Other engines would net an additional point if rated separately.Īt every stop, Ford offers all-wheel drive in the Escape that can give the soft-roader good all-wheel traction. Our rating of 6 applies to the most popular Escape, which will be the base, 180-hp turbo-3 engine and front-wheel drive. The menu for the 2021 Ford Escape’s powertrain is nearly as long as the Cheesecake Factory’s but nowhere near as calorific. Digital screens and lighter shades can liven up the interior a little, but cost-cutting plastics are hard, black, shiny, and prolific. The inside is dressed in mostly black, like a chic coffee shop with just about the same somber personality, too. Less busy than before, the Escape’s interior is perilously close to inattentive. (Ford and Mazda were once cozy, but not like this.) There are more than a few similarities shared with Mazda too, especially in the rear quarters and in profile. We see a little Tesla Model 3 in the Escape’s nose, which steers away from the typical 1,000-yard stare into something that’s a little friendlier. Ford offers a pixelated, trucky crossover on the Escape’s bones, but calls it a Bronco Sport instead. It’s softer and more car-like, a right turn away from contemporaries such as the Toyota RAV4 that have gone blocky like old Atari. The Escape’s clean shape has worn well since it was new last year. It’s a 7 on our style scale the old-fashioned way: on exterior appearances alone. The inside is a little plainer, less expressive, and more restrained. The 2021 Escape looks best where it counts the most, and by that we mean the outside. The Ford Escape is assembled in Louisville, Kentucky. The Escape Titanium clocks in close to $40,000, where its value falls down. We’d opt for an SE or SE Sport at close to $30,000 for the best value. It’s available on more trim levels this year and eligible for a federal tax credit or local incentives, where applicable.Įvery Escape is comfortable and easy to drive, and equipped with automatic emergency braking and active lane control along with a stellar crash-test scorecard.īase versions cost about $26,000 and are roomy-but also leave plenty of room for improvement. It's rated the same as the hybrid, about 41 mpg combined, but only drives the front wheels via the CVT. The Escape Plug-in Hybrid pairs the same 2.5-liter inline-4 with a much bigger 14.4-kwh lithium-ion battery that can power the crossover on electricity alone for up to 37 miles. It returns up to 41 mpg combined, according to the EPA, and in the Escape SE Sport, it becomes a stone-cold steal for crossover shoppers looking for efficiency who don’t want to wear green on their sleeves. Its performance metric is measured more in confidence: there’s more passing speed and more power to tap for mountain-state buyers.Ī 2.5-liter inline-4 pairs to a small battery in Escape Hybrid models and drives the front or all four wheels via a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). It drives the front wheels as standard but can shuttle power toward the rears for all-weather traction.Ī meatier 250-hp turbo-4 is on the menu that powers all four wheels via the same 8-speed automatic. Under the hood is a smorgasbord of powertrain possibilities, beginning with a small 181-horsepower turbo-3 that pairs to an 8-speed automatic transmission. ![]() The 2021 Escape is available in S, SE, SE Sport, SEL, and Titanium trim levels. A hybrid powertrain is now available on more trims and a plug-in hybrid launched late last year returns again this year. The Escape takes a year off after its initial splash last year. Among the highlights: a perfect safety score and exceptional value in lower trims. During my highway-heavy 294.6 miles of testing, I averaged 28 mpg even.Its 7.0 TCC Rating indicates that it’s very good for a new car that costs about $30,000 in our recommended SE or SE Sport trim. Stop-start fuel-saving tech helps the EcoBoost 2.0T achieve an EPA-estimated 23 miles per gallon city, 31 mpg highway and 26 mpg combined - numbers that are unchanged from last year's estimates. I'd say the Escape 2.0T has some of the best get-up-and-go in the compact crossover class. Paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, the Escape accelerates with surprising eagerness and has a very responsive throttle. Not a good ergonomic introduction.įortunately, that button fires up a potent little engine: Ford's 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder with 250 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. It's crammed into a little nook behind the steering wheel and nearly impossible to see from the driver's seat without craning my next and contorting my wrist. The first thing I notice about the Escape? The oddly positioned engine start button. Antuan Goodwin/Roadshow EcoBoost with AWD I suppose you'd get used to it, but finding the Escape's tucked away Start button was my first challenge.
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