For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape FHEV 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 BMW X1 doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape FHEV are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW X1 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Automatic Emergency Braking in the Escape FHEV as “Superior.” The X1 scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”
The Escape FHEV 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 X1 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 FHEV 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 X1 doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Escape FHEV’s blind spot warning system uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. The X1 doesn’t offer a system to reveal objects in the driver’s blind spots.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Escape FHEV’s standard rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The X1 doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.
Both the Escape FHEV and the X1 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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 FHEV is safer than the BMW X1:
|
Escape FHEV |
X1 |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
143 |
328 |
Neck Injury Risk |
22.5% |
32% |
Neck Stress |
185 lbs. |
360 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
23 lbs. |
60 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
188/315 lbs. |
257/329 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
102 |
187 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.5 inches |
Neck Compression |
58 lbs. |
68 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
220/169 lbs. |
309/268 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 FHEV is safer than the BMW X1:
|
Escape FHEV |
X1 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
240 lbs. |
486 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
97 |
193 |
Spine Acceleration |
43 G’s |
65 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. |
815 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 FHEV the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 137 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The X1 last would have qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2019.