For those who want to play it safe on the road, the 2026 Kia Sorento is a perfect option. The 2026 Sorento is proud to be a 2025 Top Safety Pick+, as rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This award is no small accomplishment, as it is the highest safety rating in the auto industry. The 2026 Sorento joins a handful of other Kia vehicles that have also won an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award.
Criteria for the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Award
In order to earn the IIHS's top safety award, vehicles must meet certain stringent criteria. Cars must earn a rating of “good” in several key safety categories, including updated side tests, updated moderate overlap front, and small overlap front. Vehicles must also earn a rating of “good” or “acceptable” in the category of pedestrian front crash prevention. Along with internal safety protection measures, the IIHS also considers vehicles' external safety features. To be eligible for a Top Safety Pick+ award, vehicles must have headlights that are rated as either “acceptable” or “good” across all trim levels of a particular model.
Fortunately for Kia, the Sorento met the safety requirements mandated by the IIHS to receive a Top Safety Pick+ award. The Kia Sorento has several specific safety features that helped it earn top ratings, including standard forward collision avoidance, which detects cyclists and pedestrians in front of the car, along with oncoming vehicles when drivers are making a left-hand turn at an intersection. This feature can also help the Sorento avoid collisions with other vehicles or objects in certain situations. The 2026 Kia Sorento earned a score of “Good” for its safety features that help reduce impacts to other vehicles and pedestrians, which was sufficient to qualify for the IIHS's Top Safety Pick+ award.
Along with the safety features above, the Kia Sorento also comes with a long list of standard safety technology that includes adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane centering assist, blind-spot warning, rear automatic braking, and rear cross-traffic alert. A 360-degree camera and blind-spot camera are advanced safety features available on higher-end trim levels of the Sorento for additional protection and accident avoidance.
Kia's Safest Vehicles
Along with the 2026 Sorento, Kia also has a handful of other vehicles that have earned the prestigious IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award. That list includes the 2026 Sportage, the 2025 EV9, and the 2025 Telluride.
Contact us at Camelback Kia today for more details.
