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 Jeep Renegade doesn’t offer pretensioners for its 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 Renegade 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.
The Escape FHEV offers an optional 360-Degree Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Renegade only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
Both the Escape FHEV and Renegade have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Escape FHEV offers optional Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Renegade’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.
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 Renegade doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Escape FHEV and the Renegade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front 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, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.
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 Jeep Renegade:
|
Escape FHEV |
Renegade |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
143 |
207 |
Neck Injury Risk |
22.5% |
26% |
Neck Stress |
185 lbs. |
332 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
188/315 lbs. |
343/366 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
102 |
363 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Stress |
181 lbs. |
221 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
220/169 lbs. |
290/322 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 Jeep Renegade:
|
Escape FHEV |
Renegade |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.9 inches |
1 inches |
Hip Force |
240 lbs. |
328 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
HIC |
97 |
286 |
Spine Acceleration |
43 G’s |
73 G’s |
Hip Force |
816 lbs. |
1157 lbs. |
|
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. |
625 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 Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 177 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Renegade last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2019.