2017 Ford Escape Improves Crash-Test Ratings
CARS.COM — Refreshed styling and an updated interior aren’t the only things that changed on the 2017 Ford Escape, winner of Cars.com’s 2016 Compact SUV Challenge. Ford also gave the compact SUV enough safety changes to improve its scores in two leading crash tests.
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The 2017 Escape earned an overall score of five stars in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s crash tests. The current-generation Escape, which dates back to the 2013 model year, previously earned an overall rating of four out of five stars. NHTSA gave the Escape four stars in its frontal-crash and rollover ratings, plus a five-star rating for side impacts.
For 2017, both the frontal and overall scores improved to five stars. That puts the Escape’s overall score in line with popular competitors like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 — and one star ahead of cars like the Chevrolet Equinox, Jeep Cherokee and Nissan Rogue.
The Escape improved in crash test results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, too. The current generation fared poorly in previous IIHS’ small-overlap frontal tests, which simulates a frontal impact from the driver’s side. But the SUV improved to an acceptable small-overlap score (out of poor, marginal, acceptable and good) thanks mostly to a reinforced driver’s upper door hinge pillar which is “where the driver door attaches to the frame of a car,” IIHS spokesman Russ Rader explained. “It’s been strengthened. It wasn’t as strong initially.”
The 2017 Escape’s frontal and side-curtain airbags provided better protection in the small-overlap test for IIHS’ crash-test dummy, the agency said. That’s a big contrast from the 2013-2016 Escape, where the airbags didn’t protect the dummy enough. Ford did not make any changes to the airbags for 2017, Rader said. But the strengthened door-hinge pillar cut intrusion during the test to 5 inches from the previous 10 inches, according to IIHS.
Improved scores notwithstanding, the Escape still falls below IIHS’ Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick Plus designations, which both require good scores in all major crash-test categories. Many competitors — including the CR-V, RAV4, Rogue, Equinox, GMC Terrain, Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester — qualify for either award.
Asked how Ford improved the Escape’s NHTSA scores, three spokespeople did not respond to Cars.com.
