The Escape is available with 17-, 18-, and 19-inch wheels, and all three feature tires with thick sidewalls (225/65-, 60-, and 55-series rubber, respectively). A fully independent suspension with MacPherson struts in front and semi-trailing arms in back work alongside high-aspect-ratio tires to deliver a composed, planted ride on both highways and along undulating backroads. The result is, for the segment, excellent control of wind and road noise, even at highway speeds. Ford improved the door sealing and fitted laminated acoustic glass, while also isolating the rear subframe. This is, by design, an impressively quiet car for the class. The cabin's increased comfort extends to the Escape's handling and solitude. There's also an optional head-up display, but it's the cheaper pop-up glass-screen variety, and feels barely more useful than the digital cluster. Not only does the analog setup display information as effectively as the digital one, but the optional cluster lacks the configurability that makes similar systems from other automakers so easy to recommend. An 8.0-inch tablet-style display sits atop the dash, just above a bank of analog controls for common functions like volume adjustment and tuning.įord is offering standard analog gauges with a small center display or an impressive optional 12.3-inch all-digital cluster that’s also available in the Explorer. The climate controls on the center stack are similarly clean and intuitive. Those controls – for the electronic parking brake, brake hold, auto stop-start, park distance control, drive modes, and automatic park assist – get their own big buttons that should make eyes-off interaction easy. Designers simplified the center console between the seats with just a smattering of buttons and a love-it-or-hate-it rotary shifter. The layout of this cabin, though, is an improvement over yesteryear's model, which Ford said had a cabin that was too cockpit-like for consumers. and the more traditional role of a compact crossover. The design is attractive from most angles, but it's surprising just how much the Escape seems to bridge the gap between the Focus we won't see in the U.S. In back, though, the Escape gets bold with fashionable horizontal tail lights and prominent “ESCAPE” badging, like what Ford did to the not-for-North America Focus. Still, this is a somewhat slab-sided design. The clean, soft lines carry on through the profile, where a swooping roof rail is also reminiscent of Ford's late car lineup. Ford has toned down the Porsche-ness of the new Escape since it treated us to an off-the-record preview in March 2018, but touches of the Teutonic certainly remain. The headlights that flank the blacked-out, hexagonal grille also look Focus-inspired, although the higher positioning and flat, snout-like nose remind us of the Porsche Macan, which is high praise indeed. The most outwardly obvious sign of the car's inspiration is the Escape's new grille, which looks like something designers plucked straight off the last U.S.-market Focus. A vehicle's verdict is relative only to its own segment and not the new-vehicle market as a whole. In a product strategy that seems all or nothing, the Escape is a wise compromise between the cars of the past and the crossovers of the future. It also looks and feels more like a car in its styling and character than any of the Blue Oval's previous crossovers. The new Escape is a competent compact crossover, possessing the utility, comfort, and technology consumers crave. The 2020 Ford Escape, though, should allay some of those fears. This has, rightly, led to concern from the media, analysts, and shareholders. Check Out The Stylish New 2020 Ford Escape From New York