Ford Escape gets big redesign — and biggest surprise is in back seat
The completely redesigned 2020 Ford Escape, a popular compact SUV and the company’s No. 2 bestselling vehicle after the Ford F-Series pickup, debuted Tuesday.
One key change? A second row that offers more legroom than a full-size Chevy Suburban, noted Hau Thai-Tang, Ford executive vice president of product development and purchasing.
The 2020 Ford Escape, which goes on sale in the fall, is designed to compete primarily with the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.
This is the Escape’s first complete redesign since the 2013 model year.
Ford calls the new version lighter, sleeker and sportier.
Sales of compact sport utility non-premium vehicles surged from 1.8 million in 2012 to 3.5 million in 2018. The biggest spike occurred in 2017 and 2018.
Consumers said they wanted more leg, hip and shoulder room for passengers than in previous designs. So the company delivered.
During a media preview at Michigan's Greenfield Village, the Free Press asked athletes on site for the celebration to get into the Escape. Its second row comfortably held three basketball players from the University of Michigan-Dearborn; Mafiaion Joyner, 22, of Battle Creek at 6-foot-4-inches; Ashton Curd, 26, of Detroit at 5-foot-10 inches; and Xavier Crofford, 23, of Detroit at 6-foot-4.
“We can all fit back here. We have enough space to operate,” Crofford said, moving freely. He drives an Explorer but slid into the Escape with ease. “We feel comfortable.”
Leg room grows from 37.3 inches in the 2019 model to 40.7 inches in the standard 2020 model. (The Suburban's second-row legroom is 39.7.) Hybrid model legroom is slightly less at 38.9 inches.
The second row also slides back in the gas-engine-powered model, said Jennifer Comfort, Escape architecture supervisor. “This was identified as a key issue for outgoing customers. We read a lot of customer satisfaction data and made huge improvements.”
Tall drivers wanted more room behind the steering wheel, and that changed, too.
In the fall, consumers will see the traditional internal combustion engine Escape and a hybrid arrive in showrooms. In spring 2020, plug-in hybrids that target a pure-electric range of more than 30 miles will arrive.
A way to 'decompress'
This Ford Escape is designed for buyers "looking for simplicity in a very hectic world,” said Jim Hughes, chief program engineer at Ford. “They want to live their lives without constraints. This vehicle must stand up to the rigors of an urban lifestyle and be ready for hiking, biking and going to the beach.”
He told of a woman he met doing consumer research who kept two beach chairs in her vehicle at all times, so on nice evenings she could take a longer route home from work and stop at the beach “to decompress.”
Like the Ford Explorer, a 2020 Escape has drive settings that offer enhanced traction for snow, sand and rain. Options include front-wheel and all-wheel drive.
Rear cargo space is a perk in the new Escape. With the second-row seats on full forward position, gas engine-powered models are designed to accommodate four sets of golf clubs or a full-size dog crate.
Prices have not been revealed for the 2020 Escape. The current model has a base price of $25,000 but can grow beyond $35,000.
"The Escape is arguably the most important vehicle for Ford behind the F-Series," said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis at Edmunds, an online car shopping network. "Small SUVs are not only the best-selling segment, they have displaced the midsize sedan as America's favorite family vehicle."
The Ford Escape is built at the Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky.
Follow Detroit Free Press reporter Phoebe Wall Howard on Twitter @phoebesaid.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford Escape gets big redesign — and biggest surprise is in back seat
