For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Ford EcoSport 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 GMC Terrain doesn't offer height-adjustable front seat belts.

The Ford EcoSport has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Terrain doesn't offer knee airbags.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the EcoSport. But it costs extra on the Terrain.

Both the EcoSport and the Terrain have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors 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 Ford EcoSport is safer than the GMC Terrain:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The EcoSport's corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Terrain's (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are over 78 percent more Ford dealers than there are GMC dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the EcoSport's warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford 14th in initial quality. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 17th.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford 22nd in reliability. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 25th.

The EcoSport's standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Terrain SLE/AT4's standard 65 series tires.

The EcoSport has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the EcoSport flat and controlled during cornering. The Terrain's suspension doesn't offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For better maneuverability, the EcoSport's turning circle is 2.3 feet tighter than the Terrain w/17” wheels' (35.1 feet vs. 37.4 feet). The EcoSport's turning circle is 6.5 feet tighter than the Terrain w/19” wheels' (35.1 feet vs. 41.6 feet).

The EcoSport is 1 foot, 9 inches shorter than the Terrain, making the EcoSport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The EcoSport's standard towing capacity is much higher than the Terrain's (2000 vs. 1500 pounds).

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don't have them with you, you can let yourself in using the EcoSport's available exterior PIN entry system. The Terrain doesn't offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its OnStar® can't unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn't have cell phone reception or the driver can't contact the service.

The EcoSport's standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn't have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Terrain's manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The EcoSport SES/Titanium's standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

Insurance will cost less for the EcoSport owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the EcoSport with a number “8” insurance rate while the Terrain is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the EcoSport is less expensive to operate than the Terrain because it costs $527 less to do the manufacturer's suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the EcoSport than the Terrain, including $279 less for a water pump, $559 less for a muffler, $142 less for front brake pads, $122 less for a starter, $259 less for fuel injection and $301 less for a fuel pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford EcoSport will be $3575 to $5471 less than for the GMC Terrain.