ACCELERATION

SOMETIMES, THE SAFEST COURSE OF ACTION IS TO GET OUT OF THE WAY

WHILE ACCELERATION figures are not a safety factor per se, we took the opportunity to record 0-100km/h figures on all the vehicles. All vehicles were tested for the fastest possible time, whether that be a stationary transition from brake to wide-open throttle or stalling the car against the brakes to increase launch rpm.

Once again the star of the show was the Ford Escape, its 183kW/387Nm 2.0-litre turbo engine rocketing it to 60km/h in 3.49sec and 100km/h in just 7.15sec, despite the traction limitations of its front-wheel drive layout.

The Focus Active’s gutsy 134kW/240Nm 1.5-litre turbo triple also punched above its weight, hitting 60km/h in a leisurely 4.57sec but improving to a second-best 9.01sec to 100km/h. Mazda’s 134kW/224Nm Skyactiv-X 3 was very sluggish, taking 5.08sec to reach 60km/h and 11.07sec to reach 100km/h, miles slower than its 8.7sec claim.

With identical power outputs (140kW/450Nm) and similar weight, it perhaps isn’t surprising that the other Mazdas recorded exactly the same time to 60km/h at 4.13sec, before the CX-8 opened up a six-tenths advantage to 100km/h, taking 9.4sec to the BT-50’s 10sec dead.

The Ford Ranger might have just a 2.0-litre diesel pushing 2330kg of ute but the 157kW/500Nm Ecoboost engine and 10-speed automatic combination is a potent one, taking 4.21sec to reach 60km/h but overtaking its BT-50 rival by 100km/h at 9.81sec.

No longer does choosing a dual-cab mean paying a performance penalty, though it must be said recent testing has revealed that the Ranger and BT-50 (along with its D-Max twin) are the straight-line stars of the segment.

It’s also important to note that the Escape’s rabbit-like acceleration is atypical among mid-size SUVs.