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 Outlander PHEV are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Model X doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Outlander PHEV has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Model X doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Outlander PHEV has a standard Rear Automatic Emergency Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Model X doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Outlander PHEV’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Model X doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The Outlander PHEV SE/SEL has a standard Multi View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Model X 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 Outlander PHEV’s standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Model X doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
The Outlander PHEV has standard Mitsubishi Connect, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model X 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 Outlander PHEV and the Model X have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and driver alert monitors.
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Outlander PHEV the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 55 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Model X has not been tested, yet.