My 2020 Escape SE First Impression

[akirby]

3 minutes ago, 02MustangGT said:

Doubtful.  That would mean the dash in the Baby Bronco would be unique and not shared with any Ford vehicle.  It’s sharing hard points and parts with the Escape (same platform and dimensions).  Look for area around the lower center stack in the Escape to be identical in the Baby Bronco.  Design of the IP could be different, but there will still be similarities due to cost constraints.  The goal is to make a profit.  

But the goal is also to have a unique vehicle that doesn’t compete with everything else and commands a premium.  I think it will get a scaled down version of the full sized Bronco and will be completely different from escape.  Of course I could be wrong.

[rmc523]

On 12/27/2019 at 7:54 PM, Anthony said:

I think the SE cluster being flat is a sacrificial lamb for the full LED screen cluster on the higher trims (like the one pictured in Assimilator’s post above). Having complex shapes for the traditional gauges would make the need for a different binnacle for the LED screen. 

 

They have two completely different setups for Mustang's regular gauges and the LED screen, so that's not a good reason.

 

23 hours ago, Assimilator said:

I wouldn't necessarily equate minimal design with cheapness however, although the Escape doesn't make a strong case for itself.

 

I'd have to agree - the Escape's interior doesn't look bad, but when you get into it, it's more cheap than expected.

[Assimilator]

I haven't seen it directly, but friends of mine have described the Bronco Mini's interior as mostly unique with more prominent vertical vents similar to the F-150.  For some reason I'm getting this image of the old Escape dashboard design from that description.  It does have the same sort of detached infotainment screen design as the '20 Escape. 

Edited December 30, 2019 by Assimilator

[02MustangGT]

2 hours ago, akirby said:

But the goal is also to have a unique vehicle that doesn’t compete with everything else and commands a premium.  I think it will get a scaled down version of the full sized Bronco and will be completely different from escape.  Of course I could be wrong.

If the lower center stack/HVAC controls are not like for like in both Escape and Baby Bronco, I would be surprised.  You may see “unique” in the design but it won’t completely be a one off dash, IP, center stack.  

[jpd80]

My reasoning is:

The things that buyers see all the time should be different to the Escape, otherwise the whole point of a baby Bronco is lost and would struggle to command a premium price over the Escape.

[2005Explorer]

2 hours ago, Assimilator said:

I haven't seen it directly, but friends of mine have described the Bronco Mini's interior as mostly unique with more prominent vertical vents similar to the F-150.  For some reason I'm getting this image of the old Escape dashboard design from that description.  It does have the same sort of detached infotainment screen design as the '20 Escape. 

I had a 2011 Escape Limited and to be honest I liked it's interior design. The dash had sort of a baby F-150 look to it. Material wise my '19 Ranger has nothing on that Escape. Of course the '08-'12 Escape is still my favorite generation of that vehicle. Hopefully the new baby Bronco will appeal to the group that liked the boxy SUV style.

[probowler]

29 minutes ago, 2005Explorer said:

I had a 2011 Escape Limited and to be honest I liked it's interior design. The dash had sort of a baby F-150 look to it. Material wise my '19 Ranger has nothing on that Escape. Of course the '08-'12 Escape is still my favorite generation of that vehicle. Hopefully the new baby Bronco will appeal to the group that liked the boxy SUV style.

I have a 2008 so I am obviously biased, but I LOVE my interior. Black and brown dual tone, handsome designed dashboard.The coating on the hard surfaces feels very soft and comfortable to touch. The only part that I hate, is the silver trim accents and center console which bring the whole interior down a peg.  The Piano black trim on the Limited is much better.

[2005Explorer]

7 minutes ago, probowler said:

I have a 2008 so I am obviously biased, but I LOVE my interior. Black and brown dual tone, handsome designed dashboard.The coating on the hard surfaces feels very soft and comfortable to touch. The only part that I hate, is the silver trim accents and center console which bring the whole interior down a peg.  The Piano black trim on the Limited is much better.

Mine had the piano black which looked really nice.

[SoonerLS]

On 12/29/2019 at 7:35 PM, T-dubz said:

chinese vs American 

I don't know what it is about it, but that reminds me, more than anything, of my '80 Fiesta Sally Rand Edition. That thing was such a stripper that it didn't even have the knock-outs where a radio would go.

