The 2020 Ford Escape Is Where Ford Hopes Those Sedan Buyers Will Migrate
UPDATE 3/28/19: Ford has teased the 2020 Escape on Twitter and says that it will officially debut April 2.
Best-ever Escape performance, unrivaled flexibility and smart new technology. The all-new #FordEscape debuts April 2. pic.twitter.com/tUJ8R2F7Rq
- Ford Motor Company (@Ford) March 28, 2019
UPDATE 1/4/19: New spy photos of the Escape show the compact crossover nearly undisguised, save for a camouflage wrap on the lower half of the body. We can see a catfish-like front grille with trapezoidal headlights, a sleek greenhouse with refreshingly large windows surrounded by thick chrome trim, horizontal taillights, and a rear diffuser with dual exhaust tips.
What It Is: The fourth generation of Ford’s popular compact crossover. Yes, Ford has overhauled the Escape just twice in 18 years. The blocky 2001 Escape made plenty of friends almost instantly, and a 2008 redesign on the same platform kept the momentum going until the truly all-new 2013 model arrived with a set of turbocharged engines and more expressive styling. The Escape is one of five Ford SUVs and crossovers wearing names that start with the letter E, and each year it handily outsells the rest.
Why It Matters: Cars are dead-at least according to Ford. The company’s latest investor statement predicts that crossovers and trucks will make up 86 percent of Ford’s production volume in a couple of years. All Ford sedans and hatchbacks are being dropped, with the presumption that those buyers will simply move over to car-based crossovers such as the Escape. Already the model is one of America’s best-selling nameplates; in 2017, Ford moved more than 308,000 of them.
Platform: Expect the new Escape to ditch the current C1 platform (shared with several front-wheel-drive Fords) for the all-new global platform underpinning the new Focus. Although the current Escape was refreshed for 2017, an upgrade that included additional stiffening for the body structure, the model scored the worst rating, Poor in an IIHS passenger-side offset frontal crash test. The new platform’s higher-strength steels should help it earn a better score. The current architecture also can’t accommodate a hybrid or plug-in powertrain, another shortcoming that will be addressed.
Powertrain: Modest sales of the first- and second-gen Escape hybrids-the first and, for a time, the only hybrid SUV (excluding their Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner siblings)-led Ford to drop the gas/electric powertrain and instead downsize its gas engines for the current generation. With the 2020 model, a hybrid will return, and there will be a plug-in version as well. Both may use a 48-volt secondary electrical system with a belt-driven alternator/starter for improved efficiency. The coarse and anemic 2.5-liter inline-four will be dishonorably discharged. A 179-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder, new to the Escape for 2017, will likely carry over, as will the 245-hp 2.0-liter turbo. Even though Ford is launching ST versions of the Edge and Explorer, we doubt Escape buyers will get anything hotter than the 2.0-liter. To boost EPA ratings and trim production complexity, Ford’s new eight-speed automatic will likely be the only transmission offering. Unless Ford can drastically cut the Escape’s weight, don’t expect the 1.0-liter turbo inline-three for U.S. customers.
Competition: Chevrolet Equinox, Honda CR-V, Jeep Cherokee, Nissan Rogue, Toyota RAV4.
Estimated Arrival and Price: Look for the new Escape to reach showrooms in spring 2019 with starting prices around $25,000.
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