2009 Kia Sorento

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Head restraints & seats

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2007-09 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Kia Sorento LX 4-door 4wd

The Kia Sorento was introduced in the 2003 model year. All 2007 and later Sorento models include frontal airbag and seat belt modifications to improve occupant protection in frontal offset crashes. A driver knee airbag was added at the same time.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Dummy movement was reasonably well controlled. During rebound, the dummy's head hit the B-pillar and roof rail. Plus the driver's seat tipped toward the door.

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

Smeared red greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head hit the B-pillar during rebound. The head also hit the roof rail before moving back against the head restraint.

Forces on the lower right leg and foot were high enough to indicate the possibility of injuries.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEF0727
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	9
Left (cm)	8
Center (cm)	7
Right (cm)	7
Brake pedal (cm)	6
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	1
Right (cm)	0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	-1
Rearward (cm)	-2
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	2

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEF0727
Head
HIC-15	411
Peak gs at hard contact	10
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.8
Extension bending moment (Nm)	17
Maximum Nij	0.42
Chest maximum compression (mm)	43
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	1.5
Femur force - right (kN)	3.7
Knee displacement - left (mm)	3
Knee displacement - right (mm)	3
Maximum tibia index - left	0.26
Maximum tibia index - right	0.77
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	3.6
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	7.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	98
Right	206

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2003-09 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Kia Sorento LX 4-door 4wd with standard front and rear head curtain airbags

The Kia Sorento was introduced in the 2003 model year. Although engineering changes were made to improve frontal crashworthiness beginning with 2007 models, these changes were not expected to affect side-impact performance.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbag and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	CES0747
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	0.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0747
Head HIC-15	344
Neck
Tension (kN)	2.1
Compression (kN)	0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	61
Lateral force (kN)	2.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	45
Average deflection (mm)	33
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	7.11
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	1.33
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	6.4
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.7
Combined force (kN)	7.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.6
L-M moment (Nm)	98
A-P moment (Nm)	18

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0747
Head HIC-15	493
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.1
Compression (kN)	1.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	15
Lateral force (kN)	1.0
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	23
Average deflection (mm)	16
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.07
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.25
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	2.1
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.0
Combined force (kN)	2.9
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.7
L-M moment (Nm)	92
A-P moment (Nm)	-38

About the original side crash test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats AHR

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Manual cloth seats AHR
Geometry
Backset (mm)	62
Distance below top of head (mm)	36
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	10.9
Head contact time (ms)	52
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	15
Max neck tension (N)	275

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.