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Freshened, when only all-new will suffice
Introduction
Introduction
Ford Escape – 2008 Review: Compact crossovers are a little like hamburgers. Using the same basic ingredients, different manufacturers manage to make their burgers unique. The original 2000 Escape lead the field with a V-6 engine, car-like ride and huge cargo space. But the competition caught up and passed the Escape, making Ford’s updates for 2008 little more than fresh pickles and an extra helping of special sauce on the same stale patty and bun. These days the Escape is eclipsed almost universally by its competitors in terms of style, performance, quality and capability, offering a more satisfying meal for your dollar than this warmed-over Ford.
By: Keith Buglewicz
Photo credit: Oliver Bentley and Ford
What We Drove
Our black-on-black-on-black Escape weighed in at $30,910, including the $665 destination charge. Granted, that included $4,015 worth of options over the $25,330 base price, but even if you factor in the eventual barrage of Ford incentives, there are better buys. On paper we admit it sounds good: a $2,395 navigation/audiophile audio system, 17-inch chrome wheels for $695, a luxury package costing $795, and the Limited’s V-6 engine and all-wheel drive. However, the Escape is unfortunately less than the sum of its parts.
Page 3Performance
A V-6 engine with 200 horsepower should be able to move a small crossover with ease. But this 3.0-liter V-6 struggles against the Escape’s 3,522 pounds, and acceleration from a dead stop in first gear is especially sluggish. Once moving, it isn’t bad, and passing power is adequate. The transmission’s oddly-selected cogs are the culprit, sacrificing acceleration for fuel economy, and the 18.2 mpg isn’t much of a payoff. The transmission shifts roughly at times, and if you select gears manually you can time the changes with a sundial.
Page 4Handling
The Escape has a good ride, almost regardless of the road conditions, as long as those roads are paved. In the rough stuff, the Escape shudders, dances and quivers alarmingly, so much so that you’ll feel inclined to head home before reaching your secluded destination. Despite its car-based platform, the Escape is ill-suited to any sort of enthusiastic driving thanks to its high stance. The body leans considerably in corners, the rear end squats under acceleration and the nose dives under braking. It never feels unsafe, but sensitive passengers may want a Dramamine before a mountain trip.
Page 5Visibility
One bright spot in the Escape is visibility. Despite the intrusive second-row head restraints, the view out through most angles is quite good. The rearmost pillars are thin, and the ones to the sides and beside the windshield are also admirably out of the way, providing good sight lines. Throw in the generously sized mirrors and – surprisingly – backup sensors, and you have a little ute that’s easy to maneuver in parking lots and on the highways.
Page 6Fun to Drive
Some small crossovers aren’t much fun on the road, but provide some fun once you get off it. Others are fun on the road, but not much good off. The Escape is neither, providing little satisfaction on or off road, or under any driving condition we encountered. The constant din (more on that later), cheap interior materials and overall dated driving dynamics do nothing to improve the situation.
Page 7Front Comfort
The Escape’s seating position is very upright, and the seat felt small to some of our drivers, with the seatback and bottom cushion too short. Around the driver’s legs are numerous hard plastic panels, which make it hard to find a comfortable position. The door tops are also hard, and the elbow rests on the doors and center console are covered in spongy rubber that, although better than the hard plastic, is uncomfortable to the touch. Throw in the tilt-only steering wheel and it’s hard to get comfortable in the Escape.
Page 8Rear Comfort
The rear arrangement is a “bench” in the worst sense of the word, using hard, flat cushions and featuring an upright seating position. The result is that rear passengers don’t fare any better than their front-seat counterparts. The upright position isn’t adjustable, and although headroom is adequate, it comes at the expense of a bottom cushion that’s too low. Shoulder room isn’t very good either, and we imagine squeezing three adults in the rear seat would be a chore.
Page 9Interior Noise
Take your pick: engine, wind, transmission, suspension, road…the Escape has them all. Stand on the throttle and you’re granted noise instead of acceleration. The transmission clunks into gear as you choose between Park, Reverse and Drive. The suspension thumps and clatters over bumps. Road noise permeates the cabin at every turn, until it’s drowned out by wind noise at higher speeds. The noise levels in the Escape are as satisfying as attending a noisy party when you have a headache. At least the audio system can drown out most of the racket.
Page 10Loading Cargo
The Escape has a reasonably low load floor considering its overall height, so lifting large cargo into the back isn’t terribly difficult. There’s a matte plastic protector on the bumper so you can slide heavy cargo in without scratching the paint. A hidden compartment under the floor is big enough for a gym bag or large purse, and there is a pocket to the left of the cargo area for smaller items. The seats fold down two ways: Seatbacks only if you’re hurrying, or you can fold the bottom cushions forward and then flip down the seatbacks for a big, wide load floor.
