2013 Ford Escape Review and Prices

Styling: While the outgoing Escape carries design cues popular with the truck-based SUVs that dominated in the late 1990s, the incoming replacement looks much like a sleek new compact station wagon with a slightly elevated ride height. That’s essentially what it is: a four-door, five-passenger utility vehicle based on the underskin structure of the Ford Focus compact car.

This is a good thing: Focus – and Escape and Kuga – are products of Ford’s global-vehicle initiative that gives designers and engineers the resources to develop sound basic structures that’ll be used with minimal differentiation in multiple markets around the world.

The 2013 Escape’s aggressive new body is styled to look at home in any country. Trendy air intakes dominate the bold nose, the wheel arches are muscled up, and the windshield rakes back. And Ford says the new Escape is 10 percent more aerodynamic than the old, an important contributor to reduced highway wind noise and improved fuel economy.

It’s larger inside and out, too, growing 3.5 inches in overall length and 2.8 inches in wheelbase. That makes the 2013 Escape about as long overall as the compact-SUV norm, but blesses it with a wheelbase among the most generous in its competitive set. Wheelbase – the distance between the front and rear axles – is key to how much passenger space a vehicle can have and also to its stance on the road; the longer, the better.

The 2013 Escape’s roofline is 1.4 inches lower than its predecessor’s, so overall passenger volume is no greater. But rear legroom increases a much needed 1.2 inches, and there’s more hip room. Cargo room increases, as well, to 34.3 cubic feet behind the rear seat and to 68.1 cubic feet with the rear seatbacks folded. 

Gone is the utilitarian ambience of the outgoing Escape’s passenger compartment. A curved dashboard of complex intersecting angles replaces a vertical instrument panel of simple, chunky shapes. The new dashboard’s center “stack” incorporates a display screen for the 2013 Escape’s many infotainment features. It cascades into a sloped center console that contributes to a cockpit feel. The main instrumentation is housed in a binnacle that locates an LCD information screen between the speedometer and tachometer. Absent as well is the plethora of hard plastic surfaces. They’re replaced by grained and soft-touch panels, faux aluminum trim, and sturdier-feeling switchgear. 

Details of the 2013 Escape’s trim levels had not been released in time for this review, but expect a tiered model lineup that includes a base SE, better-equipped SEL, and top-line Titanium. Exterior and interior trim and appointments will escalate accordingly, and Ford says that even the base 2013 Escape will come standard with 17-inch alloy wheels; the other wheel size initially listed is a 19-inch alloy. Ford also touts the addition of a new color choice it calls Ginger Ale, described as “an earthy metallic tone slightly greener than ginger ale looks in a clear glass.”

Mechanical: Stiffer to provide improved ride quality, handling, and noise isolation, the 2013 Escape’s new chassis structure hosts a trio of four-cylinder engines, a choice of front- or all-wheel drive, and a suspension more sophisticated than that of the 2001-2012 Escape. And although the 2013 Escape jumps aboard a compact-crossover bandwagon that treats V-6 engines as passé, Ford says its new SUV will not join the drift toward hybrid or pure-electric powertrains. 

The ’13 Escape’s base engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder preliminarily rated at 168 horsepower and 167 pound-feet of torque. The outgoing Escape’s base engine also was a 2.5-liter four-cylinder and although it made 171 horsepower and 171 pound-feet of torque, Ford says the revised version provides more low-speed response and gets 5 percent better gas mileage. But while 50 percent of prior-generation Escapes had the 2.5-liter, Ford says just 10 percent of the redesigned model will use the 2.5.

Splitting the remaining 90 percent of production is a pair of four-cylinders from Ford’s EcoBoost engine family. These are designed to provide the acceleration of larger engines but use less gas thanks to advanced technology. Both of the 2013 Escape’s EcoBoost engines employ a turbocharger for an added jolt of power. They use direct fuel injection for optimal combustion, and have twin independent variable camshaft timing for intake and exhaust efficiencies that benefit fuel economy and power delivery.

The 2013 Escape’s 1.6-liter EcoBoost is projected at 173 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. Ford says it’s the most fuel-efficient of the three engines. The new Escape’s 2.0-liter EcoBoost is the sportiest. It’s preliminarily rated at 237 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. By comparison, the outgoing Escape’s 3.0-liter V-6 had 240 horsepower and 223 pound-feet of torque (think of torque as the force that gets a vehicle moving, horsepower as the energy that sustains momentum).

