Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Hornet offers optional Rear Park-Assist with Stop that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Hornet. But it costs extra on the Outlander Sport.
The Hornet offers an optional 360° Surround View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Outlander Sport only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.
The Hornet 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. Only the Outlander Sport SE/GT offers a blind spot warning system.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Hornet 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. Only the Outlander Sport SE/GT has a rear cross-path warning system.
The Hornet’s optional 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.
The Hornet offers optional Uconnect 9-1-1, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Outlander Sport 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 Hornet 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, 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 and rearview cameras.
The Dodge Hornet weighs 419 to 877 pounds more than the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.