Short Take Road Test
When the Escape debuted for the 2001 model year, we were enamored enough to award it a tie for first place in a comparison test. But it aged quickly, and not even a thorough interior and exterior refresh could save the 2008 iteration from a seventh-place finish out of nine in our latest small-ute roundup.
Much of that recent finish had to do with the fact that, although it looked modern, the latest Escape lacked refinement, still rode on dated underpinnings, and used carry-over powertrains—all serious handicaps in a field chock-full of new or recently redesigned competitors. For the 2009 model year, though, Ford has seen fit to make a bundle of chassis and powertrain changes, although the architecture is still essentially the same. (All the tweaks also apply to the Mercury Mariner lineup.)
So What’s New?
The most notable upgrades are a new rear anti-roll bar; more power for four-cylinder, V-6, and hybrid versions; and the fitting of a six-speed automatic transmission in models that previously used a four-speed autobox. The steering, the brakes, and the aerodynamics have been tweaked, too.
The ’09 Escape is available with Ford’s next-generation navigation-and-infotainment setup that includes Sync and available Sirius Travel Link, the latter of which offers real-time weather radar maps, sports scores, and movie listings. Travel Link also does a whole bunch of other cool stuff such as locating the cheapest and closest gas stations and linking with the nav system to get you there, or hooking up with your cell phone to make restaurant reservations. The system will let you watch a DVD (while parked, of course), rip MP3s to the 10-gig hard drive, and upload family photos to use as wallpaper. The new infotainment suite will also be found in the upcoming Ford Flex crossover and Lincoln MKS sedan.
More Power Is Always More Better
On the mechanical front, Ford has enlarged the Escape’s base engine, an inline-four, from 2.3 liters to 2.5 and added variable timing for the intake valves. Power increases from 153 horsepower to 171, and the company claims a front-drive four-banger Escape chops 1.7 seconds from its 0-to-60 time, bringing it down to 10.4 seconds. We handily beat that estimate in our testing, making it to 60 mph in a much-improved 8.9 seconds. Hybrid Escapes also upgrade to the 2.5-liter, which boosts net horsepower from 155 to 177.
The four still sounds fairly agricultural, although the additional gears for the automatic (a five-speed stick is still standard for four-cylinders) help keep revs to a minimum and, therefore, your ears relatively unassailed. The new six-speed works better paired with the V-6 than with the I-4, where it has to think harder to find usable power. Shifts are smooth with either engine, though, and overall powertrain refinement is markedly up.
A power upgrade—to the tune of 40 horsepower, for a total of 240—also has been bestowed on the 3.0-liter V-6 through the application of variable intake-valve timing, new camshafts, new intake and exhaust manifolds, and new pistons. It’s quicker now, as well, with Ford saying that an AWD V-6 now sprints to 60 in 9.1 seconds, an improvement of 2.0 seconds. A 2008 AWD V-6 Escape—with the 200-horse engine—that we tested for a comparo did the deed in 9.0 seconds, however, and given the time we got with the 2009 four-banger, we’re thinking Ford’s estimate for the V-6 may prove a bit conservative. It certainly feels quicker.
