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Is Kia’s safety rating for minivans better than Dodge’s?
Things to remember...
- While the 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan and the 2017 Kia Sedona minivans are both popular with consumers, one has considerably higher safety ratings than the other
- The IIHS selected the 2017 Kia Sedona for its Top Safety Pick Award, but the Dodge Grand Caravan was not recognized in this way
- Safety ratings can directly impact your auto insurance premium, so it is important to compare safety ratings if you want to keep ownership costs as low as possible
Minivans are a popular vehicle option for families, and you may have plans to transport your family around town and beyond in a new minivan soon.
Because of the precious cargo that will be in your new minivan on a regular basis, you want to find a vehicle that has excellent safety ratings.
Because so many different factors can affect your safety while driving in your new vehicle, it can be challenging to accurately determine which vehicle is the safest overall.
Thankfully, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety / Highway Data Loss Institute regularly analyzes minivans as well as other vehicle classes, and it publishes its safety findings for you to review and learn from.
In 2017, it reviewed the Kia Sedona and the Dodge Grand Caravan as well as three other popular models of minivans, and a closer comparison of the findings may help you to decide which minivan you should buy.
Remember that a safety rating can indicate how confident you may feel while driving your family in the minivan, and it may also influence your auto insurance cost going forward.
Compare car insurance quotes today by using our free rate tool above. Enter your zip code to get started.
Table of Contents
A Comparison of Safety Ratings between the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Kia Sedona
The IIHS has reviewed each of the top five models of minivans in three primary categories or eight sub-categories in 2017. For most of the categories, it has issued a rating of:
- Good
- Average
- Marginal
- Poor
However, for the Front Crash Prevention category, the rating ranges from basic to superior. By analyzing each separate subcategory reviewed by the IIHS carefully, you can more clearly see which areas the models excel in.
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Crashworthiness
The Crashworthiness rating is the largest safety category analyzed by the IIHS, and it features five of the eight sub-categories.
These sub-categories include:
- Side
- Roof Strength
- Head Restraints and Seats
- Front Small Overlap
- Front Moderate Overlap
The 2017 Kia Sedona garnered a good rating in all of these sub-categories.
On the other hand, the 2017 Dodge Caravan received a poor rating in the Front Small Overlap section, and it ranked at the good level for the other four sub-categories.
Crash Avoidance and Mitigation
In addition, two important sub-categories were reviewed by the IIHS in the area of Crash Avoidance and Mitigation. The Sedona was given the highest rating of superior for the Front Crash Prevention sub-category, but it had a poor rating for Headlights.
Unfortunately, the Grand Caravan was not rated for either of these two sub-categories. Other minivans reviewed in the IIHS analysis also received a superior rating for Front Crash Prevention and better ratings for the Headlights sub-category.
LATCH for Child Seat Anchors
The ease of use for the latch associated with child seat anchors in a minivan is usually a critical factor for many shoppers in this class, and this is because these family-oriented vehicles often have younger passengers.
Both minivan models were given an average rating for the LATCH sub-category.
2017 Top Safety Pick and/or 2017 Top Safety Pick+
Notably, the 2017 Kia Sedona received the honor of being the 2017 Top Safety Pick from the IIHS, and the Grand Caravan received no acknowledgments in this area.
In addition, be aware that the IIHS also has a 2017 Top Safety Pick+ category. Both awards require the minivans to get a good rating in all Crashworthiness areas as well as a superior rating for the Front Crash Prevention category.
The difference between the two is that the latter honor requires the vehicle to get an acceptable or good rating for Headlights.
Is the Kia safer than the Dodge in 2017 for minivans?
Safety is at the forefront of your mind when shopping for a new minivan to use as a family vehicle. If you are trying to decide between buying a Grand Caravan or a Sedona, you can see from this analysis that the Sedona is more highly rated in the area of safety.
The Front Small Overlap and Front Crash Prevention categories are the two areas where the Sedona had higher safety ratings.
Remember that safety is not the only important factor that you need to analyze if you want to make an informed minivan buying decision. After all, your minivan also needs to be affordable and reliable.
Requesting auto insurance quotes today for several leading models is a wonderful way to determine which model has the most affordable coverage cost.
You may also analyze other vehicle factors before you decide on a minivan that is right for you, such as fuel economy ratings, sales price, reliability, and several other factors.
Compare car insurance quotes to see which of these two minivans will get you a lower insurance premium. Enter your zip code below to begin.
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