The Sportage Hybrid SX-Prestige has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Corolla Cross Hybrid only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
Both the Sportage Hybrid and the Corolla Cross Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact 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, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.
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 Kia Sportage Hybrid is safer than the Corolla Cross Hybrid:
|
Sportage Hybrid |
Corolla Cross Hybrid |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
121 |
193 |
Neck Compression |
-45 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Shoulder Force |
223 lbs. |
245 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.34 in |
1.38 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
POOR |
Pelvis Force |
759 lbs. |
1539 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head Injury Criterion |
116 |
131 |
Neck Tension |
45 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-134 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
669 lbs. |
892 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Sportage Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 58 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Corolla Cross Hybrid is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2023.