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 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.
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 Eclipse Cross 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 Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Escape FHEV 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 Eclipse Cross SE/SEL has a rear cross-path warning system.
The Escape FHEV’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 Eclipse Cross doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Escape FHEV and the Eclipse Cross 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 FHEV is safer than the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross:
|
Escape FHEV |
Eclipse Cross |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
143 |
290 |
Neck Injury Risk |
22.5% |
35.1% |
Neck Stress |
185 lbs. |
467 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
23 lbs. |
65 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
188/315 lbs. |
239/273 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
102 |
244 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.5 inches |
Neck Compression |
58 lbs. |
143 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
220/169 lbs. |
314/170 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 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross:
|
Escape FHEV |
Eclipse Cross |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
240 lbs. |
292 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
97 |
162 |
Spine Acceleration |
43 G’s |
55 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
11 inches |
14 inches |
HIC |
344 |
358 |
Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
44 G’s |
Hip Force |
462 lbs. |
622 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 Eclipse Cross has not been fully tested, yet.