The High Volume Ford Escape: A Review of its Performance and Features

The high volume Ford Escape is very important to Ford, which is why they bought two versions, including an SE model that most people will get, and a loaded Escape Titanium. The best thing about the Escape, according to our test drive, is how it drives. It's nimble, has responsive steering, and makes it really fun to drive.

Another high point of the Escape is its ride. While some small SUVs sound and feel like tin cans, the Ford Escape stands out with a well-controlled and absorbent ride that is both solid and substantial. Road noise is also remarkably subdued, which is something we've noticed in other small SUVs as well.

The Escape offers three four-cylinder engines available, but there's no V6 or hybrid option. Most Escapes will come equipped with the 1.6 L turbocharged engine, which has good mid-range pull but sometimes requires a wait for power to kick in. However, when you get the top-level engine, a 2 L turbocharged 4 that comes standard on our Escape Titanium, it's much more powerful and feels like it puts less effort into it.

One of the benefits of the 2 L engine is its towing capacity of 3,500 lb, which is surprisingly available at no additional cost to the consumer. The 1.6 L engine, while slightly more fuel-efficient due to its lower power output, still has some drawbacks when it comes to performance. However, the Escape's overall visibility, particularly in terms of a wide range of windshields and large side windows, is quite good.

Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to the Escape that detract from its overall value. For one thing, the pillars on the vehicle have wide bases, making it slightly more difficult to install a backup camera without an additional $1,000 package. This may seem like a minor issue to some, but when you consider how important safety features like this are becoming for consumers, it's hard not to notice.

In terms of getting in and out of the Escape, we were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was. The low sills and big doors make entering and exiting the vehicle a breeze, and overall, the interior is quite nice compared to previous models. However, some details like gaps in the panels do hold back the overall design.

The controls for the Escape are also somewhat frustrating, particularly when you're using technology like phones or iPods with its "MyFord Touch" system. While comprehensive sync commands can help alleviate some of these issues, they don't entirely eliminate them. When it comes to the driving position, there is a bit of a challenge due to a large console that pushes into the right leg and an uneven floor pan on the left.

The seats themselves are also worth noting. The basic cloth front seats are somewhat too soft for adequate support, but upgrading to leather power seats does much to improve this issue. They're nicely trimmed and offer better support than the standard seats, regardless of which trim level you choose. However, the rear seat is still a bit of an issue - it's low and hard, which can make getting in and out difficult.

Despite these packaging issues, the Escape offers a good size cargo area that should satisfy most consumers' needs. And for those who do opt for the towing package, there's one nice feature: the ability to kick your foot underneath the back bumper to open it up when your hands are full. This may not be as convenient as some other features we've seen on vehicles like this, but it does make a difference in certain situations.

When it comes to pricing, the Escape is quite expensive compared to similar competitors like the Honda CRV or Subaru Forester. In fact, our test model was stickered at $28,000 without any additional features like a sunroof or backup camera, which would add several thousand dollars to the price tag. However, if you opt for the top-level trim, which we tested, the price jumps up to over $36,000.

