In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Sportage are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Taos doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
With its standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, the Kia Sportage is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Volkswagen Taos, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Sportage |
Taos |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-9 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-14 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-14 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
37 MPH Brights |
-23 MPH |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Brights |
1.7 sec |
No Warning |
37 MPH Low beams |
-21 MPH |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.2 sec |
No Warning |
The Sportage Prestige has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Taos 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.
The Sportage’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 Taos doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Sportage and the Taos have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia Sportage is safer than the Volkswagen Taos:
|
Sportage |
Taos |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
24.5% |
32% |
Neck Stress |
263 lbs. |
413 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
14 lbs. |
28 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
30.9% |
45% |
Neck Compression |
115 lbs. |
207 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
292/203 lbs. |
643/432 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 Kia Sportage is safer than the Volkswagen Taos:
|
Sportage |
Taos |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
70 |
111 |
Hip Force |
247 lbs. |
394 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
82 |
393 |
Spine Acceleration |
47 G’s |
69 G’s |
Hip Force |
581 lbs. |
673 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
270 |
338 |
Spine Acceleration |
35 G’s |
46 G’s |
Hip Force |
480 lbs. |
939 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 Sportage is safer than the Taos:
|
Sportage |
Taos |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
121 |
189 |
Neck Tension |
223 lbs. |
379 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-45 lbs. |
45 lbs. |
Shoulder Deflection |
1.1 in |
1.57 in |
Shoulder Force |
223 lbs. |
357 lbs. |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
POOR |
Pelvis Force |
759 lbs. |
1406 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
116 |
259 |
Neck Tension |
45 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-134 lbs. |
112 lbs. |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
1.1 in |
1.65 in |
Shoulder Force |
245 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.38 in |
1.54 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
5 MPH |
16 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
669 lbs. |
781 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates the general design of front seat head restraints for their ability to protect front seat occupants from whiplash injuries. The IIHS also performs a dynamic test on those seats with “good” or “acceptable” geometry. In these ratings, the Sportage with standard seats is safer than the Taos:
|
Sportage |
Taos |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Restraint Design |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Distance from Back of Head |
24 mm |
38 mm |
Dynamic Test Rating |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Seat Design |
Pass |
Fail |
Torso Acceleration |
10.1 g’s |
13.3 g’s |
Neck Force Rating |
Low |
Low |
(Lower numerical results are better in all tests.)