For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The MINI Countryman doesn't offer height-adjustable seat belts.
The Escape Titanium's optional 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 Countryman doesn't offer a lane departure warning system.
The Escape (except S)'s optional blind spot warning system uses sensors to alert driver to objects in the vehicle's blind spots where the side view mirrors don't reveal them. The Countryman doesn't offer a system to reveal objects in the driver's blind spots.
To help make backing safer, the Escape (except S)'s optional cross-path warning system uses wide-angle radar in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Countryman doesn't offer a cross-path warning system.
The Escape Titanium's optional 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 Countryman doesn't offer a driver alert monitor.
The Escape has standard SYNC®, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Countryman doesn't offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you're involved in an accident and you're incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Escape and the Countryman have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front-wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes and front and rear parking sensors.