For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Genesis GV80 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 GMC Acadia doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.
Both the GV80 and Acadia have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The GV80 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 Acadia’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.
The GV80 offers an optional Multi-Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Acadia doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The GV80 offers optional Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist-Reverse that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Acadia doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the GV80. But it costs extra on the Acadia.
Both the GV80 and Acadia have rear cross-traffic warning, but the GV80 has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Acadia’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
The GV80’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 Acadia doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the GV80 and the Acadia have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available 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 Genesis GV80 is safer than the GMC Acadia:
|
GV80 |
Acadia |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
263 |
319 |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
34% |
43% |
Neck Compression |
65 lbs. |
99 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 and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Genesis GV80 is safer than the GMC Acadia:
|
GV80 |
Acadia |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
29 |
125 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
.9 inches |
Abdominal Force |
101 lbs. |
156 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
70 |
276 |
Spine Acceleration |
26 G’s |
51 G’s |
Hip Force |
458 lbs. |
799 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
290 |
381 |
Hip Force |
640 lbs. |
760 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The Genesis GV80 (built after August 2023) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Acadia is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.