T-dubz

If this thing is going to cost $30-40k, it’s a failure from the start. if it’s basically a mach-e with a different face and an ICE, it would probably do ok at that price range. But a wagon has no chance at that price. The Subaru Outback that they mention in the article is pretty much the only wagon that sells in any volume worth mentioning and it starts at 26k. Does ford think they can out-Subaru Subaru? I don’t think so.

There was a story from last year saying that Hyundai will be bringing a N version of the Tucson with 340 hp. I think it would be coming out next year. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.motor1.com/news/303607/hyundai-tucson-n-rumor/amp/ they also came out with an N Line package (just like the st line, appearance package only) this year for Europe. So it appears other manufacturers are thinking about it.

it would be tough, but the focus RS had a very different face from the regular focus. Same for the new GT500. The escape really just needs a new face and better quality materials on the interior and it would be a much better offering. if they don’t bring the ST here, they should at least bring the ST line. I find the ST and sport versions of ford’s vehicles to be the best looking. I don’t really care about the extra performance, but I do like the look and would be willing to pay extra for it.

https://www.motor1.com/news/414278/2021-toyota-yaris-cross-revealed/ I like the overall shape and style of this cuv, especially for a smaller vehicle. I’m not a huge fan of front ends like this (where the headlights are above the grille), but this looks ok, minus the bulge where the Toyota logo is. It pulls this design off much better than the escape.

https://www.motor1.com/news/414614/ford-escape-st-ruled-out/

I like the exterior, I just hope it’s offered with some bigger tires and different wheels. All the wheels we have seen are ripoffs of the Jeep renegades wheels and the tires just seem too small.

Yeah, kinda looks like school bus yellow, but I think it’s the cyber orange metallic.

new spy shots give a glimpse of a new orange color. It’s hard to tell if it’s the same shade of orange as the dealer leak. Maybe it just had different lighting? It looks a bit different to me. I wouldn’t buy orange to begin with, but I think a darker shade would look better. A dark reddish copper would look pretty good.

Ford could easily take the Chinese escape interior and modify it a bit to suit American needs. There’s plenty of area to put physical buttons. They also need to bring that screen here fast. Kia seems to be rolling out the 10” screen on everything these days (I briefly looked and the soul, seltos and telluride all have one). The screen is such a focal point in an interior that it can completely change the look. It can make the interior seem more luxurious than it actually is. For example, here is the seltos (a sub compact cuv) interior. I think it’s a pretty nice interior and looks more handsome then the escape.

The bronco sport should have used this center console and center stack. From the ac vents up, keep it like they already designed it, below the vents use this. I think I’d like it much better.

I prefer to put those items in the cup holder or the tray in front of the cup holder where theirs plenty of room. The phone doesn’t even look like it fits in the storage compartment, of course it could just not be pushed all the way in.

I think I might actually like the escapes screen better. Every time I see this one it reminds me of an old tv, or maybe one of those tv/vcr combos.? instead of having that storage bin, I wonder why they didn’t just move the screen down to fill it? That would have essentially eliminated the “tablet” look that everyone seems to hate and filled that space up nicely.

This review backs up everything I’ve said about my experience with the escape, so I don’t think they are being unnecessarily harsh on ford. I don’t think going up to an SEL would have made a difference either. I agree mostly with everything in this review (can’t comment on the VW or Subaru since I’ve never been in one), but I’d place all the others in the order that CD had them.

This is the part I don’t like. I didn’t like it in the escape and I don’t like it here either. It doesn’t flow together at all and it does make it look cheap. If those parts were integrated better, it would really make the interior look more cohesive. Maybe something like the explorers console and how it meets the dash would look better. The rest of the changes aren’t bad. I wouldn’t say they are good either. I can appreciate the attempt to add little pops of color here and there, but it isn’t enough to break up literally everything else being black. You get one shiny piece of trim around the gear selector. A few more could have made the interior look more upscale, but now it just looks awkward. those must also be the active orange cloth seats that leaked in the order guide. Maybe it’s just the color in the picture, but they look a little brown to me. I bet the active Area 51 cloth seats will look better. I wonder if that’s the standard IP? It looks to be the same as the standard IP in the explorer. That’s a good screen with decent size. I hope this is a lower trim, and there’s something better that’s yet to be shown. (I’m guessing it is since the steering wheel isn’t leather)

That’s pretty cool. I had the same idea as you. Figured some legos would pass the time. I was torn between the mustang, DB5, and the Charger. Ended up getting the charger since it was $50 cheaper, but I might snag the mustang too if this goes on for a lot longer.

