2019 Ford Escape vs 2017

What's the difference?

The Escape ST-Line is the second of its name I've driven and again after the Focus, I've come away liking it. While there's no full-fat ST to help make sense of the brand, it's nice to have a mid-size SUV that isn't German come to the party with a bit of driver appeal (okay, technically it is German...).

I think the Escape is a bit underrated and it's sadly inevitable that the ST-Line will suffer the same fate. But, that's the warzone that is Australia's SUV market.

Minor ergonomic issues aside, the Escape is a real contender, even in row-your-own low power spec.  Those who aren't bothered about being first across the intersection will need to look elsewhere.

The Escape is well-equipped, has a good safety rating and is extra spacious, particularly for rear seat passengers. The price is also sharp, although nobody buys manuals anymore, so expect to pay an easy 10 per cent more for automatic. But for the price of a mid-spec compact SUV, you're getting the space of a big one, with some of the features, too. 

The Escape exited the womb as Kuga but was renamed in line with Ford's expanding SUV range. They start with E, you see - Everest, EcoSport etc. In fact, I had an Escape a while back that still had Kuga sill plates such was the speed of the change.

The Escape is a reasonably familiar sight on our roads but it's not exactly selling the way, say, the Mazda CX-5 does.

The Escape is readily identifiable as a Ford, echoing the about-to-be-replaced Focus and Fiesta. The original trout pout of the Kuga was superseded by something a little more 'expansive'. 

To this base, the ST-Line adds a set of dark finish 19-inch alloys, blacked out grille, fog-lamp surrounds, roof rails and rear valance. It's fairly mild. The lower ride height does help, though. It could look a bit meaner, but that's not really the point of the ST-Line brand.

Inside you have the same seats as the rest of the range along with red stitching on the shifter and steering wheel. A set of alloy-face pedals, stainless steel kick plates and ST-Line floor mats complete the changes.

The interior is otherwise unchanged, and that's no bad thing, except we have to talk about the touchscreen. It works really well and is a good size but the awkward angle of the surrounds make it hard to hit the targets. It's a bit of an own-goal because otherwise it's very good.

The Escape name returns and brings with it a whopping grille with a big Ford badge. The mid-sizer really needed that because the old grille made it look like an EcoSport, which is much smaller.

Here in the cheap seats, the 17-inch steel rims somehow look small but the new lights front and rear, as well as restyled bumpers, make it look like a decent top and tail. It looks a bit tougher, the Kuga was weird-looking at best, and awkward from some angles.

Inside is much improved. The old interior was mostly okay but the centre stack was a riot of buttons, a similar affliction to Focus and Fiesta. Life was difficult in the first weeks of ownership as you had to learn what they all did (not helped by the borderline unusable Sync system). Things are much cleaner now.

There is an ergonomic drama. If you're in first, third or fifth gear the switches and buttons in front of the shifter are unreachable without dislocating your wrist. The flip side is a short hop from wheel to shifter, so it's not all bad news.

The rest of the cabin is light and airy and a reasonably pleasant place to be. The cloth trim is broken up by a Tiguan-style two-tone effect which works really well.

The Escape is one of the roomier mid-size SUVs, although it doesn't quite match the interior flexibility of the VW Tiguan. Rear seat space is generous, with good head and legroom and plenty of foot room.

The tailgate opens high and wide, which is handy for loading up. The boot will take between 406 litres (rear seats up) and 1603 litres (rear seats down). There are four cupholders - two up front and two in the rear armrest, with bottle holders in each door. The central armrest bin is deep and accommodating, and there are a few good spaces for stashing loose bits and pieces.

The Escape has a large, friendly cabin built for real humans. The doors open wide front and rear and there's room for lanky people. I know this because we loaded up with four six-footers and everyone was happy.

Rear legroom is nothing short of amazing, seemingly pinched from an Everest and headroom is also expansive. A middle passenger would want to be skinny, but not absurdly so. 

The boot starts on the small side at 406 litres (even the CX-5's famously small boot is usefully bigger at 447 litres) but the loading lip is commendably low. The 60/40 split fold rear seats drop but leave a step in the floor, which is annoying if you've got a long, flat load.

The cabin also features four cupholders and a bottle holder in each door, while the console storage bin is now much bigger courtesy of the electric parking brake.

Prices for the Escape Ambiente start at an entirely reasonable $28,490 for our 110kW six-speed manual. That means you can make your getaway (sorry) with a six-speaker stereo, 17-inch steel wheels, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, keyless entry and start, cruise control, sat nav, leather-trimmed steering wheel, power windows and mirrors and a space-saver spare.

