For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape 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 Chevrolet Blazer doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.
The Escape has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Blazer doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Escape Titanium has a standard backup collision prevention system that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Blazer doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Escape has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Blazer’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Escape has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Blazer.
The Escape’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 Blazer doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Escape and the Blazer have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and front and rear parking sensors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford Escape is safer than the Chevrolet Blazer:
|
Escape |
Blazer |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
143 |
182 |
Neck Compression |
23 lbs. |
25 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
188/315 lbs. |
104/435 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
102 |
313 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.8 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
36.3% |
43% |
Neck Compression |
58 lbs. |
140 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Escape is safer than the Chevrolet Blazer:
|
Escape |
Blazer |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
240 lbs. |
369 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
97 |
251 |
Spine Acceleration |
43 G’s |
45 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
11 inches |
13 inches |
Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
39 G’s |
Hip Force |
462 lbs. |
695 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Escape the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 137 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Blazer last would have qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2017.