Ford gives Escape a mild makeover
Ford has raised the price of its affordable Escape for 2017, but it has given its lowest-priced SUV new styling touches, safety features and engine options that should keep it popular with consumers.
The starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price for a base, two-wheel-drive 2017 Escape S in Canada is $25,099, or $650 more than the 2016 base model, which didn’t have quite as nice looking exterior and interior. Those prices include the destination charges.
The base five-seat 2017 Escape comes with a 168horsepower, non-turbocharged, four-cylinder engine, six-speed automatic transmission and standard keyless remote entry, power windows, mirrors and door locks, rearview camera, seven air bags, four power points, 17-inch wheels and carpeted floor mats, among other things.
The lowest starting MSRP, including destination charge, for a 2017 Escape with all-wheel drive is $27,599. This is an SE model with 179-horsepower, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission that includes more features than the base model, including a 10-way power-adjustable driver seat, dual-zone automatic climate control and fog lamps.
The 2017 Escape is a Consumer Reports recommended buy and the magazine predicts it will have above-average reliability. The federal government said the 2017 Escape earned an overall five out of five stars for occupant protection in frontal and side crash testing.
Now in its 17th model year, the Escape helped pioneer the compact SUV segment that is so popular today.
With sales of 307,069 in the U.S. last year, the Escape is Ford’s second bestselling vehicle after the Ford F-150 pickup truck, and sales have increased 6.6 per cent this year.
Along with its affordability, the Escape’s pleasant looks, practicality and wide-ranging engine and option lists help make it a go-to vehicle for shoppers who want an agile SUV.
The 2017 Escape has three engine options: the base, nonturbo, 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine from last year’s model; a new 1.5-litre turbo fourcylinder; and a top-of-the-line 2-litre twin-scroll turbo fourcylinder that produces 245 horsepower this year, up from 240 horsepower in 2016.
Each engine can give the 2017 Escape a slightly different personality, ranging from utilitarian to sporty. Unfortunately, none of them put the Escape at the top of the pack in terms of fuel mileage, and none appreciably improved its federal government fuel economy ratings for 2017.
Canadian mileage ratings this year range from 25-28 mpg in city driving, depending on the engine, and from 32-36 mpg on the highway.
The test-driven Escape SE with front-wheel drive and the mid-range 179-horsepower turbo four-cylinder engine averaged 27.9 mpg, which necessitated a fill-up after about 370 miles. There was noticeable turbo lag, too, and the engine could get noisy when pressed hard to accelerate.
The travel was comfortable, for the most part, as the interior remained relatively quiet and the front seats provided good support and had decently long seat cushions.
The front seats have a generous 43.1 inches of legroom, while backseat legroom is a sufficient 37.3 inches. The back seats fold flat easily to expand cargo space to a maximum 67.8 cubic feet.
Everyone has a good 39 inches of headroom and everyone sits up a good ways from the pavement for adequate views of traffic ahead. Getting into and out of the Escape is easy, even for petite adults.
Ford revamped the interior by removing the parking brake handle in the centre console area and arranging more useful storage there, including a thoughtful spot for a phone.
But there is only one USB port, and it’s at the dashboard and difficult for back-seat riders to use.
Plastic on the dashboard is more upscale than before, and the mix of cloth and vinyl on the SE seats in the test-driven vehicle was tasteful.
Ford has dropped its irksome MyFord Touch infotainment system for the latest Sync 3 system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability.