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 Toyota Corolla Cross doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.
The Escape has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Corolla Cross LE/XLE offers a blind spot warning system.
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. Only the Corolla Cross LE/XLE has a rear cross-path warning system.
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 Corolla Cross doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Escape and the Corolla Cross have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear 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, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, 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 Toyota Corolla Cross:
|
Escape |
Corolla Cross |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
143 |
187 |
Neck Injury Risk |
22.5% |
27% |
Neck Stress |
185 lbs. |
243 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
23 lbs. |
50 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
188/315 lbs. |
330/310 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
102 |
356 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Compression |
58 lbs. |
86 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
220/169 lbs. |
301/156 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 Toyota Corolla Cross:
|
Escape |
Corolla Cross |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.9 inches |
.9 inches |
Hip Force |
240 lbs. |
330 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
97 |
137 |
Spine Acceleration |
43 G’s |
43 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
11 inches |
12 inches |
Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
32 G’s |
Hip Force |
462 lbs. |
623 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 Corolla Cross has not been tested, yet.