The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 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 Soul doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Outlander Sport has standard Active Front Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Front Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Soul doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Outlander Sport offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Soul doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
The Outlander Sport’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Soul.
Both the Outlander Sport and the Soul have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, rearview cameras, available 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 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is safer than the Kia Soul:
|
Outlander Sport |
Soul |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
251 |
324 |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
2 inches |
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 flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is safer than the Kia Soul:
|
Outlander Sport |
Soul |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.4 inches |
1 inches |
Abdominal Force |
163 lbs. |
259 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
349 |
422 |
Spine Acceleration |
47 G’s |
73 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
41 G’s |
46 G’s |
Hip Force |
807 lbs. |
1090 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.