2015 Ford Escape (Kuga) SE 1.6L EcoBoost AWD
In short, it's just a tall Ford Focus.
Details?
Well...it is more
versatile than a Focus.
Being a crossover, it offers more interior space thanks to the higher roof line. This means there is room for a more upright/office-chair like seating position. The result is that the front seats are usually set up a little closer to the dashboard/firewall than in a (relatively) low-slung car. This frees up some leg space for the rear seats to use. Throwing some numbers into this, despite being about 0.4" shorter than a Focus sedan, the Escape offers better rear legroom (33.2" vs 37.3") while still having more cargo space. And if you need to carry even more cargo, the rear seats fold (almost) completely flat. As a bonus, you don't actually have to remove the rear headrests to fold the seats down, unlike in the Focus. Just push the little button on the side and they fold down, then you pull the lever on the side of the seat cushion and the rear seat goes down. Rear seat is also split 60/40.
So as much as I knock crossovers, I can see why they're popular with families. Hatchbacks can't really compete when it comes to carrying 5 full-size adults and their luggage. That said, comparing a small hatchback to a crossover and see who wins in people/cargo carrying abilities is not exactly fair. A better comparison would be with the Focus wagon/estate (sadly we don't get it here) or, even better, Transit Connect Wagon (another Focus sibling). PelicanHazard and I
got to poke around one at the Ford EcoBoost challenge a little while back. In terms of versatility, the Transit definitely wins against the Escape. Sadly, part of the reason why crossovers like the Escape still win the sales numbers is because there's an image issue. Americans are generally still stuck in the 1990s and see minivans/MPVs and wagons as lame, soccer-mom mobiles, even though the crossover/SUV
REALLY owns that title these days.
And there's also the "But I need four-wheel-drive!" excuse some people hide behind when purchasing the family school bus...
Anways, what is the
Ess-Kah-Pay (sorry, I had to) like to drive?
Well, as I said at the beginning, it feels like a tall Focus.
WARNING: Comparisons with my very own Focus lie beyond this point! There might be some bias and poorly-placed assumptions.
You've been warned...
As far as ride comfort and road manners are concerned, it's almost exactly the same as my Focus. Suspension is somewhat firm ("sporty"), so you do feel all the bumps, but it's not uncomfortable or painful in anyway, unless you hit a massive pot hole. "Informative" would probably be how Top Gear would (have) described it. Now, the suspension may not be entirely at fault here, as this particular Escape came with Continental ContiProContact tires which I previously had on my Focus as well. These tires are known to be somewhat firm. Still, being a vehicle that sits higher off the ground, I would have expected the suspension to be just a bit softer. The seats were also a bit on the firm side and didn't do much to absorb the impacts the suspension couldn't.
On the plus side, the firm suspension does mean that the Escape handles body roll rather well for being a tall-ish vehicle. It doesn't take corners as flat and level as a Focus, but by no means does it roll around like a truck either. You can drive it a bit enthusiastically if you're in the mood, but don't get too enthusiastic or you might roll it over. Brakes stop the vehicle in a respectable distance, though the pedal itself is a bit soft and didn't offer much feedback. Steering is also a bit numb, but not entirely detached. You can get some vague idea of what the front wheels are up to when cornering.
If driving dynamics are high up on your priority list, you might want to look elsewhere.
At highway speed, there is noticeable tire roar, though again the tires are likely the culprit here. Nothing deafening, though. It's roughly the same levels of noise I experience on my own car with the same tires. You can easily do a multi-hour trip in this thing without your ears bleeding, though with the firm suspension and seats, you might still want to take rest stops.
I will say that wind noise was very well managed.
To move this vehicle along, under the hood there is...plastic. Somewhere underneath that plastic is a turbocharged 1.6L 4-banger. Other engine options are a NA 2.5L and a turbo 2.0L. All engines are coupled to a 6-speed slush-box automatic. On the SE, the engine powers the front wheels only in its standard configuration, though all-wheel-drive is an available option which this one had. The EcoBoost 1.6 is rated at 178 hp and 184 ft-lb. of torque...when filled with premium 93 octane anyways. This being a rental, it had 87 in the tank. Not exactly sure what the power impact of running it on 87 is, but I would hazard a guess at maybe 170 hp tops (maybe 165?) Might explain why the fuel economy wasn't all that great. The 1.6 wth AWD is rated for 22 City and 29 Highway. Best I ever got out of it on the highway, according to the trip computer anyways, was 26.1MPG.
Despite the less-than-stellar fuel economy and the likely loss of power, the engine still felt pretty peppy. Felt pretty content and smooth at 3-4K RPM. Not much turbo lag either, though the gearbox might have helped as it would not hesitate to kick down a gear or two if you flexed your right foot. Gearbox itself did a fairly good job of picking the correct gear, though if you feel you should control what gear the car should be in, it does offer a Sport mode. Annoyingly,
like the Mustang I had a few months ago, you are stuck having to pick gears with a toggle switch rather than with steering wheel paddles or the gear lever itself.
I still think that toggle switch is unnatural!
As for power delivery, while it does come with all-wheel-drive, like most crossovers, it is completely front-wheel-drive most of the time. Some of the power does get sent to the back wheels while accelerating in the lower gears (usually 1st and 2nd only) or if you mash your foot hard down, though according to the "Intelligent 4WD" on the instrument cluster information screen, there's still a front-wheel bias. That said, you still have to try really hard to get the tires to chirp as the system manages power distribution rather well.
I did complain about the seats being firm earlier, but that's really the only big gripe I have with the interior. The dashboard is almost the same as what you get in the Focus, if a bit stretched out. Materials were a mix of hard and soft-touch plastics, as can be expected of a vehicle in this price segment. Yes, some of the plastics are a little on the cheap side, but not bad. The fit and finish was pretty good with fairly small panel gaps here and there.
As for toys, there were a fair few. This Escape came with 10-way power adjustable driver's seat, power windows all around (auto-down driver's only, but no auto-up), power mirrors, cruise control, instrument information screen, steering wheel BlueTooth/infotainment controls, automatic headlights, SYNC with MyFord (non-touch), satellite radio, manual HVAC controls, and backup camera. Like the Focus sister car, the design of the infotainment system control is a bit unusual, though fit in with the overall funky design of the interior and add a bit of flair. I will admit, though, the design might be a bit confusing and a turn-off for some people. Volume knob could be a little bigger and the four buttons on either side of the hazard lights which correlate to certain features displayed on the bottom of the information screen should probably be right under said information screen*, but other than that I liked it.
...though I might be biased since I own its sister car.
*Issue has been addressed on the recently-updated 2015 Focus, so it might be applied to the Escape as well whenever it gets updated maybe next year.
Overall, I quite liked the Escape. It's not exactly my cup of tea (I still prefer cars that sit low down and feel stable under "enthusiastic" - *coughaggressivecough* - driving style) and the numbness of the controls, though not that bad, was a bit of a turn off. However, I can see why others like it. Still think a Transit Connect is the better option for the family bus (especially since most crossovers almost never leave tarmac), but to each their own. And of course, people change, and I'm no exception. Who know, maybe down the road I would like to have a vehicle that I can carry a fair amount of stuff/people in, but also offers decent ground clearance and AWD/4WD for some soft-roading. At which point, the Escape may pop up as an option...