Both the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid and Pacifica have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Sorento Plug-In 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 Pacifica’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.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid. But it costs extra on the Pacifica.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Pacifica doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
Both the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid and Pacifica have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Pacifica’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.
The Sorento Plug-In 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 Pacifica doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid and the Pacifica 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, 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 and rear cross-path warning.
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 Plug-In Hybrid is safer than the Chrysler Pacifica:
|
Sorento Plug-In Hybrid |
Pacifica |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
280 |
293 |
Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
50 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 front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 127 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Pacifica is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.