For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Lexus NX 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 Kia Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Lexus NX has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Sportage PHEV doesn’t offer knee airbags.
With its standard Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, the Lexus NX is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Kia Sportage PHEV, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
NX |
Sportage PHEV |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-23 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.4 sec |
1.7 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-21 MPH |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
2.4 sec |
1.2 sec |
Both the NX and the Sportage PHEV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, 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, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
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 Lexus NX is safer than the Sportage PHEV:
|
NX |
Sportage PHEV |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Tension |
156 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.55 in |
1.1 in |
Shoulder Force |
201 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.98 in |
1.34 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
4 MPH |
9 MPH |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.83 in |
1.1 in |
Shoulder Force |
223 lbs. |
245 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.1 in |
1.38 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |