Both the Sorento Hybrid and QX55 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Sorento Hybrid 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 QX55’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.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Sorento Hybrid’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The QX55 doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
Both the Sorento Hybrid and QX55 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Sorento Hybrid has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The QX55’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
The Sorento Hybrid’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 QX55 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Sorento Hybrid and the QX55 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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, available all wheel drive and 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 Kia Sorento Hybrid is safer than the Infiniti QX55:
|
Sorento Hybrid |
QX55 |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
1.2 inches |
Neck Stress |
159 lbs. |
219 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
81/191 lbs. |
452/534 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 Sorento Hybrid is safer than the QX55:
|
Sorento Hybrid |
QX55 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
64 |
141 |
Neck Compression |
-89 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.71 in |
1.06 in |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.14 in |
1.73 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
7 MPH |
9 MPH |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
959 lbs. |
1316 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Compression |
-67 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.55 in |
.67 in |
Shoulder Force |
134 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.18 in |
1.42 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
4 MPH |
7 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Kia Sorento Hybrid achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The QX55 is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.