 

As for the Escape, I saw one on the road today. I was...underwhelmed. I hope the chicks dig it, because it was, IMHO, a giant "Honda had a drunken night with Toyota"-esque ball of bland.  Maybe a former co-worker, who would drive a toaster to work if it had wheels, might be interested in it, but I think the exterior is a big step backward from the previous generation.

[Trailhiker]

If you have a great design, the material used is seldom noticed. but a poor design will make the cheap materials scream out loud.

[Assimilator]

I would say a minimal design needs to execute build and material quality better than a more expressive design.  I like the Escapes minimal design (save the doors) but not the quality.  

Edited December 31, 2019 by Assimilator

[pictor]

Do we know how the Kuga interior compares to the Escape?  Who did the interior design,  Europe of Detroit.  I can’t figure out why Ford would drop the ball now on two  of the most important vehicles, explorer and escape. The US market is way too competitive with the Major Euro premium brands filling down and Korean brands filling niches upward,.  I knows all eyes here are focused on Bronco and bronco jr but that is a small niche compared to the mass market.  

[akirby]

40 minutes ago, pictor said:

Do we know how the Kuga interior compares to the Escape?  Who did the interior design,  Europe of Detroit.  I can’t figure out why Ford would drop the ball now on two  of the most important vehicles, explorer and escape. The US market is way too competitive with the Major Euro premium brands filling down and Korean brands filling niches upward,.  I knows all eyes here are focused on Bronco and bronco jr but that is a small niche compared to the mass market.  

There is no Lincoln in a Europe so keep that in mind when looking at euro vehicles.

 

They obviously believe that it won’t hurt sales enough to offset the cost savings.  We’ll have to wait and see sales after the 2019s are gone and inventory levels are full.  Maybe the plan all along is to price it high and put bigger incentives on them as needed.  I don’t like that plan.

 

On Kia and Hyundai they’ve combined plebian platforms with luxury vehicle interiors and underpriced everybody.  So far it seems to be working.

[rperez817]

2 hours ago, pictor said:

Do we know how the Kuga interior compares to the Escape?

 

Here is the new Kuga interior.

 

 

[kyle]

On 12/30/2019 at 8:07 AM, Gurgeh said:

 

Thanks for sharing, and wow. That's a rave review as written, and then they hit it with a slam review number. Well, that's CR for you. I still remember the year they gave the Toyota Corolla a top rating and gave a poor review to the Geo Prism, even though they were the same car coming off the same production line.

 

I always love hearing how people spin things when they don't get a good review and CR loves Honda, Toyota, etc.   The Escape is a mediocre product at best especially at $32k for a 3 cylinder motor. CR does not take into affect that it may have a $5k rebate, nor should they. 

Look a little lower and it shows the Honda Passport at the bottom of the midsize category and the Edge as the 2nd place finisher. Guess we can't take that ranking either!  

[rperez817]

On 12/31/2019 at 9:59 AM, Trailhiker said:

If you have a great design, the material used is seldom noticed. but a poor design will make the cheap materials scream out loud.

 

Maybe as Jim Hackett's 'design thinking' becomes more widespread throughout Ford, we'll see future Ford products with good design and user experience to better mask the cheapness. Who knows, the next refresh of Ford Escape might just have that.

[rperez817]

On 12/30/2019 at 8:07 AM, Gurgeh said:

I still remember the year they gave the Toyota Corolla a top rating and gave a poor review to the Geo Prism, even though they were the same car coming off the same production line.

 

Do you remember which year that was Gurgeh? I glanced through some CR issues from the mid 1990s and all reviews of Corolla and Prizm had very close ratings for the 2 cars. Here is an example from 1996, CR tested Prizm with manual transmission and Corolla with automatic.

 

 

[Gurgeh]

1 hour ago, kyle said:

 

I always love hearing how people spin things when they don't get a good review and CR loves Honda, Toyota, etc.   The Escape is a mediocre product at best especially at $32k for a 3 cylinder motor. CR does not take into affect that it may have a $5k rebate, nor should they. 

Look a little lower and it shows the Honda Passport at the bottom of the midsize category and the Edge as the 2nd place finisher. Guess we can't take that ranking either!  

