Ford Escape

The Ford Escape was introduced in 2000 by Ford Motor Company as a compact crossover vehicle. It was marketed by Ford as part of its SUV lineup, however, as opposed to its separate crossover lineup. The Ford Escape was given an 8.6 rating by U.S. News, who also ranked the car 1^st in its Affordable Compact SUV category, Affordable SUV with 2 Rows category, and Affordable Crossover SUV category. Reviewers are impressed with the redesigned model, thanks to its overall refinement and engaging performance, and some consider it to be the best compact crossover vehicle available.

Performance

U.S. News gives the Escape a performance rating of 8.4. Although critics consider the Escape’s base engine to be just average, they have nothing but praise for the Escape’s turbocharged Ecoboost engines, which are optional. Both have plenty of power for merging and passing on the highway, but still offer strong fuel economy ratings. Some reviewers have even compared the handling to the Ford Focus (a small car), which is a big compliment. There are three different four-cylinder engines, all of which come with a six-speed automatic transmission. The base  Escape comes with a 168-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. The first Ecoboost engine is a 1.6-liter engine that produces 178-horsepower and is praised for its good power when passing on the highway and traveling uphill. The 2.0-liter Ecoboost engine produces 240-horsepower, and is very powerful.

Interior

Although the Escape’s interior only received a 7.6 rating by U.S. News, by far its lowest score, critics applaud the Escape’s interior, which has good cargo space and spacious seating. The cabin is well-constructed and can be equipped with high-tech features like MyFord Touch and Ford Sync. The voice activated Ford Sync includes a USB port, turn-by-turn directions, and a 4.2 inch colour display in the center stack and instrument cluster. It is also the only vehicle in its class with a motion-activated liftgate, which allows you to use your feet to open the trunk when your hands are full. When the rear seats are up, the Escape has 34.3 cubic feet of cargo space. When they are folded down, there is 68.1 cubic feet of space.

Pros/Cons

The Ford Escape has been praised by critics and is rated very well by U.S. News. The hands-free power liftgate has been a large talking point. The liftgate opens when you kick or wave your foot under the rear bumper, so that when your arms are full, you can still open the liftgate. Some test drivers have complained that the gate doesn’t work all the time, however. The Escape has comfortable seats with good legroom in both the back and front, although some of the virtual buttons on the touch screen are difficult for the driver to reach because they are small. The brakes have also received mixed reviews, with some critics saying they didn’t feel powerful and were touchy.

Other Features

The Ford website lists the base price for the Escape as $22 470, although this can increase depending on the optional features the customer chooses to add. In general, expect to pay between $25 000 and $30 000 for the car. The safety features are impressive, but are not quite class-leading. U.S. News gave the safety features a 9.4 rating. The Escape covers all bases safety-wise. It also comes with the Ford’s MyKey system, which allows people to place limits on volume, speed, and other functions. This is a perfect feature for parents who have teenage drivers. The Escape also comes with electric power steering which makes active park assist possible, which allows the Escape to steer itself into a parallel-parking spot.