FordBuyer

Probably a major reason for poor Escape sales. I was quoted $450/month with $3,000 down on basic Titaium Escape hybrid lease. I could have gotten a rav4 hybrid lease for at least $100/month less. Lincoln has competitive leases here in FL, but no way Ford. I know Ford is very competitive in Metro Ford, but not here. My dealer told me Ford used to be but not anymore. He told me they used to sell up to 30 Escapes/month in a good month, but now 3-4 is a good month. Sad.

Yes Thanks. I ordered sedona orange back in March, but for whatever reason Ford ended that paint color. So I ordered it in velocity blue, and then the factory shut down. Luckily, the dealer had this metallic white tricoat in stock. I say luckily because I ordered the blue one without the premium package. Mistake, because I love the premium package and well worth it now that I have it. I still prefer the blue, but the tricoat white has grown on me. The metal flake pops in the sun.

I think the piano black grill on my Escape looks fine.....blends in well with the other black accents including the black inserts on the wheels. Both grills have the same general shape

As you see more new Explorers on the road, it doesn't take long to figure out what a dashing figure it carves out. It really stands out as a premium product. Even the base trim levels stand out unlike the base Escape. Like the Ranger, the Explorer is getting traction and gaining ground. The Explorer launch problems are old news and the new Explorer appearance package looks ver nice.

Very true. No fleet sales probably hurt Escape S and SE sales big time. This will force Ford to up its game if it wants to attract the attention of retail customers. No more nondescript SE's hopefully.

In the U.S., it's a regional thing. Here in central FL, Ford offers noncompetitive lease deals compared to Toyota and Honda. In Metro Detroit, Ford offers very competitive lease deals, and I bet the new Escape does much better there.

When I put my Escape up against an SE, the differences are dramatic in a big way. I get it...I paid $34,500 for mine including FL sales tax and licensing fees with the 0%72 month loan. But man, the differences shouldn't be that stark. It's as if Ford went out of it's way to make the SE as unattractive as possible. I don't think the SE is competitive right now. We will see what appearance packages are offered for 2021. Seems to.me Ford did a nice black appearance package on the previous SE and I see them all over the place, and they look good.

With the demise of the Fiesta, Focus, and soon the Fusion, Ford really needs to step up and do what it takes to massage the new Escape into a decent seller. As an owner of a new Escape, I do believe the Escape has the capability to be a decent seller. I would guess Ford is coming up with some tweaking for the 2021 MY after some feedback from dealers and others. The launch seemed to go well, I can attest to good build quality, and no recalls so far. There is hope when you consider the RAV4 gas tank and suspension issues, and now the CRV hybrid is delivering fuel economy 3-4 mpg below EPA and more than 10mpg below what I get with my Escape hybrid. And the 2.0 turbo motor on the Escape is better than anything RAV4 or CRV offers excepting the 300hp Prime that costs over $40,000.

You are probably right as the negative biased Ford reviewers out there love to pile it on. But a little extra insulation wouldn't hurt and cost little to do. It seems like the engine has plenty of power at 181 hp, but wouldn't take much to make it sound like 4 cylinder. Continual improvement is a good thing to do. Listen to your critics and improve where you can.

Good point. But I still think some low cost appearance packages would spice up the SE Escape and help move them off the lots. Ford offered that package on the Ranger and 2021 Explorer gets one. Or maybe just offer the premium package on the SE like they do on the SE Sport Hybrid. The SE model is the high volume trim line and it badly needs spicing up IMO. Better that than just blowing them out at a loss.

I don't think Ford has the battery supply chain to build more than 50,000 or so/year. For example, Toyota just announced only 5,000 RAV4 plugins available for sale this year and 20,000 next year. And Toyota has a more robust supply chain than Ford. To increase Escape sales, the SE with the 1.5 needs to be improved. Lots of other companies are going with 3 cylinder turbos, so I don't think that is a problem. Maybe Apperance and a little more noise cancellation insulation? With the rebates, price seems to be reasonable.

I really think Ford needs to come up with some appearance packages for the SE Escape. Some better wheels would be a good start. The previous generation Escape SE looked decent and sold well. This 2020 Escape SE looks like a stripper model with its unattractive wheels. At my Ford dealer, they have about 30 SE's gathering dust, 3 SEL's, 1 Titanium ICE, and 2 Titanium Hybrids. About the same ratio at the 4 other Ford dealers around here. I'm sure Ford is aware of this and will make corrections for 2021 MY. Escape is too important to ignore unless Ford is going to throw another brand under the bus and just go with baby Bronco.

Or it could be the top trim level.

Well, there are millions of Ford trucks on the road. So why piss them off by copying Ram or Chevy. Ford knows what their customers want and need and gives it go them. The 2021 F-150 is a homerun as the competition will scramble to catch up again.

I believe Ford says the Active X seats are made partly with organics like soybean. My Active X seats clean up nicely and no worries getting something on them and water spotting like real leather. Much more durable which counts for nothing with many auto reviewers. It's like no one has little kids or eats in the car sometimes Btw, many of the "hard" plastics on a Ford are made from billions of recycled soda bottles. I guess reviewers hate that too.