For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC90 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.
The XC90’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC90 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 Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.
The Volvo XC90 offers an optional built in child booster seat. It’s more crash worthy than an added child seat because of its direct attachment to the seat. Kia doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; XC90 owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.
Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the XC90 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The XC90’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
The XC90 has a standard Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WHIPS allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The XC90 has standard Post-impact braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Both the XC90 and the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available 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 Volvo XC90 is safer than the Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid:
|
XC90 |
Sorento Plug-In Hybrid |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
137 |
334 |
Neck Compression |
18 lbs. |
22 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
217 |
390 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.5 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
31% |
53% |
Neck Compression |
25 lbs. |
89 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 Volvo XC90 is safer than the Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid:
|
XC90 |
Sorento Plug-In Hybrid |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
15 inches |
HIC |
209 |
280 |
Spine Acceleration |
29 G’s |
32 G’s |
Hip Force |
383 lbs. |
579 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the XC90 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid was last a “Top Safety Pick Plus” in 2019 but no longer qualifies.