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The Best Car Review: 2013 Ford Escape

Article by Sam Juicie

In Canada, buyers will have the choice of one of three motors. The base 2.5-litre is an older unit. You shouldn’t get it. (It’s priced more than ,000 cheaper than any other model, and is really there for fleet customers and to draw people into showrooms.) On the other end of the range is the top-of-the-line 2.0-litre turbo model which is good for 240 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque. You should only get this one if you’re going to utilize the 1,588 kg (3,500 lbs.) towing capacity. (Same as the discontinued V6.)

The mid-range motor is the one we’re excited about. It’s the 1.6-litre turbo “EcoBoost” Ford has been offering in Europe for some years now. It offers better fuel economy than the discontinued hybrid model [holy crap! --Ed.] while providing useful grunt. Even on the steepest streets in San Francisco, the engine delivered its 178 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque with confident, predictable smoothness. You can feel that it is lacking in muscle compared to the 2.0, but you gain the satisfaction of knowing you’re zooming around on this mighty-mouse of a motor. Good engineering here.

Both front- and all-wheel drive are still available. Obviously the latter returns slightly worse fuel economy in return for added traction. We’re still waiting on official Transport Canada figures for the 1.6, but we do know the 2.0 with AWD returns 9.8 L/100 km in the city and 6.9 highway. During our drive, we averaged about 9.0 L/100 km. The 2.5-litre with FWD (and much less power) comes in at 9.5 L/100 km city and 6.7 highway.

Inside it’s the usual Ford high-tech amusement park of colour screens and bright lights. (There is something like 25 buttons and switches on the steering wheel alone.) It’s no secret I dislike the MyFord Touch system. It has always been slow and intricate, with too-small buttons and a gaudy graphic design. The Escape has an improved version that cleans up the design a bit and improves response time. But don’t expect it to act like your iPhone, and the buttons are still too intricate and small. You really have to take your eyes off the road to use it.

Outside, the sedately aggressive design is a nice departure from the old look. Inside, Ford’s swooping dash, full of big shapes, is familiar to anyone who’s been inside the new Fiesta or Focus. In those two, though, you get the feeling interior space has been compromised in favour of interior design. The Escape is big enough that it’s not an issue. In fact, forward visibility is excellent through that massive windscreen.

The new seats are good, too. Even on the top-line model though, the front passenger seat can’t be lowered, so you feel oddly high compared to your driver. Whether there is enough room for adults in the rear will depend on how tall the people in front are.

Good as the new Escape is, so, too, are its competitors: the box-fresh Mazda CX-5 and Honda CR-V, plus the Toyota RAV4 and Chevrolet Equinox.

The new Escape goes on sale in mid-May. The sticker can get a little high if you go for the top-spec Titanium AWD, which starts at a rather pricey ,499. The entry level S model starts at ,499, but for that you’re stuck with the nasty, old 2.5-litre engine. As mentioned above, the jump to the 1.6-litre SE is a painful ,000 but at least you get some extra equipment to take the sting off. That’d be our choice.

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