Ford Escape 2021 review: ST-Line FWD

It’s a cool looking car that appears much more sleek than the last model which was boxy and square-ish without much style. The new Escape is longer and wider but with a lower roof height. Smoother corners and elongated headlights bring the design together and it feels cohesive, fresh, and much more modern.

It’s a cool looking car that appears much more sleek than the last model.

The inside feels good, also. There are fabric seats on this model which is always a little disappointing when you first get in, and then you feel how comfortable they are which makes it instantly fine. 

It does have a leather steering wheel and the centre console, while basic and mostly in matt black, is well designed and functional. 

There are some aluminium accents with a metallic looking dash and it’s mostly man-made materials for the interior, but it doesn’t come off as cheap looking, you still feel good driving this car on the road. 

The Ford Escape ST-Line has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine which drives quite nicely. 

I don’t mean to keep saying the car kept pleasantly surprising me, but the car kept pleasantly surprising me. It was a smooth drive, it had enough power to get up hills quickly and was also good on the open road when I needed to overtake. 

The Ford Escape ST-Line has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine which drives quite nicely. 

It feels responsive and quick on the take-off, there’s no heavy feeling and it’s also quite agile in traffic. The steering is almost too responsive - it turns instantly and quite far when you turn the steering wheel, so learning to drive in this car would be interesting! But it is one of those things you get used to quickly. 

Parking is great, even though this new model is slightly longer than the last, it’s still not huge so you can fit in most parks and the reverse parking camera is decent. It also has a small-ish turning circle which makes it easy to slide into parking spots. 

This middle ground model has manually adjustable front seats, but makes up for them with a button to open and close the boot. 

There are two cupholders in the front - actually three. It looks like two but then you notice the tiny espresso sized space in the middle, so it’s three. 

Conveniently, I drink a piccolo, so I actually used this. It’s got a good sized centre storage bin and there are bottle holders in each door. 

There are two cupholders in the front - actually three. It looks like two but then you notice the tiny espresso sized space in the middle, so it’s three. 

There’s also a wireless charger, but it wasn’t very effective and only charged my phone an extra 10 per cent on the entire three hour drive. 

Because it’s a little lower than other mid-size SUVs, it’s easier to get into and my children didn’t have to treat it like a jungle gym. 

The 8.0-inch colour touchscreen is equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto - luckily, because the Ford interface feels old and clunky.

With CarPlay and Auto you can navigate via your maps app and stream music/books/podcasts with the relevant apps from your phone. 

The 8.0-inch colour touchscreen is equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Ford Escape ST-Line costs $37,990, before on road costs. Fuel consumption is a claimed 8.6L/100km and I averaged 9.0L/100km doing lots of highway and also suburban driving. 

It’s covered by Ford’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

The Ford Escape ST-Line costs $37,990, before on road costs.

Services are recommended at 15,000km/12month intervals and are capped at $299 for four years.