The six-speaker stereo is run by Ford's 'Sync3' system, which is getting better but is still pretty ordinary to look at. Included is a startlingly generous DAB+ digital radio and useful sat nav. Also along for the ride is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which its Korean rivals have but its Japanese opposition do not.

The 8.0-inch screen isn't as sharp as the smaller screens in its competitors. It is also deeply recessed into the dashboard meaning you have to muck about to hit the targets along the base of the screen. Jaguar Land Rover manages this better by pushing the targets to the middle of the screen, so it can be done. It is otherwise easy to use and comprehend.

The Escape's 2.0-litre turbo four produces 178kW/345Nm to help propel this 1.7-tonne machine along. Power reaches all four wheels via a six-speed automatic.

Towing capacity is rated at 750kg unbraked and 1600kg braked.

The Ambiente is available with Ford's perky 1.5-litre turbo four cylinder. It comes in two levels of tune - 110kW or 134kW, both with 240Nm. The power output is dependent on transmission, and in our case we had the six-speed manual, meaning 110kW.

The six-speeder feeds the power through only the front wheels, although you can have all-wheel drive with the dual-clutch auto.

Ford reckons you'll use 8.6L/100km on the combined cycle. In the real world, including a roughly 200km round trip run from Sydney up to the Blue Mountains we recorded 10.2L/100km. 

The only drama is that it runs only on 95 RON premium unleaded. Having said that, it's obvious rivals do too if they have anything like the available power of the Ford engine.

The claimed combined cycle consumption figure for the 110kW 1.5-litre is 6.3L/100km. As with the Titanium, we had a fairly solid miss, ending up at 9.6L/100km, although with less enthusiastic driving.

Like the Focus ST-Line I drove a little while ago, the Escape has no more power than any other car in the range. A hot SUV it isn't. The changes are restricted to the bits that make the car handle and grip, and even then, it's not a lot.

The ST-Line rides 10mm lower and has stiffer anti-roll bars to further rein in any body roll in the corners. Critically, the gunmetal 19-inch alloys are wrapped in Continental Sport Contact tyres, which is not the sort of rubber you expect on a mid-size SUV. This is a good thing.

One of the key changes to the ST-Line is the steering. The last time I drove an Escape I was struck by the inert steering. Things are much improved in the ST-Line, with a much more involving set up letting you know what's going on underneath.

As a day-to-day proposition, it's a very comfortable machine. I feared for the squishy feeling of the front seats but this was unfounded - a long day at the wheel yielded none of the fidgetiness soft seats can cause. 

The lower ride height also makes it quite easy to get in and out of and it's an easy car to manoeuvre apart from a big-ish turning circle.

That engine is as good as ever - strong, torquey and well matched to the six-speed automatic. The all-wheel drive system is also very happy to play ball, as it is in the Titanium with the same engine.

Despite 'only' 110kW (its main rivals have roughly the same power), the 1.5-litre engine is good fun thanks to its impressive torque. You have to work the gearbox to keep the turbo spinning, but the lag is manageable if you're not paying attention. 

The gearshift could be slicker and the clutch less soft, but it's not a boy racer machine like the 178kW Titanium.

The weird steering assistance that affected my drive in the Titanium seems absent in the Ambiente. It's still  light and not exactly open about what's going underneath - more sullen teenager than cheery eight-year old after a sugar-fuelled birthday party.

The ride is a standout, coming mighty close to matching the Australian-tuned suspension of the Hyundai Tucson, which is high praise indeed.

The Escape doesn't feel as nimble as that car, and has more body roll, but the overall passenger experience is a good one, important in a car that is likely to be the family truckster.

Despite being at the foot of the range, the Ambiente lands with seven airbags (including a driver's knee bag), stability and traction controls, plus rollover stability and trailer sway control. There are also three top-tether child seat anchors along with two ISOFIX points.

Altogether, this means a five star ANCAP safety rating.

Annoyingly, the $1300 'Technology Pack' (a safety uplift package) available on the Titanium is not applicable to the Ambiente. Cue finger wagging.

Ford now offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty across the range. Roadside assist is via a membership to your local motoring organisation and if you service it with Ford, you get a 12-month extension.

Ford's 'Service Price Guarantee' program is a kind of capped-price servicing thing, with pricing for the services (every 12 months/15,000km) and some additional items. The first service is $350.

The Escape comes with Ford's three year/100,000km warranty and a year's roadside assist. If you return to your Ford dealer at the appropriate juncture - every year or 15,000km, you get another year of roadside assist and while they've got the car, you get a loaner.

Ford says you won't pay more than $325 for each of the first three scheduled services, with a jump to $585 for the fourth, although you'll need to pay $130 for brake fluid every two years and there's a timing belt change at 10 years/150,000km for $590.