Vehicular version of a great wing man
Cross-border shopping trip smooth, safe, entertaining in 2016 Ford Escape Titanium
Familiarity breeds contentment with a side of wanderlust.
My friend, Michelle Pratt, has been my cross-border shopping companion on a handful of coach bus tours to Grove City Premium Outlets, four and a half hours southwest from Toronto. This time ’round, we made the trip in a 2016 Ford Escape Titanium with her high school (and current) sweetheart, Dave Pratt, to find backto-school deals, and places to relax and refresh.
Travelling with Michelle is joyously uneventful — shop, eat, sleep, shop — but adventure rides shotgun with Dave. We encountered a crumpled bicycle about a car length ahead on Hwy. 403, heading out of town. With no way to squeeze between vehicles to the left, the Escape aced its first test: swerve and recover. It did so faster than its occupants.
Grove City and Mercer County’s Amish countryside was a good destination to test this vehicle. There’s no pretension in either of them, yet enough for enjoyable outings.
Base price of the 2016 model is $34,599; with extra packages and options, the price on our test model was $42,999. My Deep Impact Blue tester’s colour echoed the Blue Jays and Argos and enhanced its sporty side. Making like Messi in countless futile attempts to engage the much-touted foot-activated liftgate did not.
The Escape Titanium combines a close-to-the-road, small-car feel with enough height to boost sightlines. Rain heading toward Millcreek Mall in Erie, Pa., worked the wipers, which didn’t leave the annoying dust pan gap as some cars. doWell done, windshield-wiper design team.
The trademarked six-speed SelectShift automatic made enough noise to play up its sportiness without drowning out conversation.
Cranking out 231 at 5500 horsepower using regular fuel, the Escape balanced the line between adventurous and outrageous on Mercer County’s curves.
Gear display visible through the steering wheel was good, but I still prefer line markings on the gear box.
Being photosensitive, I loved the large visor. Fifty Shades of Grey fans might appreciate having it hit them in the head every time it’s switched from windshield to door side; I didn’t, but that’s due to my seating settings in the power 10-way leather driver’s seat, not design flaws.
Bonus? Unlike the Expedition I reviewed earlier this year, the Escape’s panorama roof doesn’t need to be closed by hand.
Two USB ports tucked inside the centre console and an adapter outlet on the dash worked well for charging phones, but lack of flat surface to store them is a downside. Sure, they could go in the cup holders, but in this writer’s car, they’re filled with actual coffee cups.
The landing spot in front on the centre dash display screen was overly sensitive to touch, often switching screens when my hand bumped against it. Voice-activated systems worked well, with the exception of not deciphering Mississauga. Whether I said it, Michelle said it or Dave said it, the system heard something else. As a ’Saugan, I laughed it off, happy to keep Canada’s sixth largest city my secret.
Dave, hovering around six-feet-tall, had plenty of leg room in the back and an electrical outlet to keep his laptop fully charged. If I had two or three kids back there on a long ride, outlet access could make for an even longer ride. Time to shop Roughly 1.5 million of Grove City Premium Outlets six million shoppers are Canadian, attracted by no sales tax on most clothing and footwear. Even with the loonie worth 30 per cent less than the greenback, Canadian plates can be found in Grove City’s parking lot.
According to Peggy Mazyck, direc- tor at Visit Mercer CountyPA, there just aren’t as many of them. While the state doesn’t specifically track Canadian visitors, her talks with retailers, hotels and restaurants show a “definitely noticeable” drop. Mazyck said that a 20-per-cent exchange rate is the sweet spot for attracting Canadians to the area.
My biggest deal came at Le Creuset cookware, where I cleared out the clearance section of purple mini cocottes at $21 (Canadian) each vs. $50 plus tax at home. Heading over to Walmart yielded big savings on boys’ underwear but don’t get your knickers in a knot. Factoring exchange rate and taxes, a list of similar items was cheaper in Canada.
While we didn’t fill our pockets with cross-border savings or the Escape with shopping bags, the car is the vehicular version of a perfect wing man or side chick: not shy about telling you where to go, keeps you entertained, doesn’t steal the spotlight, gets you there and back safely.