We investigate to find out if a Ford EcoSport is a safe car for individuals or families.
The EcoSport has been a part of Ford’s product line-up for quite some time now. The latest iterations of the model remain a popular choice amongst crossover buyers. At the time of writing this article, there are no less than nine derivatives available from the entry-level EcoSport 1.5 Ambiente all the way up to the EcoSport 1.0T Titanium auto.
What makes the EcoSport so popular is its compact design, spacious cabin and frugal powertrain options. But you might just ask, how safe it is? We take a closer look at the standard safety and driver assist systems as well as some crash test reports to find out.
Safety features
The Ford EcoSport in Trend and Titanium trim benefits from the Ford Collision Mitigation System which alerts the driver of a potential collision with the vehicle ahead while pre-charging the brakes so that the maximum braking pressure is applied once the driver uses the brake pedal. Both these trims also offer customers hill-start assist while the Titanium provides front park distance control as standard specification.
The Trend and Titanium guises also come with a 7th airbag for the driver’s knee as well as a tyre pressure monitoring system, fog lamps and LED projector headlamps. Safety features that are offered across the entire EcoSport range from the Ambiente to the Titanium are ABS brakes with emergency brake assist and stability control. Ambiente owners will also be happy to know that there are six airbags, dual front, side and curtain, as standard.
Euro NCAP
The most recent crash test conducted on the EcoSport happened in 2013 and, as such, readers should note that Ford has further developed the safety of the EcoSport since then. The 2013 EcoSport in Titanium guise still fared well as it scored an overall 4 out of 5 stars. Readers can find a full breakdown of the results here, however, here are a few key scores.
For adult occupant safety, the EcoSport achieved an impressive 93% during the testing. As for child occupant safety, the American model scored 77%. With the new enhancements made by Ford, it would be interesting to see what the EcoSport will score in a modern test.
Verdict
Considering just how much standard safety systems are fitted as standard and how well the model scored without some of the newer systems in 2013, one can safely assume that the Ford EcoSport is indeed a safe car for individuals or families.
Ryno FourieRyno started his career capturing press images of the latest and greatest vehicles which have subsequently adorned the covers and pages of prominent motoring titles locally and internationally. After a short stint as a photography lecturer, he once again joined the automotive industry as a sub-editor and photographer for a local publication, however, currently, you will find him spending most of his time in the studio creating written, video, and photography content as part of the AutoTrader content team.View News & Reviews
Keyword: Is Ford EcoSport a safe car?