Top Safety Pick

2014 Kia Sorento

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle	Not available

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection

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.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2014-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Kia Sorento LX 4-door 4wd

The Kia Sorento was re-engineered for the 2014 model year.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved 13 cm to the right. The side curtain airbag did not deploy, leaving the dummy's head vulnerable to contacts with side structure and outside objects.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was not maintained well.

The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved to the right. The side curtain airbag did not deploy.

Door hinge pillar and instrument panel intrusion was extensive and contributed to a high risk of injury the left lower leg and a moderate risk to the left thigh and knee.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1406
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	27
Footrest (cm)	19
Left toepan (cm)	10
Brake pedal (cm)	6
Parking brake (cm)	28
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	15
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	7
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	21
Upper dash (cm)	18
Lower instrument panel (cm)	18

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1406
Head
HIC-15	179
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.5
Extension bending moment (Nm)	11
Maximum Nij	0.30
Chest maximum compression (mm)	18
Femur (kN)
Left	7.5
Right	1.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	17
Right	4
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	14
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	1.51
Right	0.47
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	3.0
Right	1.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	120
Right	51

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2014-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Kia Sorento EX 4-door 4wd

The Kia Sorento was re-engineered for the 2014 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Hyundai/Kia.

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

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1224
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	6
Left (cm)	10
Center (cm)	8
Right (cm)	5
Brake pedal (cm)	6
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	1
Right (cm)	1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	2
Rearward (cm)	1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	1

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1224
Head
HIC-15	218
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm)	17
Maximum Nij	0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm)	14
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	0.6
Femur force - right (kN)	2.0
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	6
Maximum tibia index - left	0.40
Maximum tibia index - right	0.54
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	1.7
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	1.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	64
Right	91

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2014-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Kia Sorento EX 4-door 4wd with standard front and second row head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Kia Sorento was re-engineered for the 2014 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Hyundai/Kia.

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

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS1229
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-13.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1229
Head HIC-15	199
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.1
Compression (kN)	0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	30
Lateral force (kN)	1.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	24
Average deflection (mm)	23
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	4.40
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.40
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.8
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.4
Combined force (kN)	4.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.6
L-M moment (Nm)	98
A-P moment (Nm)	25

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1229
Head HIC-15	156
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.3
Compression (kN)	0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	22
Lateral force (kN)	1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	27
Average deflection (mm)	22
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.50
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.40
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.6
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.7
Combined force (kN)	1.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.4
L-M moment (Nm)	123
A-P moment (Nm)	20

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2011-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Kia Sorento EX 4-door 4wd

Re-engineering of the vehicle for 2014-15 did not affect roof strength. Therefore, rating applies to the 2011-15 models.

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	4,048 lbs
Peak force	17,455 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	4.31

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat (AHR)

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Manual cloth seat (AHR)
Geometry
Backset (mm)	51
Distance below top of head (mm)	-8
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	9.6
Head contact time (ms)	66
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	53
Max neck tension (N)	488

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