We also felt that the Escape’s long hood and the steep rake of the windshield compromised forward visibility somewhat.Ī sleek design usually compromises interior space, but we didn’t have any issues with the Escape. We felt the Escape’s thinner pillars made a difference in visibility, but your results may vary depending on your height. Thick roof pillars, which are typically required to pass crash tests, are indeed a bane of modern cars. The thinner pillars reduce blind spots, Hughes noted. The use of high-strength boron steel in the roof pillars means those pillars can be thinner without compromising crash safety, Jim Hughes, global chief engineer for the Escape, told Digital Trends. The hood and some suspension components are aluminum, but everything else is a mix of different steel grades. Instead of going with an all-aluminum body, as with the F-150 pickup truck, Ford used multiple metals. Cutting pounds improves everything from acceleration to fuel economy, so that’s definitely a good thing. The automaker claims to have reduced weight by an average of 200 pounds.
Ford escape car stereo tools skin#
If Ford wants to win over sedan owners, that’s a smart move.įord made some important changes under the skin as well. It’s a stark contrast to the Subaru Forester and Toyota RAV4, which are still going for stereotypical boxiness, and puts the Escape more in line with the Mazda CX-5 and Kia Sportage. The new Escape adopts a sleek look, with a pointy nose and sloping roofline. With the 2020 model, Ford is done pretending. The Escape has always tried to pretend to be a traditional, truck-based SUV, rather than the car-based crossover it actually is. To stand out from the crowd, Ford took the 2020 Escape’s exterior styling in a different direction than either of the previous generations. The compact crossover segment is a lot more crowded than it was when the first-generation Escape made its debut for the 2001 model year, or even when the outgoing-generation Escape arrived for the 2013 model year. We tested SE ($28,985 as tested), SE Sport Hybrid ($30,240), SEL ($36,025), and Titanium ($39,475) models, covering every trim level except the base S. To find out if that was enough, Digital Trends traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to drive the new Escape a stone’s throw from the factory that builds it. To do that, Ford gave the 2020 Escape a more car-like appearance, updated its tech, and brought back the hybrid powertrain that hasn’t been seen in the Escape lineup since 2012. In addition to competing with other compact crossovers, the 2020 Escape is also aimed at keeping current sedan and hatchback owners in the Ford fold. The Escape has battled the Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, and Toyota RAV4 for almost two decades, but now the crossover faces its biggest challenge yet.įord is eliminating all cars except the Mustang from its American lineup in favor of trucks and utility vehicles. The original Ford Escape was one of the first compact crossovers, applying Ford’s experience with traditional SUVs like the Bronco and Explorer to what would become one of the hottest segments in the industry.
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