For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Mitsubishi Outlander 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 Honda Passport doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Mitsubishi Outlander has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Passport doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Outlander has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Passport doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Outlander has a standard Rear Automatic Emergency Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Passport doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Outlander’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Passport doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The Outlander SE/SEL has a standard Multi View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Passport only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
The Outlander’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 Passport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Outlander and the Passport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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 all wheel drive.
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 Mitsubishi Outlander is much safer than the Passport:
|
Outlander |
Passport |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
171 |
206 |
Neck Tension |
201 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
1071 lbs. |
1339 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
132 |
206 |
Neck Tension |
67 lbs. |
178 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Shoulder Deflection |
.31 in |
.94 in |
Shoulder Force |
156 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.87 in |
2.05 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
3 MPH |
12 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
647 lbs. |
759 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |