For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 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 Chevrolet Traverse Limited doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Chevrolet Traverse Limited doesn’t offer height-adjustable front seat belts.
The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Traverse Limited doesn’t offer knee airbags.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Outlander PHEV has a standard Rear Automatic Emergency Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Traverse Limited doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the Outlander PHEV. But it costs extra on the Traverse Limited.
The Outlander PHEV has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Traverse Limited’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Outlander PHEV has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Chevrolet charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Traverse Limited.
The Outlander PHEV’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 Traverse Limited doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Outlander PHEV and the Traverse Limited have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras 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 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is safer than the Traverse Limited:
|
Outlander PHEV |
Traverse Limited |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Tension |
223 lbs. |
446 lbs. |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.83 in |
1.3 in |
Shoulder Force |
201 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
1071 lbs. |
1116 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
125 |
189 |
Neck Tension |
67 lbs. |
134 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.31 in |
1.02 in |
Shoulder Force |
156 lbs. |
290 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.75 in |
1.22 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
3 MPH |
10 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
469 lbs. |
848 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |