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 Model Y doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
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 Model Y.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Model Y doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Model Y only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid’s standard rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Model Y doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.
The Sorento Plug-In 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 Model Y doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid has standard 911 Connect, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model Y doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid and the Model Y 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, 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 and rearview cameras.
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 Plug-In Hybrid is safer than the Tesla Model Y:
|
Sorento Plug-In Hybrid |
Model Y |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
280 |
283 |
Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
39 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.