2018 Ford Escape vs Mazda CX-5

What's the difference?

If you haven’t realised that small, medium and large SUVs have taken over the world then you’ve been living under a rock – a rock that someone in a purpose-built dual-range 4WD would have driven over with disdain.

But while popular city-focused SUVs have not been designed, built or indeed marketed for serious off-roading, they can at least cope with dirt tracks and gravel roads. And it is those types of road surfaces which will likely form the outer limits of expected usage in these wagons anyway.

Some mid-sized models achieve a near-perfect marriage of on-road manners and light-duty off-road capability – and Ford’s Escape is having a decent crack at getting that combination just right. But does it succeed? To find out, read on.

Mazda makes nice looking, user-friendly vehicles and its CX models are great examples of what has been a rather successful formula so far. But the pressure, perceived or otherwise, of a rapidly-growing and -changing population which seeks new shiny and bright stuff minute to minute, weighs heavily on car manufacturers and, as is their won’t, they are swift to tweak/change/facelift/upgrade their vehicles in attempt to keep pace with the times. But, does any good ever come from messing with a winning formula? Has it backfired this time? Read on to find out.