Every 2013 Escape comes with a six-speed automatic transmission. EcoBoost versions use a specially calibrated automatic with Ford’s SelectShift feature that provides manual-type gear control via a thumb button on the shift lever. (The outgoing Escape’s automatic also had six speeds but no manual-shift feature. A seldom-ordered five-speed manual was also available.) These four-cylinder EcoBoost engines appear in some other Ford products linked to a dual-clutch automatic transmission, but the automaker says it’s not compatible with all-wheel drive.

As per compact-crossover custom, the 2013 Escape offers a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive (AWD). Ford expects about 50 percent of buyers to opt for AWD. The system again will normally operate in front-drive but automatically maximize traction by apportioning torque to the rear wheels when sensors detect tire slip. Ford adds to this basic setup more advanced AWD technology it calls Intelligent 4WD. This is designed to assess road conditions, accelerator-pedal position and other factors and pre-emptively add or subtract torque to aid handling and grip in both wet and dry conditions. The 2013 Escape isn’t intended for severe off-road conditions, and none of its direct competitors are, either.

Working with the Euro-tuned all-independent suspension to further enhance roadability are two power-apportioning systems appearing together for the first time on a Ford SUV. The automaker says Torque Vectoring Control helps Escape accelerate through a turn and Curve Control technology automatically slows the vehicle if it’s cornering too fast.

The 2013 Escape’s trailer-towing ratings are similar to those of the outgoing model, with the 2.5-liter rated to pull loads up to 1,500 pounds, the 1.6-liter EcoBoost up to 2,000 pounds, and the 2.0-liter EcoBoost up to 3,500 pounds. The 3,500-pound rating is among the highest in Escape’s competitive set and is more typically associated with V-6 crossovers.

Features: Despite the antiquated platform, Ford managed to keep the old Escape relevant by loading it with high-tech features. The 2013 Ford Escape follows suit but turns things up a notch with the latest in infotainment hardware and software, plus some novelties sure to impress the neighbors.

Exactly how Ford will apportion features as standard or optional equipment on the various 2013 Escape models was not announced in time for this review. But the crossover’s connectivity foundation is Ford’s innovative Sync system that’s helped attract more youthful buyers to the brand.

Sync enables control of audio, phone, and other functions through voice commands and steer-wheel buttons. It incorporates a hard-drive for onboard digital music storage, a USB interface for connecting iPods and other devices, and hands-free Bluetooth linking to stream calls and music from a smartphone. Sync can also interact with a smartphone to stream music from Pandora Internet radio and read aloud incoming text messages. A Sync Services subscription also provides turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic and weather information, and live-operator emergency assistance.

The 2013 Escape is also available with the automaker’s controversial MyFord Touch system. This builds on Sync but essentially replaces conventional dashboard buttons and knobs with touchscreen interfaces. It responds to Sync-related voice commands and steering-wheel buttons, too, but it’s the touchscreen interface that critics – and owners who’ve experienced the system in other Ford products – have found confusing and distracting. Ford’s response is a touchscreen it says is simplified and easier to understand -- and even includes pressable areas that look more like traditional buttons.    

Escapes ordered with MyFord Touch are available with a traditional map-type navigation system and with a Sony-branded audio system with 10 speakers and a Sony-designed electronic finish panel.

Additional available features include Ford’s Blind Spot Information System with cross-traffic alert to warn of vehicles in the driver’s over-the-shoulder blind spot or those approaching from the sides when reversing from a parking space. The 2012 Escape also is available with Ford’s Active Park Assist that can automatically parallel park the vehicle. It uses sensors to determine if the parking space is sufficiently large, then steers the Escape into the slot while the driver – hands off the wheel – uses the brake pedal to control the vehicle’s speed.

Escape buyers who opt for keyless entry with pushbutton ignition can also order a hands-free power liftgate. A feature new to the SUV market, this taps motion technology similar to that in video game systems and gives hands-free access to the cargo bay. A kicking motion under the center of the rear bumper by an owner in position of the keyfob automatically unlocks and raises the liftgate; a similar motion closes and locks it.

Among other available 2013 Escape features is Ford’s large Panorama Vista Roof with fabric mesh sun deflector and sport front bucket seats with extra side bolstering.