For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape 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 Kia Niro doesn't offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.
The Escape has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Niro 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 Escape offers an optional backup collision prevention system that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Niro doesn't offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Escape offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Niro doesn't offer all-wheel drive.
The Escape offers optional parking sensors to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or, for the Escape Titanium in front of the vehicle. The Niro doesn't offer a front parking aid.
The Escape has standard 911 Assist, 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 Niro 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 Niro have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights and rearview cameras.