Both the Mustang Mach-E and Kona Electric have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Mustang Mach-E has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Kona Electric’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E 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 Electric doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Mustang Mach-E 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 Electric 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 Mustang Mach-E has a standard 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 Electric doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.
The Mustang Mach-E offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
Both the Mustang Mach-E and the Kona Electric have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 driver alert monitors.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E weighs 503 to 1391 pounds more than the Hyundai Kona Electric. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Ford Mustang Mach-E is safer than the Kona Electric:
|
Mustang Mach-E |
Kona Electric |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
115 |
251 |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.42 in |
1.57 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
9 MPH |
9 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
825 lbs. |
915 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
42 |
282 |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.87 in |
2.09 in |
Shoulder Force |
268 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.94 in |
1.61 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
4 MPH |
10 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
535 lbs. |
759 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |