2013 Ford Escape Receives Official MPG Ratings

In the final model years of its current design, the Ford Escape has been breaking sales records including a record year in 2011 and a record first quarter so far in 2012, and Ford is poised to continue the success of the Escape with an all-new design for 2013 that has recently been its official fuel economy estimates by the EPA. The 2013 Ford Escape will be offered with three four-cylinder engines (including two EcoBoost engines) with all delivering at least 30 mpg on the highway. Unlike the previous Escape, the new model will not be offered with a V-6 engine.

“The fuel economy of the all-new Escape showcases the continued success of Ford’s development of smaller, yet more powerful engines,” said Raj Nair, group vice president, Ford Global Product Development. “Ford understands people want fuel-efficient vehicles without sacrificing power and space requirements.”

1.6-liter EcoBoost

The big news in the powertrain department for the 2013 Ford Escape is that it will be the first application of Ford's 1.6-liter EcoBoost inline-four in the United States. This engine will not only produce plenty of power with 178 horsepower (using premium gasoline) and 184 lb-ft of torque, but it will also return some of the top fuel economy numbers among compact crossovers with estimates of up to 23 miles per gallon in the city and 33 mpg on the highway. This is slightly less than the Mazda CX-5's 25 mpg city and 35 mpg highway on regular gasoline, but the engine does produce significantly more power, too. Since there will be no Ford Escape Hybrid for 2013, models equipped with the 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine will be the most efficient in the product mix. Compared to the outgoing Ford Escape Hybrid, this engine is an improvement of 2 mpg on the highway but has an 11 mpg deficit in its city rating. Still, compared to other compact CUVs like the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V or Chevrolet Equinox, this engine will have superior fuel economy. Available only on the mid-level SE and SEL (shown here in Ruby Red) trim levels, Escapes with the 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine range in price from $25,070 (SE FWD) to $29,620 (SEL 4WD).

2.0-liter EcoBoost

Replacing the 3.0-liter V-6 in the previous model, the 2013 Ford Escape gets its peak performance from the same 2.0-liter EcoBoost inline-four currently offered in the Ford Edge and Ford Escape and will also be used in the 2013 Ford Fusion and 2013 Ford Taurus. Offered as a $1,095 option on the Escape SE and SEL and standard on the top-of-the-line Escape Titanium (shown here in Ginger Ale), the 2.0-liter EcoBoost produces 240 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque, and it will return fuel economy estimates of up to 22 mpg city and 30 mpg highway. Compared to the old V-6, this engine produces the same horsepower and 47 lb-ft of additional torque, but it is a big improvement in fuel economy with the old engine rated up to 20 mpg city and 27 mpg highway. Prices for the 2013 Escape with the 2.0-liter EcoBoost range from $26,165 for the SE FWD up to $32,120 for the Titanium 4WD.

base 2.5-liter

In base form, the 2013 Ford Escape will come standard with a similar 2.5-liter inline-four as the outgoing Escape, but the engine has been retuned and refined for 2013 to offer better fuel economy. Offered only on the FWD-only Escape S, the 2.5-liter inline-four puts out 168 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque (down slightly from 2012), and its fuel economy is now rated at 22 mpg city and 31 mpg highway (up from 21 mpg city and 28 mpg highway). The big advantage of this engine will be its value as the 2013 Ford Escape S (shown here in Deep Impact Blue) has a starting MSRP of $22,470.