For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Mitsubishi Outlander 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 GMC Terrain doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mitsubishi Outlander 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 GMC Terrain doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
The Mitsubishi Outlander has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Terrain doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Outlander 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 Terrain doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Outlander 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 Terrain doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Outlander has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Terrain’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Outlander has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. GMC charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Terrain.
The Outlander’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 Terrain doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Outlander and the Terrain have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Mitsubishi Outlander is much safer than the Terrain:
|
Outlander |
Terrain |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Tension |
201 lbs. |
290 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
112 lbs. |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Shoulder Deflection |
.71 in |
1.73 in |
Shoulder Force |
156 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.46 in |
1.69 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
8 MPH |
8 MPH |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Injury Criterion |
132 |
733 |
Head Peak Forces |
no contact |
101 G’s |
Neck Tension |
67 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
89 lbs. |
491 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.31 in |
1.65 in |
Shoulder Force |
156 lbs. |
402 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.87 in |
1.57 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
3 MPH |
7 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
647 lbs. |
669 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
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 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 98 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Terrain last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.