For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Kia EV9 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 Ford Mustang Mach-E doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The EV9 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 Mustang Mach-E doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the EV9’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The Mustang Mach-E doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.
Both the EV9 and the Mustang Mach-E have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, driver alert monitors 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 EV9 is safer than the Mustang Mach-E:
|
|
EV9 |
Mustang Mach-E |
| Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Head Injury Criterion |
25 |
115 |
| Neck Tension |
156 lbs. |
357 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
-22 lbs. |
45 lbs. |
| Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Shoulder Deflection |
.47 in |
1.42 in |
| Shoulder Force |
156 lbs. |
268 lbs. |
| Torso Max Deflection |
.83 in |
1.42 in |
| Torso Deflection Rate |
7 MPH |
9 MPH |
| Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Pelvis Force |
513 lbs. |
825 lbs. |
| Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Neck Compression |
-22 lbs. |
22 lbs. |
| Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Shoulder Deflection |
.35 in |
.87 in |
| Shoulder Force |
134 lbs. |
268 lbs. |
| Torso Max Deflection |
.59 in |
.94 in |
| Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Pelvis Force |
402 lbs. |
535 lbs. |
| Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |

