Everyone has different wants, needs, and tastes, which is why some people prefer the Buick Encore and some people prefer the Ford Escape when shopping for a small SUV.

What you want and need depends on the size of your family, the size of your budget, and the things you enjoy doing the most.

Ford and Buick both have their ups and downs, as does any vehicle on the market. The Buick offers a few more features as standard than the Ford, but the Ford comes with a lower price than the Buick.

Whether or not you are looking for upgrades or a lower sticker price is personal, but it’s probably safe to assume you’re looking for a great discount on insurance as well as the added benefit of driving a vehicle that keeps you and your family safe on the road.

Unfortunately, you’re not getting the added benefit of an insurance discount with either the Buick or Ford’s small SUV. Both have a myriad of good safety ratings, but not good enough to elicit any awards.

When insurance companies look at safety ratings, they offer discounts for those that perform well in crash tests.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grades the safety of all vehicles on the road, and neither the Ford nor the Buick performed outstandingly in any safety categories.

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Safety Categories for Small SUVs

There are three main categories of safety tested by the IIHS in all small SUVs. Each of these three is then broken down into subcategories.

Each of the subcategories receives a rating from the IIHS to show how well it performed in various crash tests:

• Crashworthiness tests the head restraints and seats, the side, the roof strength, the moderate overlap front, and the small overlap front
• Crash avoidance and mitigation tests the front crash prevention and the headlights
• Child seat anchors test the latch system in the back of each small SUV

Safety Ratings and Grades

The IIHS crashes each of these vehicles and then provides a letter to determine the overall success of each crash rating. This works a lot like going to school and receiving a letter grade for each assignment you do.

There is only one best grade, and the rest are just leading up to that or showing how unprepared you were for said assignment. The same goes for the IIHS’ letter grades:

• “G” Good – This is the best rating a vehicle can earn
• “A” Acceptable – This is the second best rating a vehicle can earn
• “M” Marginal – This means a vehicle has a ways to go
• “P” Poor – This is the worst rating a vehicle can earn

As for the front crash prevention category, a letter grade does not apply. Instead, the IIHS uses three different rankings. Basic, advanced, and superior rankings are given to each vehicle as their front crash prevention tests come in.

Ford Escape vs. Buick Encore

Both Ford and Buick fail to receive any awards for their safety ratings. The Ford was rated in all categories, but the Buick’s headlights were not rated in this test.

Overall, the Buick performs far better in all categories, which makes it the clear winner in this competition.

However, consumers will not receive any insurance discounts for either due to lack of safety awards.

– Buick Encore Ratings

The Buick Encore scored phenomenally across the board save for one category. The results of the front crash prevention category failed to impress testers, and that caused this vehicle to miss out on a Top Safety Pick Award.

The Buick received all “G” ratings in the crashworthiness category and an “A” rating in the latch system. It ranks a very low basic score in the front crash prevention, however.

– Ford Escape

The Ford Escape’s ratings were good in all categories but two. With ratings of “G” in all the crashworthiness categories except small front overlap front with an “A,” this vehicle did well in this category.

However, the latch system is rated marginal, the headlights are acceptable, and the front crash prevention is a very low basic.

Choosing the Best Small SUV

While Buick has better safety ratings all around, both are going to provide you with various features that might make your family happy. If you have kids, you probably want the Buick with its better safety features and “A” rating for the latch.

If you don’t have kids, the marginal rating on the LATCH system in the Ford won’t bother you.

This is why it’s important you understand that these safety tests are important, but they’re not meant to be the sole deciding factor when you buy a new car.

If you’re looking for insurance discounts, you won’t find them for safety in these vehicles. What you can do is look to see which features your vehicle has and ask for discounts for those.

For example, if you have parking assist, a rear back-up camera, or even a lane-notification system on your small SUV, you might get a small discount for that. They help keep you safer on the road, and insurance companies like to reward that.

By comparing rates, fuel costs, maintenance costs, and warranties in addition to vehicle price, it’s easier to determine whether the Buick or the Ford is a better small SUV for you. Use our FREE quote tool today!

The manufactures designed the vehicles to have safety features and luxury options, but they were unable to satisfy the requirements the IIHS had for their awards.

Both vehicles scored better in 2016 than the 2017 models. Enter your zip code into our FREE comparison tool right now!

New IIHS Testing

One of the biggest reasons so many small size SUVs are doing worse than they did in 2016 is the new IIHS test that has been put into place.

It was added in a way that disallowed some vehicles in the 2017 year to be tested and made it difficult for manufacturers to catch up with the requirements for the vehicle.

Now that the IIHS has added the passenger side front collision test, manufacturers will be able to bring their vehicles up to the new standards in the future.

In addition to their latest test, the IIHS has made sure they are performing other tests on each vehicle to determine how safe they are. They check the crashworthiness of vehicles along with how easy it is to put a safety seat into the vehicle.

More recently, the IIHS added the crash avoidance test to the lineup to help test collision warning systems and auto brakes.

Crash Tests by the IIHS

The IIHS puts vehicles into accidents on purpose so they can see how the vehicle will perform if it is actually in an accident on the road.

They also put crash test dummies into the vehicles to help get a better understanding of what would happen to humans who are in the vehicle.

The IIS then records the data they find on the results of the vehicle and the dummies in the vehicle.

— How the Encore and Q3 Performed

The Buick Encore was able to have a score for the new frontal passenger collision test, but the Audi Q3 was unable to receive a score from the IIHS.

Both vehicles scored good on the driver’s side front crash test. They also scored good on the side tests and rollover tests making their overall crashworthiness score nearly the same.

Avoidance and Mitigation Ratings from the IIHS

The IIHS looks at the warning systems and auto brakes in a vehicle to understand how well they will stop a vehicle from being involved in a front collision.

The IIHS also uses the mitigation portion of the category to determine whether the headlights are effective or not.

The mitigation uses the regular IIHS scale from poor to good, but the avoidance category uses a basic, advanced and superior rating system.

— Avoidance Scores for the Encore and Q3

The Buick Encore had an avoidance system that received a basic score. It was only able to use a warning system and the auto brake feature was not available for testing by the IIHS.

There was nothing available in the Q3 for the IIHS to test the crash avoidance.

The headlights for the Buick Encore were not available for the IIHS to test. The Q3 received a rating of poor for its headlights. It had inadequate low beams and partially inadequate high beams on sharp curves.

IIHS Rating for Easy LATCH System

Since the LATCH system is determined by the NHSTA, the IIHS has no way to tell whether it is actually safe or not.

Instead of trying to override anything the NHSTA has done, the IIHS simply bases their LATCH ratings off of how easy they are for people to use.

By doing this, they can tell whether people will be more likely to use them or not.

— LATCH Ratings for Encore and Q3

The LATCH system in the Buick Encore was rated as acceptable because the connection was too deep into the seat.

The LATCH system in the Audi Q3 had the same acceptable rating. It received the A because it had other hardware close to the anchor which could be confused for the anchor.

Choosing a Safer Vehicle

The Buick Encore was marginally safer than the Audi Q3. Because they had lower scores than other small SUVs and missing data, they missed out.

Buyers who want a luxury small SUV that has won a Top Safety Pick award may want to consider looking at the BMW X1.

Car Shopping

Car shopping can already be a hassle for buyers who are looking for a brand new car but adding in endless amounts of ratings from the IIHS and other institutes can make the car-buying process even more difficult.

While buyers should always consider all the different factors of a car, only focusing on safety could leave them feeling like they are wanting more.

For example, the Audi Q3 and the Buick Encore are generally regarded as among the best cars available, but they didn’t even hit the IIHS minimum safety ratings to win an award which might push buyers away from the vehicle they really want.

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Just a year later, the giant car maker decided to design a light pickup as well.

While Kia initially made economy cars like the Brisa and the Bongo van, which were affordable models that were sold to younger consumers, the brand has progressed over time.

Just a decade ago, if you were to mention the Kia brand you’d never expect that it would have the reputation it does today.

Seemingly overnight, Kia improved its shaky reputation in the United States. In fact, the Kia brand went from being on the bottom of the list of reliable automakers to fifth in the world ranked close to Honda and Toyota.

It seems like this all happened in the blink of an eye, but in actuality, Kia took time to improve designs, frames, technology, and warranties to earn the trust of buyers.

As one of the fastest-growing brands in the nation, Kia has managed to win awards for its full-size sedans. Now, as more and more consumers are shopping for compact SUVs, Kia is putting much of its focus into the design of the Kia Sportage.

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If you’re interested in buying a Sportage and you want to see if it’s as safer as a similar model from a car maker like BMW, here’s what you should know.

Understanding IIHS Safety Ratings

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is an educational organization that operates just to keep consumers, automakers, and insurance companies informed.

Part of the organization is responsible for review accident data and highway safety laws to suggest new legislation. Another part of the organization focuses entirely on vehicle safety and crash tests.

