For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Corolla Cross 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 Ford EcoSport doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Corolla Cross are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The EcoSport doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Corolla Cross has a standard Pre-Collision System, which uses forward mounted sensors to warn the driver of a possible collision ahead. If the driver doesn’t react and the system determines a collision is imminent, it automatically applies the brakes at full-force in order to reduce the force of the crash or avoid it altogether. The EcoSport doesn't offer collision warning or crash mitigation brakes.
The Corolla Cross has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The EcoSport 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 Corolla Cross XLE has a standard Parking Support Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The EcoSport doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Corolla Cross’ lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The EcoSport doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.
The Corolla Cross XLE has standard Front and Rear Parking Assist to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The EcoSport doesn’t offer a front parking aid.
The Corolla Cross’ 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 EcoSport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Corolla Cross and the EcoSport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear 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, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.
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 Toyota Corolla Cross is safer than the Ford EcoSport:
|
Corolla Cross |
EcoSport |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.9 inches |
.9 inches |
Hip Force |
330 lbs. |
337 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
137 |
195 |
Hip Force |
367 lbs. |
685 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
12 inches |
Spine Acceleration |
32 G’s |
37 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Corolla Cross the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 72 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The EcoSport has not been fully tested, yet.