Both the Sorento Hybrid and QX50 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Sorento Hybrid has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The QX50’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Sorento Hybrid’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The QX50 doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
Both the Sorento Hybrid and QX50 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Sorento Hybrid has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The QX50’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
The Sorento Hybrid’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 QX50 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Sorento Hybrid and the QX50 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, 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, available all wheel drive and 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 Kia Sorento Hybrid is safer than the Infiniti QX50:
|
|
Sorento Hybrid |
QX50 |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
| Neck Injury Risk |
21% |
26% |
| Neck Stress |
168 lbs. |
245 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
22 lbs. |
42 lbs. |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
| Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.6 inches |
| Neck Stress |
159 lbs. |
161 lbs. |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
81/191 lbs. |
504/622 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 Kia Sorento Hybrid is safer than the Infiniti QX50:
|
|
Sorento Hybrid |
QX50 |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Max Damage Depth |
15 inches |
17 inches |
| HIC |
280 |
333 |
| Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
39 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Sorento Hybrid the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 163 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The QX50 has not been fully tested, yet.