2025 Kia Sorento Named IIHS Top Safety Pick, Mixed Results in Grab-Bag Test Session

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety must be getting into the Halloween spirit. While the watchdog group regularly subjects new models to a battery of crash tests and performs group tests within popular segments, their latest test session consisted of an assortment of vehicles as random as the candy in a kid’s Halloween sack: a mid-size SUV, mid-size sedan and two electric SUVs. The results were equally mixed.

The Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of the group was the 2025 Kia Sorento, back for redemption after missing out on a Top Safety Pick+ award, IIHS’s highest honor, last year.

Related: IIHS Reports Improvements in Seat Belt Reminders

IIHS rates vehicle performance on a four-point scale: poor, marginal, acceptable and good. To qualify as either a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+, vehicles must earn good ratings in two frontal crash tests and a side impact test, as well as earn acceptable or good ratings in evaluations of their headlights and collision-avoidance systems. Top Safety Pick+ awards require vehicles to also earn an acceptable or good rating in the updated moderate overlap frontal crash test, which includes a dummy in the seat behind the driver.

After the Sorento failed to qualify as a Top Safety Pick+ in the updated front test last year, Kia modified the rear seat belts to better control the passenger dummy’s movements. However, the belts still did not adequately hold the dummy in place, resulting in a marginal score in the test and a second-tier Top Safety Pick finish for the Sorento again. It’s a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, but only a Fun Size.

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The Also-Rans

The rest of the crash-testing session was mostly Bit-O-Honey, the well-intentioned-but-suspicious apple with a sizable bruise and maybe a small baggie of candy corn that came open. The model-year 2024-25 Nissan Altima was also back with updated rear seat belts, although it was not defending its honor or aiming for a promotion, having been previously left out of both IIHS honors due to a poor rating in the updated side impact test and a marginal score in the pedestrian-avoidance evaluation. At least the Altima was consistent, with its revised seat belts also earning a marginal rating in the updated front crash test.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the test is Honda’s new electric vehicle duo, the 2024 Prologue and 2024 Acura ZDX SUVs. The ZDX’s standard headlights initially scored a poor rating for how well they illuminate the road, but Acura switched them out for units that earn a good rating in vehicles built after August 2024. Still, despite otherwise qualifying for the highest honors, both electric SUVs missed out on either award because the dummy’s head slipped between the front and side curtain airbags in the small overlap front crash test, earning them only acceptable ratings; a good rating is required in that test to qualify for either award.

Of particular interest on Halloween, only the Kia earned a good rating in the pedestrian-detection test. The Honda EV duo ranked acceptable, and the Altima scored marginal. Stay safe out there.

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