For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid 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 Chrysler Pacifica doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.
Both the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid and Pacifica have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Pacifica’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
With its standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, the Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Chrysler Pacifica, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|   
  | 
     Sorento Plug-In Hybrid  | 
     Pacifica  | 
  
|   Overall Evaluation  | 
     GOOD  | 
     ACCEPTABLE  | 
  
|   
  | 
     Crossing Child - DAY  | 
  |
|   12 MPH  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
  
|   25 MPH  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
     -4 MPH  | 
  
|   
  | 
     Crossing Adult - NIGHT  | 
  |
|   12 MPH Brights  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
  
|   12 MPH Low beams  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
  
|   25 MPH Brights  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
  
|   25 MPH Low beams  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
     -6 MPH  | 
  
|   
  | 
     Parallel Adult - NIGHT  | 
  |
|   25 MPH Brights  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
  
|   25 MPH Low beams  | 
     AVOIDED  | 
     -1 MPH  | 
  
|   37 MPH Brights  | 
     -34 MPH  | 
     -22 MPH  | 
  
|   37 MPH Low beams  | 
     -33 MPH  | 
     No Slowing  | 
  
|   Warning Issued-Low beams  | 
     1.1 sec  | 
     No Warning  | 
  
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid. But it costs extra on the Pacifica.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Pacifica doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
Both the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid and Pacifica have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Pacifica’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.
The Sorento Plug-In Hybrid’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 Pacifica doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid and the Pacifica have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning 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 Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid is safer than the Pacifica:
|   
  | 
     Sorento Plug-In Hybrid  | 
     Pacifica  | 
  
|   Overall Evaluation  | 
     GOOD  | 
     ACCEPTABLE  | 
  
|   Structure  | 
     GOOD  | 
     GOOD  | 
  
|   
  | 
     Driver Injury Measures  | 
  |
|   Head/Neck  | 
     GOOD  | 
     GOOD  | 
  
|   Head Injury Criterion  | 
     64  | 
     167  | 
  
|   Neck Tension  | 
     178 lbs.  | 
     335 lbs.  | 
  
|   Neck Compression  | 
     -89 lbs.  | 
     45 lbs.  | 
  
|   Torso  | 
     GOOD  | 
     GOOD  | 
  
|   Shoulder Deflection  | 
     .71 in  | 
     .94 in  | 
  
|   Torso Max Deflection  | 
     1.14 in  | 
     1.26 in  | 
  
|   Head Protection  | 
     GOOD  | 
     GOOD  | 
  
|   
  | 
     Passenger Injury Measures  | 
  |
|   Head/Neck  | 
     GOOD  | 
     GOOD  | 
  
|   Head Injury Criterion  | 
     68  | 
     83  | 
  
|   Neck Tension  | 
     89 lbs.  | 
     112 lbs.  | 
  
|   Neck Compression  | 
     -67 lbs.  | 
     67 lbs.  | 
  
|   Torso  | 
     GOOD  | 
     ACCEPTABLE  | 
  
|   Shoulder Deflection  | 
     .55 in  | 
     1.1 in  | 
  
|   Shoulder Force  | 
     134 lbs.  | 
     424 lbs.  | 
  
|   Torso Max Deflection  | 
     1.18 in  | 
     1.97 in  | 
  
|   Torso Deflection Rate  | 
     4 MPH  | 
     12 MPH  | 
  
|   Pelvis  | 
     GOOD  | 
     POOR  | 
  
|   Pelvis Force  | 
     580 lbs.  | 
     1450 lbs.  | 
  
|   Head Protection  | 
     GOOD  | 
     GOOD  | 
  