Overall, while there are certainly some drawbacks to the Ford Escape, particularly when it comes to its packaging and pricing, it's still a great vehicle to drive. Its responsive steering and well-controlled ride make it a joy to get behind the wheel of, and it offers many features that are hard to find in other vehicles at this price point.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe high volume Ford Escape is very important for Ford that's why we bought two to test the SE version the version that most people will get and a loaded Escape Titanium easily the best thing about the Escape is how it drives it's Nimble it has responsive steering makes it really fun to drive another High Point is the ride it's both well controlled and absorbent let's face it some small SUVs sound and feel like tin cans not the Escape road noise is really subdued and they and it feels solid and substantial there are three four cylinder engines available there's no V6 and no hybrid most escapes will have the 1.6 L turbocharged engine that comes in rsse this little engine has good mid-range pull but you sometimes have to wait for a shift to get that power you definitely know it's working at it the top level engine is a 2 L turbocharged 4 that comes standard on our Escape Titanium this is a lot more power and it feels like it puts in a lot less effort than the 1.6 and when you get this engine you also get 3,500 lb of towing capacity surprisingly the 2 L actually doesn't cost you that much more at the pump the 1.6 is only slightly more fuel efficient and that's partly because it works harder at slow speeds visibility to the front and sides is decent has open Airy feel and large wraparound windshield and large side windows one thing that does detract is that the pillars have wide bases it's actually kind of hard to get the backup camera on the Escape it's not available in our SE version and you have to buy a $1,000 option package to get it on our titanium it's it's really kind of ridiculous for a very helpful safety feature especially when competitors like the Honda CRV it's now standard getting in and out of the Escape is really easy it has low Sills and big doors inside the Escape is much nicer than before the dashboard is thickly padded some details like gaps in the panels do hold it back the controls can actually be frustrating even basic escapes have a radio that's much more complex than it needs to be uplevel escapes have the my for touch controls some of those screens are really busy and have small fonts and it's a long reach to the touch screen and some of the corners that you need to touch are actually blocked from your view by the Dashboard profile these are kind of big flaws for something that's called my Ford touch comprehensive sync commands do help some especially when you're using phones and iPods as far as driving position it could be somewhat tight there's a big console that pushes into your right leg and an uneven floor pan on the left the basic cloth front seats are actually somewhat too soft to really give adequate support and the fabric covering is is wrinkled in spots some people actually compared it to a cheap suit things are actually much better with the optional leather power seats they're nicely trimmed and much more supportive all around regardless of which trim you get the rear seat is not that comfortable it's low and it's hard some of the competitors have more room there's a good siiz cargo area and one nice thing on upper level versions is they have a tailgate that opens by kicking your foot underneath the back bumper it's really great if your hands are full but keep in mind that if you opt for the towing package it omits that feature the Escape is actually expensive for what you get rsse stickered at $28,000 and that doesn't include a sunroof or backup camera that's several thousand dollar more than competitors like a Honda CRV or Subaru Forester that include those features our Escape Titanium came in at over $36,000 but keep in mind that includes a heavy load of some upscale equipment it puts it on a level with vehicles like the Volkswagen Tiguan or even cars like the BMW X3 or Audi Q5 overall the Escape is really nice to drive a couple of packaging issues like the tight driving position and the soo rear seat not to mention the complicated controls detract from its livability and at the heart of the market it's actually rather expensive when compared to very popular competitorsthe high volume Ford Escape is very important for Ford that's why we bought two to test the SE version the version that most people will get and a loaded Escape Titanium easily the best thing about the Escape is how it drives it's Nimble it has responsive steering makes it really fun to drive another High Point is the ride it's both well controlled and absorbent let's face it some small SUVs sound and feel like tin cans not the Escape road noise is really subdued and they and it feels solid and substantial there are three four cylinder engines available there's no V6 and no hybrid most escapes will have the 1.6 L turbocharged engine that comes in rsse this little engine has good mid-range pull but you sometimes have to wait for a shift to get that power you definitely know it's working at it the top level engine is a 2 L turbocharged 4 that comes standard on our Escape Titanium this is a lot more power and it feels like it puts in a lot less effort than the 1.6 and when you get this engine you also get 3,500 lb of towing capacity surprisingly the 2 L actually doesn't cost you that much more at the pump the 1.6 is only slightly more fuel efficient and that's partly because it works harder at slow speeds visibility to the front and sides is decent has open Airy feel and large wraparound windshield and large side windows one thing that does detract is that the pillars have wide bases it's actually kind of hard to get the backup camera on the Escape it's not available in our SE version and you have to buy a $1,000 option package to get it on our titanium it's it's really kind of ridiculous for a very helpful safety feature especially when competitors like the Honda CRV it's now standard getting in and out of the Escape is really easy it has low Sills and big doors inside the Escape is much nicer than before the dashboard is thickly padded some details like gaps in the panels do hold it back the controls can actually be frustrating even basic escapes have a radio that's much more complex than it needs to be uplevel escapes have the my for touch controls some of those screens are really busy and have small fonts and it's a long reach to the touch screen and some of the corners that you need to touch are actually blocked from your view by the Dashboard profile these are kind of big flaws for something that's called my Ford touch comprehensive sync commands do help some especially when you're using phones and iPods as far as driving position it could be somewhat tight there's a big console that pushes into your right leg and an uneven floor pan on the left the basic cloth front seats are actually somewhat too soft to really give adequate support and the fabric covering is is wrinkled in spots some people actually compared it to a cheap suit things are actually much better with the optional leather power seats they're nicely trimmed and much more supportive all around regardless of which trim you get the rear seat is not that comfortable it's low and it's hard some of the competitors have more room there's a good siiz cargo area and one nice thing on upper level versions is they have a tailgate that opens by kicking your foot underneath the back bumper it's really great if your hands are full but keep in mind that if you opt for the towing package it omits that feature the Escape is actually expensive for what you get rsse stickered at $28,000 and that doesn't include a sunroof or backup camera that's several thousand dollar more than competitors like a Honda CRV or Subaru Forester that include those features our Escape Titanium came in at over $36,000 but keep in mind that includes a heavy load of some upscale equipment it puts it on a level with vehicles like the Volkswagen Tiguan or even cars like the BMW X3 or Audi Q5 overall the Escape is really nice to drive a couple of packaging issues like the tight driving position and the soo rear seat not to mention the complicated controls detract from its livability and at the heart of the market it's actually rather expensive when compared to very popular competitors\n"