Definitely interesting to think about. Millions unemployed, lots of others with hours being cut back, no one driving due to stay at home orders, and super cheap gas (I saw 99 cents a gallon today) will all make for an unpredictable Q2 and beyond. Will we see a bigger dip in electric and hybrid vehicles with gas being so cheap? Will the sedans make a comeback with their lower price? How will the truck market react? Cheap gas usually helps trucks but since they are pretty expensive, will customers be reluctant to spend that kind of money? There’s so many ways this could all play out.

Escort was one of my first cars. I always liked the look of the GT too.

What I’m saying is I believe ford would make more money by doing a one vehicle strategy. i don’t think the bronco sport will outsell the escape now because the escape has a lower price and will have more rebates, however, if the bronco sport was offered in 2WD and cost the same as the escape, i am positive it would outsell it by a good margin. I think the money ford spent on making two vehicles could have been spent on making one vehicle better. Ford should have adopted the model they have been using on the f150 (which Toyota now started doing with its rav4), which is giving each trim a different front end, lights, interior materials, etc. this would have allowed them to differentiate the vehicle to cover several demographics while saving a ton of money by not having 2 separate vehicles. They could then use those savings to put better materials inside their vehicles, which would in turn make people think it’s a quality product, which then allows ford to charge more because they have added value. This is opposed to their current strategy which is charge more but make everything cheaper. That’s being short sighted and will hurt them in the long run.

I think ford just toned down the escape a little too much. People buys cuvs because they like the look of SUVs but want the ride of a car. They don’t buy cuvs because they like the looks of a car. The escape should have been the sport and the sport should have been a raptor-ish version of the sport.

it was very noticeable to me, and that was coming from a 2017 escape. Mine is a titanium 2.0 though and the 2020 I drove was a SE 1.5L. maybe my titanium had more sound dampening material? Unfortunately I haven’t had the opportunity to drive the base engine in the older escape. Maybe the difference from the 1.5L 4 cyl to the 3 cyl isn’t as bad. I would say that if you are coming from a compact car, it probably wouldn’t be a big deal to you as those cars are generally pretty loud inside the cabin already. However compact cuvs cost more than compact cars so you kind of expect it to be a bit better too.

It’s bland because it lacks character, not because it lacks angles or creases. There’s nothing special about it. It doesn’t stand out in any way. It’s just a cuv that blends in very well. Some people like that. Id say a lot of people don’t as shown by the sales figures where the rav4 outsold the escape more than 2 to 1. Honestly, I feel like the design language of the escape looks a bit old. It’s using styling cues from vehicles that came out in 2012 (on the front at least). If you were to change the front end of the escape to a more traditional suv look, I think it would make a world of difference. Look at the Corsair for example. It looks 100x better then the escape (it also doesn’t have creases or angles).

https://www.motor1.com/news/408234/best-selling-cars-2020/ according to this, rav4 is up 16.5%, compared to the escape being down 20.7%. The rogue was down 36.3%, the crv was down 18.4%, and the equinox down 17%. escape = 48,117 (-20.7) rogue = 59,716 (-36.3) crv = 71,186 (-18.4) Equinox = 73,453 (-17) rav4 = 97,631 (+16.5) Pretty interesting numbers here. Rav4 outsold the escape more than 2 to 1 in the quarter.

Yes, and I wouldn’t say I drive in a far back seating position either. Pretty average for my height if I had to guess. I remember wondering how they fit the basketball players in the back seat of the escape in the reveal video, then I watched the video again and realized they had some really short people in the front seats. honestly, they probably should have started the sliding rails about another 3-6” further back. Maybe there were limits to how far back they could go with seatbelts and what not.

Sitting behind myself (I’m 6’1”) I found the rear seats to be cramped too. Better then the old escape, but the crv felt like it had more room.