The Outlander Sport has standard Active Front Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Front Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Kicks doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Outlander Sport offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Kicks doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
Both the Outlander Sport and the Kicks 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, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.
The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport weighs 512 to 611 pounds more than the Nissan Kicks. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is safer than the Nissan Kicks:
|
Outlander Sport |
Kicks |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
29% |
32% |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
3 Stars |
HIC |
251 |
326 |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
43% |
79% |
Neck Stress |
221 lbs. |
392 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
91 lbs. |
138 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 flat barrier at 38.5 MPH, results indicate that the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is safer than the Nissan Kicks:
|
Outlander Sport |
Kicks |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.4 inches |
.9 inches |
Abdominal Force |
163 lbs. |
172 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
47 G’s |
47 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.