2016 Kia Sorento: Three-Row SUV Named Top Safety Pick

The 2016 Kia Sorento is a mid-sized SUV that should be given a careful look by families.

The latest version of the Sorento earned a Top Safety Pick by The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In all of the tests it earned the top rating of good, according to a Cars.com blog.

The 2014-15 version of the Sorento did not score well in the small overlap front test, earning a poor rating. The 2016 Sorento was able to address that issue and now receives a good rating in that test.

The small overlap front test is a test to see what would happen when a vehicle's front corner hits an object like a tree or utility pole.

In the small overlap front test: "measures taken from the dummy indicate a low risk of any significant injuries in a crash of this severity," the Institute said in a statement.

It added: "It's a marked improvement from the previous-generation Sorento. In the test of the 2014 model, the driver's space was seriously compromised. Measures from the dummy indicated a high likelihood of injuries to the lower left leg and possible injuries to the left thigh and knee in a crash of this severity."

The Top Safety Pick award is only given to vehicles that earn a good or acceptable rating in small overlap front test and good ratings in all the other tests.

The 2016 Kia Sorento has an option for optional forward collision warning. That gives the vehicle a basic rating for front crash prevention, but basic is not a high enough rating for the Top Safety Pick Plus award.

According to Edmunds, the 2016 Sorento has not been tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The 2015 Sorento did earn a top-five safety rating from the NHTSA. It is possible that with the improvements made to the 2016 Sorento, this honor would be given to Kia again this year.

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