1998 Ford Escort
small car / 4-door sedan
Moderate overlap front: original test
Rating applies to 1997-2002 models
Tested vehicle: 1997 Ford Escort LX 4-door
The Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer were redesigned for the 1997 model year. Note: 2001-02 model Escort sedans were sold when new only to fleets, and the Tracer was discontinued after the 1999 model year.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall evaluation | |
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Leg/foot, left | |
| Leg/foot, right | |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics | |
Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.
The door sill crushed, but the driver's upper interior survival space was maintained reasonably well. There was virtually no movement of the steering wheel.
Even in the highest position, the head restraint isn't high enough to effectively protect an average-size male.
High forces indicating the likelihood of injury were recorded on the dummy's right leg during the offset test.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CF97016 |
| Footwell intrusion | |
| Footrest (cm) | 22 |
| Left (cm) | 26 |
| Center (cm) | 26 |
| Right (cm) | 18 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 16 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | |
| Left (cm) | 8 |
| Right (cm) | 4 |
| Steering column movement | |
| Upward (cm) | 2 |
| Rearward (cm) | 2 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 6 |
Driver injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CF97016 |
| Head | |
| HIC-15 | 457 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | 58 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.6 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 19 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.28 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 42 |
| Legs | |
| Femur force - left (kN) | 3.2 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 3.5 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 0 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 0 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 0.31 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 1.42 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 1.4 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 5.1 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |
| Left | 54 |
| Right | 101 |