Short Take Road Test
Ford's Escape launched in 2001 amid questions of whether a Ford sport-utility could survive with a name that only started with an "E" and not the full "Ex." Perhaps its small size granted it special liberties—if it was about half the size of an Expedition, maybe it only had to plead allegiance to half the naming rule?
Even without that critical second letter, the Escape promptly tied with its Mazda Tribute twin for first place in a comparison test and went on to become the bestselling vehicle in its segment, a position it held for several years.
The small sport-ute segment is rapidly evolving, though, and for 2008, Ford is giving the Escape a face lift. It is still the same old Escape underneath, but with a new look—or a new face on the old look. The Escape's new face will be instantly familiar to anyone who has seen a Ford SUV in the past decade.
For the Escape, that means cleaner sides and a new nose. A higher, more smoothly chamfered beltline over a barren rocker—less plastic cladding—adds visual height to the side view. A scaled-down, squared-off version of the trapezoidal grille and a power-bulge hood from the Explorer and Expedition mean that each of Ford's SUVs is as unique as any wiener in a pack of Ball Park franks.
Room Enough for Lurch, Donk, Sasquatch, and Michael Clarke Duncan
Back in 2001, we praised the Escape for its spaciousness, commanding seating position, and class-leading performance. We were pleased with the retention of two of those three attributes. The interior of the Escape is as roomy as ever in both rows, with plenty of space for those in the 99th percentile in both height and circumference. Only when the Escape is packed with the circus tall in the cheap seats will an indulgent driver or front-seat passenger tempt blows from the rear. Behind the second row, there are 29 cubic feet of cargo space.
The Limited—only available with the V-6 and all-wheel drive—Escape we tested comes fitted with leather seats. The Limited Luxury package adds seat heaters and dual-zone climate control for $795. We found all seats—with the usual exception of the rear-middle one—to be comfortable, although none offers any substantial lateral support. Full-size adults in the second row might find that seat too upright for long stints.
The rest of the interior is finished in black plastics of various textures and glosses. Whereas the Escape mimes Ford's larger utes on the outside, inside it has its own look. The dash and the door panels are molded from a material that falls somewhere between luxurious soft touch and el cheapo hollow hard stock, meaning your elbow won't sink into the armrest, but at least bumps aren't going to set off your funny bone or crack the center-console lid.
