2018 Ford Escape vs 2017

What's the difference?

This Escape is a nice-looking, albeit a bit dated, unit which is rather comfortable and drives well. It’s not the coolest mid-sized SUV around, but it’s not lagging too far behind the pack leaders either. A few nice touches – including the standard hands-free pack – add to its appeal but the Titanium is probably too much of a merely okay thing to justify its price-tag, especially with no AEB as standard. If I’m shopping for an Escape I’d likely opt for the mid-spec Trend and pay for that optional tech pack to beef up its safety gear.

Minor ergonomic issues aside, the Escape is a real contender, even in row-your-own low power spec.  Those who aren't bothered about being first across the intersection will need to look elsewhere.

The Escape is well-equipped, has a good safety rating and is extra spacious, particularly for rear seat passengers. The price is also sharp, although nobody buys manuals anymore, so expect to pay an easy 10 per cent more for automatic. But for the price of a mid-spec compact SUV, you're getting the space of a big one, with some of the features, too. 

The Escape looks good, albeit somewhat a bit dated, especially in the company of its increasingly polished rivals, such as Mazda CX-5, Hyundai Tucson, VW Tiguan et al.

Outside, from the chunky signature Ford grill at the front, all the way back to the tailgate, the Titanium is all swooping lines and sharp-edged cuts.

Inside is a cleanly laid-out cabin space with leather-accented everything and cool blue-lined illuminated edging here and there, including on USB ports; a subtle touch but nice nonetheless.

The Escape name returns and brings with it a whopping grille with a big Ford badge. The mid-sizer really needed that because the old grille made it look like an EcoSport, which is much smaller.

Here in the cheap seats, the 17-inch steel rims somehow look small but the new lights front and rear, as well as restyled bumpers, make it look like a decent top and tail. It looks a bit tougher, the Kuga was weird-looking at best, and awkward from some angles.

Inside is much improved. The old interior was mostly okay but the centre stack was a riot of buttons, a similar affliction to Focus and Fiesta. Life was difficult in the first weeks of ownership as you had to learn what they all did (not helped by the borderline unusable Sync system). Things are much cleaner now.

There is an ergonomic drama. If you're in first, third or fifth gear the switches and buttons in front of the shifter are unreachable without dislocating your wrist. The flip side is a short hop from wheel to shifter, so it's not all bad news.

The rest of the cabin is light and airy and a reasonably pleasant place to be. The cloth trim is broken up by a Tiguan-style two-tone effect which works really well.

There is plenty of storage space in the Titanium starting with the usual glove box and door pockets (front and back), through to a pair of cupholders and a narrow bits-and-pieces recess (all concealed under a horizontal mini roller door, fore of the centre console), and a fold-down centre arm-rest with two cupholders built into it, in the back seat.

There are also fold-out trays in the backs of the front seats for back-seat passengers.

The back seat is a 60/40 configuration.

The rear cargo space, with a retractable cargo cover, is deep and wide with a flat floor for full top-to-bottom packing. It has four tie-down points.

Luggage capacity is listed as 406 litres with five seats in use; 1603 litres with two seats in use. I never loaded that much in but, at one point, we did have a big swag, four camp chairs, esky, beach gear (clothes and towels) and more in the back – and it handled that load with ease.

As mentioned, the Titanium has a foot-prompted opening so if your arms are full of shopping, you can still get the rear door open with just a swing of your foot under the appropriate position under the tailgate. I never tried that function.

The Titanium has two USB ports in the centre console and three 12V power outlets.

The Escape has a large, friendly cabin built for real humans. The doors open wide front and rear and there's room for lanky people. I know this because we loaded up with four six-footers and everyone was happy.

Rear legroom is nothing short of amazing, seemingly pinched from an Everest and headroom is also expansive. A middle passenger would want to be skinny, but not absurdly so. 

The boot starts on the small side at 406 litres (even the CX-5's famously small boot is usefully bigger at 447 litres) but the loading lip is commendably low. The 60/40 split fold rear seats drop but leave a step in the floor, which is annoying if you've got a long, flat load.

The cabin also features four cupholders and a bottle holder in each door, while the console storage bin is now much bigger courtesy of the electric parking brake.

Prices for the Escape Ambiente start at an entirely reasonable $28,490 for our 110kW six-speed manual. That means you can make your getaway (sorry) with a six-speaker stereo, 17-inch steel wheels, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, keyless entry and start, cruise control, sat nav, leather-trimmed steering wheel, power windows and mirrors and a space-saver spare.

