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 Hyundai Kona doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Ford Escape FHEV has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Kona doesn’t offer knee airbags.
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 Kona 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 offers an optional Reverse Brake Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Kona doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.
The Escape FHEV offers an optional 360-Degree Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Kona 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 FHEV and the Kona have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors 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 Hyundai Kona:
|
Escape FHEV |
Kona |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
143 |
205 |
Neck Stress |
185 lbs. |
207 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
23 lbs. |
57 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
102 |
217 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
36.3% |
37% |
Neck Stress |
181 lbs. |
193 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
58 lbs. |
70 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 Hyundai Kona:
|
Escape FHEV |
Kona |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Abdominal Force |
191 lbs. |
246 lbs. |
Hip Force |
240 lbs. |
611 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
97 |
326 |
Spine Acceleration |
43 G’s |
66 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
11 inches |
13 inches |
Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
34 G’s |
Hip Force |
462 lbs. |
744 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 163 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Kona has not been fully tested, yet.