Yahoo Autos Why Does the 2020 Ford Escape Look So Carlike? To Leave Space for the "Baby Bronco" SUV
The new Ford Escape looks more carlike than before, and that's not just because it's essentially replacing many of Ford's passenger cars that are being phased out.
Ford plans to sell another similarly sized crossover alongside the Escape in the near future; known as the "baby Bronco," it will have a more rugged, off-road vibe.
The 2020 Escape goes on sale this fall, but the "baby Bronco" won't arrive until about a year from now at the earliest.
Since it first debuted for the 2001 model year, the Ford Escape has undergone quite a transformation-and the new fourth-generation model launching for 2020 represents perhaps the biggest design shift yet. A far cry from the original Escape that charmed with its boxy, lifted profile, today's new Escape is lower, sleeker, and looks less like an SUV and more like a hatchback. Ford has a few good reasons for that.
Ford global design director Joel Piaskowski explained to us that the company is looking to reposition the Escape as its more on-road–focused crossover offering. After all, the company is in the process of clearing out its passenger-car lineup; the Focus small hatchback is already gone, and the Fusion mid-size sedan won't continue for much longer. So the Escape will be tasked with picking up the slack for Ford's previous sedan and hatchback buyers, hence why the company decided to lower the new model's roof and floor slightly.
This repositioning also leaves space for an upcoming crossover, which Piaskowski says will be similar in size to the Escape. Known colloquially as the "baby Bronco" and seen in some leaked images, this model will be considerably boxier, taller, and is intended to give off more of an off-road-ready vibe. This is despite the fact that it will ride on the same unibody FWD/AWD architecture as the Escape. Extra ground clearance and a more sophisticated optional all-wheel-drive system are likely to be part of the baby Bronco's package to lend some credence to its 4x4-ish credo, but we'd wager that it will use the same turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder and turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder powertrains as the Escape, along with its hybrid drivetrain on some models.
Ford isn't saying exactly when the baby Bronco will arrive, but we expect it within the next year. In the meantime, the 2020 Escape goes on sale this fall.
('You Might Also Like',)
