For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 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 Genesis GV80 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.
The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 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 GV80 doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
Compared to metal, the Outlander PHEV’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Genesis GV80 has a metal gas tank.
Both the Outlander PHEV and the GV80 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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.
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 Outlander PHEV its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 127 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The GV80 is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.