 

kyle, I was referring to the Corsair, not the Escape. I agree on your views on the 3-cylinder Escape SE.  I was struck by the seeming disconnect between the Corsair's written review, which was a rave review, and the vehicle's fairly poor numerical ranking and its non-recommendation.

[CKNSLS]

I would sit in an Escape if I could get by

the exterior looks......which I can't.

On 12/30/2019 at 12:01 PM, mackinaw said:

 

Why would I disregard a vehicle that I haven't even sat in, much less driven?  Just because of of some comments I read on an internet forum?  (mostly made by people who haven't sat in the vehicle or driven it).

[351cid]

On 12/31/2019 at 5:33 PM, pictor said:

Do we know how the Kuga interior compares to the Escape?  Who did the interior design,  Europe of Detroit.  I can’t figure out why Ford would drop the ball now on two  of the most important vehicles, explorer and escape. The US market is way too competitive with the Major Euro premium brands filling down and Korean brands filling niches upward,.  I knows all eyes here are focused on Bronco and bronco jr but that is a small niche compared to the mass market.  

So far Hackett & Co are 0 for two. Now they just need to screw up the F-150 to achieve the trifecta of clusterf#ck.

[akirby]

9 minutes ago, 351cid said:

So far Hackett & Co are 0 for two. Now they just need to screw up the F-150 to achieve the trifecta of clusterf#ck.

Not a home run but very far from a CF.

[sho94_2000]

10 hours ago, rperez817 said:

 

Maybe as Jim Hackett's 'design thinking' becomes more widespread throughout Ford, we'll see future Ford products with good design and user experience to better mask the cheapness. Who knows, the next refresh of Ford Escape might just have that.

 

I don't think the "lipsitck on a pig" approach is the best way to achieve and maintain a customer base or secure long term profits.

 

In fact, Toyota and Honda deliberately took the opposite approach many years ago designing rather boring vehicles, but ones that were as reliable as the sunrise.  And we all know how loyal their customers are.

[rperez817]

8 minutes ago, sho94_2000 said:

I don't think the "lipsitck on a pig" approach is the best way to achieve and maintain a customer base or secure long term profits.

 

I agree with you sho94_2000 sir. Ideally, Ford would improve both style and substance of vehicles like Escape and Explorer. But Ford has limited resources as it tries to get fit again. The "lipstick on a pig" approach has the potential to make those models a little more appealing to both professional reviewers and to consumers who don't already own Fords.

 

Jim Hackett spoke about "agile design" used for software in the computer and electronics industries, and how it can be combined with "design thinking" for the automotive industry. Maybe Ford will apply that in the form of quick refreshes to vehicles.  https://www.kornferry.com/institute/fords-tech-heavy-future

 

"Software people use “agile design,” which means making constant small improvements, or “design on-the-fly,” if you will. Customers are taught incrementally how to benefit from improvement in product such iPhones, apps, or computer-operating systems through continuous software updates. The automobile industry, by contrast, relies on stage-gated product development, which is a fundamentally different concept. We’re trying to improve this process using a concept called “design thinking,” in which you obsessively understand the nature of use and develop prototypes to ameliorate the gaps between use and product. These two design methodologies are colliding in a cool and unpredictable way. There will be lots of jobs in the areas of both agile design for software creation and new use-case design for the people building vehicles."

 

 

[probowler]

Toyota may be reliable, but they are not attractive nor high performers. 

 

If we're not concerned with creating some crazy Edge RS GT SUPER ECO MEGA BOOST, 

 

Then surely they could at least build something reliable and sexy looking? 

 

While I respect Toyotas approach and their success, i dont think Ford could successfully copy that. Better to try something different to seperate and elevate FMC. Which I why I want them to focus on appearance +reliability 

[rperez817]

21 hours ago, Gurgeh said:

I was struck by the seeming disconnect between the Corsair's written review, which was a rave review, and the vehicle's fairly poor numerical ranking and its non-recommendation.

 

The Consumer Reports overall score combines the road test evaluation with ratings for predicted reliability, safety, and owner satisfaction. Corsair's overall score is lower than its road test score mainly because of below average predicted reliability. That's also why it didn't get a recommendation. Acura RDX is in the same boat.

Edited January 2, 2020 by rperez817