Compare the2024 Ford EscapeVS 2023 Jeep Cherokee

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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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 Jeep Cherokee doesn’t offer pretensioners for its 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 Cherokee 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 offers an optional 360-Degree Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Cherokee only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the Escape and Cherokee have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Escape has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Cherokee’s Rear Cross-Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

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 Cherokee doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Escape and the Cherokee 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, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, 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 is safer than the Jeep Cherokee:

	Escape	Cherokee
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	143	204
Neck Injury Risk	22.5%	38.2%
Neck Stress	185 lbs.	408 lbs.
Neck Compression	23 lbs.	41 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	188/315 lbs.	368/516 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	102	166
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.5 inches
Neck Injury Risk	36.3%	37%
Neck Stress	181 lbs.	218 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	220/169 lbs.	241/259 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 Jeep Cherokee:

	Escape	Cherokee
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	240 lbs.	363 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	97	264
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	53 G’s
Hip Force	816 lbs.	938 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	11 inches	14 inches
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	43 G’s
Hip Force	462 lbs.	490 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 Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 163 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cherokee has not been tested, yet.

Warranty

There are over 25 percent more Ford dealers than there are Jeep dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Escape’s warranty.

Reliability

The Escape has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in long-term dependability. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Jeep is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 4 places higher in reliability than Jeep.

Engine

The Escape’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 28 lbs.-ft. more torque (199 vs. 171) than the Cherokee’s standard 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Ford Escape turbo 3 cyl. is faster than the Jeep Cherokee 4 cyl.:

	Escape	Cherokee
Zero to 30 MPH	3.3 sec	3.9 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	8.9 sec	10.9 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	5.2 sec	7 sec
Quarter Mile	16.9 sec	18.2 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	85 MPH	78.6 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Escape gets better mileage than the Cherokee:

			MPG
Escape
	FWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	27 city/34 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	26 city/32 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/31 hwy
Cherokee
	AWD	2.4 DOHC 4-cyl.	21 city/29 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/26 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Escape 1.5 Turbo’s fuel efficiency. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Ford Escape higher (7 out of 10) than the Jeep Cherokee (5 to 6). This means the Escape produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Cherokee every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Escape stops much shorter than the Cherokee:

	Escape	Cherokee
60 to 0 MPH	121 feet	131 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	137 feet	153 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Escape’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cherokee Altitude LUX’s optional 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Escape offers optional 19-inch wheels. The Cherokee’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The Escape has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Cherokee’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Escape ST-Line Elite AWD handles at .80 G’s, while the Cherokee pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Escape ST-Line Elite AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Cherokee (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Escape’s turning circle is .5 feet tighter than the Cherokee’s (37.2 feet vs. 37.7 feet). The Escape’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Cherokee Trailhawk’s (37.2 feet vs. 38.1 feet).

Chassis

The Ford Escape may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 600 to 700 pounds less than the Jeep Cherokee.

Passenger Space

The Escape has .6 inches more front headroom, 1.3 inches more front legroom, 1.4 inches more front hip room, .8 inches more rear headroom, .4 inches more rear legroom, 3.4 inches more rear hip room and .9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cherokee.

Cargo Capacity

The Escape has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Cherokee with its rear seat up (37.5 vs. 27.6 cubic feet). The Escape has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Cherokee with its rear seat folded (65.4 vs. 54.7 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Escape easier. The Escape’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.1 inches, while the Cherokee’s liftover is 30.9 inches.

The Escape’s cargo area is larger than the Cherokee’s in every dimension:

	Escape	Cherokee
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	37.8”/68.5”	33.9”/67.6”
Max Width	57.3”	49.2”
Min Width	41.4”	39.4”
Height	34.8”	28.8”

Ergonomics

The Escape Elite/Platinum offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Escape’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Cherokee doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its SiriusXM Guardian can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Ford Escape offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Cherokee doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Escape Elite/Platinum’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Cherokee’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

Model Availability

The Escape is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Escape owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Escape with a number “5” insurance rate while the Cherokee is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Escape is less expensive to operate than the Cherokee because typical repairs cost much less on the Escape than the Cherokee, including $119 less for a water pump, $45 less for front brake pads, $114 less for a starter, $308 less for a fuel pump and $94 less for front struts.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford Escape will be $114 to $6384 less than for the Jeep Cherokee.

Recommendations

The Ford Escape outsold the Jeep Cherokee by over three to one during 2022.