row passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Traverse doesn’t offer a middle row seat center armrest.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia Sorento Hybrid has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Traverse LT/RS/Premier/High Country offers wireless charging.

Economic Advantages

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Kia Sorento Hybrid will be $1402 to $12598 less than for the Chevrolet Traverse.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Kia Sorento Hybrid and the Chevrolet Traverse, based on reliability, safety and performance.