The six-speaker stereo is run by Ford's 'Sync3' system, which is getting better but is still pretty ordinary to look at. Included is a startlingly generous DAB+ digital radio and useful sat nav. Also along for the ride is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which its Korean rivals have but its Japanese opposition do not.

The 8.0-inch screen isn't as sharp as the smaller screens in its competitors. It is also deeply recessed into the dashboard meaning you have to muck about to hit the targets along the base of the screen. Jaguar Land Rover manages this better by pushing the targets to the middle of the screen, so it can be done. It is otherwise easy to use and comprehend.

Our AWD Escape Titanium has a 2.0 Litre EcoBoost GTDi petrol engine, producing 178kW@5500rpm and 345Nm@2000- 4500rpm. It is matched to a six-speed automatic transmission.

The Ambiente is available with Ford's perky 1.5-litre turbo four cylinder. It comes in two levels of tune - 110kW or 134kW, both with 240Nm. The power output is dependent on transmission, and in our case we had the six-speed manual, meaning 110kW.

The six-speeder feeds the power through only the front wheels, although you can have all-wheel drive with the dual-clutch auto.

This Escape has a claimed fuel consumption of 8.6L/100km. We recorded 12.7L/100km during daily driving (city and suburbs) and 13.5L/100km with some light off-roading thrown into the drive mix. It has a 60-litre fuel tank.

The claimed combined cycle consumption figure for the 110kW 1.5-litre is 6.3L/100km. As with the Titanium, we had a fairly solid miss, ending up at 9.6L/100km, although with less enthusiastic driving.

For starters, it has reach- and rake-adjustable steering, which is always welcome. The driver’s seat is power adjustable and visibility is generous through all sightlines.

Front seats are comfortable and supportive, though not remarkably so for a top-spec model; back-seat passengers reportedly enjoy about the same level of 

The Titanium has a kerb weight of 1779kg, and is 1713mm high, 4524mm long (with a 2690mm wheelbase) and 1838mm wide. It has a 11.18m turning circle.

EcoBoost: It is a lively drive, with light but direct steering and a snappy petrol engine, which accelerates with gusto off the mark – ideal for swift around-town manoeuvres – and on the move, making easy work of overtaking on highways. The smooth six-speed auto is difficult to fault as well.

Along open bitumen roads, on the way to our dirt-road loop, this Escape was smooth and quiet.

The 19-inch alloys and barely-there rubber make for a zippy driving experience but we’d opt for bigger sidewalls.

Despite 'only' 110kW (its main rivals have roughly the same power), the 1.5-litre engine is good fun thanks to its impressive torque. You have to work the gearbox to keep the turbo spinning, but the lag is manageable if you're not paying attention. 

The gearshift could be slicker and the clutch less soft, but it's not a boy racer machine like the 178kW Titanium.

The weird steering assistance that affected my drive in the Titanium seems absent in the Ambiente. It's still  light and not exactly open about what's going underneath - more sullen teenager than cheery eight-year old after a sugar-fuelled birthday party.

The ride is a standout, coming mighty close to matching the Australian-tuned suspension of the Hyundai Tucson, which is high praise indeed.

The Escape doesn't feel as nimble as that car, and has more body roll, but the overall passenger experience is a good one, important in a car that is likely to be the family truckster.

Despite being at the foot of the range, the Ambiente lands with seven airbags (including a driver's knee bag), stability and traction controls, plus rollover stability and trailer sway control. There are also three top-tether child seat anchors along with two ISOFIX points.

Altogether, this means a five star ANCAP safety rating.

Annoyingly, the $1300 'Technology Pack' (a safety uplift package) available on the Titanium is not applicable to the Ambiente. Cue finger wagging.

The Escape is covered by a five-year/ unlimited km warranty. Servicing is recommended at 12 month/15,000km intervals.

The Escape comes with Ford's three year/100,000km warranty and a year's roadside assist. If you return to your Ford dealer at the appropriate juncture - every year or 15,000km, you get another year of roadside assist and while they've got the car, you get a loaner.

Ford says you won't pay more than $325 for each of the first three scheduled services, with a jump to $585 for the fourth, although you'll need to pay $130 for brake fluid every two years and there's a timing belt change at 10 years/150,000km for $590.