As a consumer who’s looking for the safest possible small SUV, you need to access reliable information that educates you on the pros and the cons of buying a specific vehicle.

Small SUVs may be larger than sedans, but they are still built on the same frames a majority of the time.

That’s why they might not always perform great in the IIHS tests performed. These tests include:

• Small overlap front
• Moderate overlap front
• Side strength
• Roof strength
• Head restraints & seats
• Front crash prevention
• Headlight visibility and glare
• Child seat anchor and latch ease of use

Even though the IIHS has been around since the 1950’s, the organization didn’t start to develop a center where vehicles would be tested until the 1990’s.

In 1995, the Vehicle Research Center that was paid for by the IIHS was officially used to crash cars, take measures, and establish ratings.

Now, all vehicles are given crash test ratings and mitigation ratings. The rating system used today is as follows:

• Good
• Acceptable
• Marginal
• Poor
• Frontal Crash Prevention and Crash Avoidance – Superior, Advanced, or Basic

If you want to know whether or not a Kia is safer than a BMW, you’ll have to look at specific vehicles in the small SUV class of the market that were both released in the same year.

This is how all consumers can do effective safety comparisons that relate to the tests performed in that year.

Here’s what you should know about the Kia Sportage and the BMW X1:

– Safety Ratings for the 2017 Kia Sportage

• Small overlap front crash – Good
• Moderate overlap front crash – Good
• Roof strength – Good
• Side – Good
• Head Restraints – Good
• Front Crash Mitigation and Prevention – Superior (with optional equipment)
• Headlight Evaluation – Poor
• Child Seat Tether and Anchor Ease of Use – Acceptable

The Kia Sportage debuted all the way back in 1998. At this time, vehicle crash test ratings had just been developed 3 years before. That explains a major reason why the Sportage earned only ‘Marginal’ grades in Moderate Overlap Front crash tests until 2002.

As more tests were developed, Sportages continued to receive low scores until 2017.

The 2017 Kia Sportage didn’t just have a safer redesign, it became an award-winner in safety. This new model year earned ‘Good’ ratings in front, side, roof strength, seats, and headrests.

It also earned a 6 out of 6 points for the Front Crash Prevention system installed in the EX Trim with Technology Package for a ‘Superior’ rating.

The only area where the Sportage fails to compete is in the headlight rating. Even the highest trim level on the lot earned a ‘Poor’ headlight rating.

It was mainly because of the excessive glare and the visibility around curves. This is the one factor that was holding the car back from earning a Top Safety Pick+ award.

– Safety Ratings for the 2017 BMW X1

• Small overlap front crash – Acceptable
• Moderate overlap front crash – Good
• Roof strength – Good
• Side – Good
• Head Restraints – Good
• Front Crash Prevention System – Advanced 4 out of 6 points(with optional equipment)
• Headlight Evaluation – Marginal (with optional equipment)
• Child Seat Tether Ease of Use – Acceptable

You would imagine that a luxury brand like BMW would perform above all non-luxury brands when it comes to safety. Unfortunately, sometimes automakers focus less on safety and more on the bells and whistles.

This could be the case with the BMW X1, which failed to earn a ‘Superior’ crash prevention score like the Kia and only scored 4 out of 6 on the test.

The BMW may have earned all ‘Good’ ratings in crash tests, but it was not tested on the passenger side so that makes it hard to compare.

The X1 did, however, earn a better headlight score with a ‘Marginal’ rating as opposed to a ‘Poor’ one. The X1 ratings over the last 5 years have improved but not like the scores of the Kia.

Top Safety Pick

Kia has made the list of Top Safety Pick award-winning makes for compact SUVs along with 3 other brands. The 2018 model even earned a Top Safety Pick+ award for making more improvements after June of 2017.

The crashworthiness scores are to thank for the best-in-class award.

BMW also managed to pull in a Top Safety Pick award but failed to impress with crash prevention features.

Does Kia make a safer small SUV than BMW?

The 2017 Kia Sportage and the 2017 BMW X1 both earned similar awards but in the end, the Sportage received the all-around better ratings. Once the 2018 BMW ratings come out it will be easier to see how the latest models stack up.

If you’re going to buy a Kia or any other small SUV, make sure to figure out the trust cost of ownership.

As you compare Kia and BMW, you can get auto insurance quotes and see how much you’ll spend monthly. Getting online quotes instantly and you’ll be able to see how safety records affect premiums.

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