2013 Ford Escape

2013 Ford Escape Titanium 4wd

When I first saw this vehcle at the auto show almost a year ago, I knew it was special. The old Escape had lost it's appeal and this was a noteworthy replacement. The Escape still had big shoes to fill as it was taking over from a a former leader in its class. Others had stepped up their game with refinement and driving experience, this was Ford's turn at bat, and they knocked it out of the park!

What they have done is redesigned the Escape from the ground up. They have made a very attractive, and also intuitive SUV that the market will eat up. After attending the Escape with Us For The Day put on by Ford of Canada I learned so much more about the inner workings, turns out beauty isn't only skin deep.

I saw first hand the how well this vehicle can think. AdvanceTrac with RSC (Roll Stability Control) keep this thing stable at all speeds -if it's accident avoidance or emergency braking it will assist when you need it most. They introduced what is called Curve control which will slow the vehicle when you are going into a corner too hot, and Torque Vectoring Control for when you want to be accelerating out of a corner, it can make you look like a professional race car driver! If that seems like an extreme way to show your friends your skills then just hit the Park Assist button and let them watch you slide into that stall virtually hands free.

Also, they took into account how one might use the hatch and made it so you can open it while your hands are full, just a quick swipe of the foot under the bumper and up it goes....well done! With safety firmly in mind Ford has included the latest version of  MY Ford Touch so your hands and eyes can do what they are suppose to while all it takes is your voice to activate most functions.

The Escape rides and handles more like a car, something I think most buyers look for. It has the space of an SUV and the comfort and drivabilty of a car....Boom Baby...this has both! Get this with the available 2.0 litre EcoBoost and you will enjoy many a road trip. It provides ample power at 240hp and can get some very respectable gas mileage with the 6 speed auto backing it up, you will be looking at a reported 9.8 L/100km city or 6.9 L/100km. What I found was 11.0 L/100km but it is winter, cold and snow will do that. Now that winter driving has been brought up, this SUV was very confident and well behaved even on ice....put another feather in it's cap.

All of that sounds great, but it still gets better. The interior feels so spacious and the cargo room is phenomenal for an SUV this size. With easy-fold rear seats, I was going to slide by the zoo and bring a baby elephant home for my kids birthday, but turns out they don't rent them there. The seats were quite comfortable as I did both short and long hauls in it and was not fatigued at all.

The children enjoyed the back, and when I pulled back the cover for the sunroof and it went all the way back joy filled the whole vehicle.

It was not without it's downfalls though very minor. I could not find a place to set my phone when I plugged it in. I could leave the phone in the console compartment but I would be sure to forget it when I step out.

Something that caught me off guard was when I was in my driveway and put the Escape in reverse it didn't matter what was behind me, it almost always screamed at me, The Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) would let me know someone had driven behind me. I think I sullied myself slightly the first time it happened, it got easier as I heard it more often. But the BLIS system has so many benefits that far outweigh my little issues. I love that you can just look in a side mirror and tell if someone is in that lane, I highly recommend you get one with the BLIS option.

The Escape I had sported Ruby Red Metallic painted Titanium series and it was plenty attractive. They start off at a base price of 22,470 and this one with all of it's extra equipment chimed in at $43,349 almost perfect for the compact SUV class it is in. If you chose to buy one, I know you will enjoy it, it might even get you wanting to Escape for a mountain getaway.

Thanks to Ford Canada for providing the Escape