2020 Ford Escape is a more competent, comfortable and tech-rich SUV
Cars
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Whenever a new small crossover SUV hits the scene, it's a big deal because we're talking about the fastest growing and one of the most competitive segments in the auto industry today.
And next to me is the latest revamped entry, the 2040 escape which has been redone from the ground up with a new look chassis, track chain, and tech Which is brought me to Kentucky to get some seat time in.
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The most noticeable change the 2020 Escape is the new design that's lower, wider, longer and frankly refreshing to see after its predecessors, not so brief seven months.
Model year run.
Up front Ford says there's some Mustang inspiration in the grill.
While things like the taper and roofline active grill shutters, wheels under body shielding and even optimize taillights make the new car the most aerodynamic escape today.
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Inside the Escape is spacious in front and in back the sliding your seats intuitively laid out and built from nice material.
There's also a lot of cargo space in back with 33.5 to 37.5 cubic feet at your disposal depending on the position of the rear seats, and then folding the rear seats down on lock 65.4 cubic VD escapes tech story is also substantial in orbit the base S model a sink three infotainment system with an Eight inch touch screen is standard, offering a Wi-Fi hotspot, Apple Car Play, Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, and Waze integration.
On the range topping titanium trim, a great sounding ten speaker [UNKNOWN] audio system is in charge of tunes.
And it also gets a fancy 12.8 Eight inch digital instrument cluster.
And then, for safety for Collision Warning with auto braking, blind spot monitoring.
Lane Departure Warning with lane keep assist, and auto high beams are standard adaptive cruise, active park assist and a heads up display are offered.
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Moving onto the driving part of the equation.
The new Escape will offer four different drive trains including a mild hybrid and plug in hybrid that you can find out more about in a separate video.
For the gas line up a 1.5 liter turbo charged three cylinder engine will be the Imagine making 180 horsepower.
I had a small sampling of it and I can say that power was serviceable but more time is needed in it before I can pass final judgment on it.
What I can tell you about is the upgraded two liter turbo four that's available on SE SCL and Titanium trims that churns out 250 horse power and 275 pound feet of torque.
It's darn quick.
Boost lag is a non-issue.
It pulls hard at all revs to make driving the Escape a bit more fun, and And allows it to toe up to 3500 pounds.
Both engines work with a new eight speed automatic transmission that rips off mostly smooth, but not the quickest shifts and from time to time a rough rogue cog swap does take place.
Dynamically the new Escape is more athletic thanks to a 200 pound lighter curve weight, lower center of gravity and reach Fine tuned suspension.
Sport mode makes steering heftier for quickest turning, control body roll, and will grip through corners.
So you can definitely push the Escape some but I wish steering was a little tighter off center, but for regular commuting Normal mode lightened steering but it's still responsible enough and the suspension does a great job smoothing out bumps.
So it's a comfortable ride with an incredibly quiet cabin, making it a great crossover to buzz around town and down the expressway in [SOUND] When the new Escape hits dealers later this fall, it'll start at $24,880 for the base S version.
This full suit titanium is more expensive, beginning at $33,400 and those numbers fall in line with competitors like the Honda CRV and Toyota RAV4.
Which are two of the strongest players in this segment, but I can say that Ford is once again in the conversation with Thanks to the Escape.
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