Page 11Build Quality
Our Escape test vehicle was a pre-production unit. We did not assess build quality, as it is our rule to praise or critique this aspect of a vehicle only when it is reflective of what consumers will find at the local dealership.
Page 12Materials Quality
The Escape’s interior reminds us of a showroom for hard, inexpensive-feeling materials. The mousefur headliner is on the lower end of the materials scale, the door tops are hard plastic, and even the shiny piano-black trim manages to look chintzy. The dash top is coated in some sort of material that may be there to give the illusion that it’s soft, but winds up just getting sticky in the hot sun. Two different covers for the B-pillars – one a fine pebble grain, the other an elephant skin look – both feel cheap.
Page 13Styling
The Escape shares its looks with Ford’s more rugged line of trucks, mimicking the styling of the Explorer, Expedition and F-150 instead of the Edge and Taurus X crossovers it’s closer to in spirit. It’s a good look in a somewhat retro way, since it shares its profile with the old model. The interior is neatly styled and definitely a step up from the previous car, but still not as stylish as competitors such as the Honda CR-V or Saturn VUE.
Page 14Storage
There’s plenty of room in the Escape for storage, if you’re willing to bend the rules a little. The bottom floor of the center console bin is easily removed, and underneath is a large hollow compartment that can hold a great deal. The rest of the storage space in the Escape is limited: two small cupholders on the center console, a small glovebox, and small door pockets. Rear seat passengers get small door bins and cupholders.
Page 15Infotainment Controls
The Escape uses Ford’s standard-issue navigation and audio system controls, which is no bad thing. It’s a simple layout that’s easy to use and read. Everything is clearly labeled, and it uses logically arranged buttons with plenty of redundancy on the steering wheel. The touch screen is easy to read, and although the contrast between roads and backgrounds could be better, there’s little to complain about here. Audio quality is very good, and the inclusion of an auxiliary input is handy.
Page 16Climate Controls
If you’ve been in any recent Ford product, the Escape’s climate controls will be old hat. There are three big knobs for driver and passenger temperature, with a fan control in the middle. Vent positions are controlled by buttons around the fan knob. The fully automatic setting is the best place to put it all, and the dual-mode setting can be turned on and off with the touch of a button. Single-mode seat heaters are nice (multiple settings are better, however), and we found that our black test car cooled off quickly even on warm days.
Page 17Secondary Controls
On one hand, the window switches, mirror remote and steering wheel controls all have a satisfying feel to them. On the other, things like the window locks and switches, numerous other dash buttons, the brake release and hood release need improvement. The parking brake release in particular was annoying. It’s placed immediately above the pedal itself, meaning that it’s all too easy to accidentally kick the release handle when you simply mean to set the brake. It makes us wonder how long that handle will last.
Page 18Competition
The Escape’s biggest problem is that, while it’s largely still stuck in 2000, the competition has grown fierce. The Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 are primary, as usual, but the Saturn Vue, Nissan Rogue and Mitsubishi Outlander all offer consumers much more compelling packages for the same amount of money. Throw in the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and even the Subaru Forrester, and the Escape offers little to consumers that its competition doesn’t match or handily beat.
Page 192nd Opinion – Beamesderfer
Wind, road, drivetrain and suspension. It’s quite the quartet, and it plays long and loud in the Escape. But not even the most avid fan of atonal, polyrhythmic music would enjoy this serenade. Ford didn’t help matters much by slapping hard plastic all over the interior. It’s just the material to reflect sounds in the same frequency range as road and wind noise. Over grooved concrete, there was something buzzing. Good thing it’s got a decent audio system with satellite radio and a disc player. Better hope the volume knob goes to 11, though.
Page 202nd Opinion – Chee
The 2008 Ford Escape is ideally designed for all members of the family. Even babies get to enjoy the benefits built into this vehicle. Take falling asleep: Why, in the Escape, it’s easy thanks to the alluring sing-song coming up from the tires. It’s especially prevalent when you drive on the freeway, so much so that the family will call it “Escape to Sleepy Time.” Older kids also get to enjoy the Escape, especially when the road bends: there’s enough body roll to thrill even the most hard core roller coaster freak in the family.
Page 212nd Opinion – Heywood
First glance at the 2008 Ford Escape and one easily tosses it into the rough and ready SUV set. It has the typical boxy upright wagon look of most SUVs but tempered with styling cues that make it distinctly Ford and good looking as well. Unfortunately, you can never judge a book by its cover and the same is true for the Escape. Much like an aging teen diva, once you get past the skin you find out just how plastic the looker that caught your eye is on the inside.