2005 Ford Escape Review

Ford pretty much shrugged off the 2004 model year for its compact Escape sport-utility vehicle and recently introduced it as an early 2005 model with revised styling, a more powerful base engine and numerous improvements.

The carlike Escape is the top-selling compact sport-ute. It's for those who want a roomy sport-ute that isn't as trucklike or fuel-thirsty as many mid-size sport-utes.

The 2005 Escape remains a four-door SUV with a rear hatch that has a flip-up glass area. It features smoother front styling, thanks to a new fascia with a restyled grille, integral fog lights and quad headlights with "jewel-effect'' clear lenses. The rear design also is revised.

The underpowered 2-liter, 127-horsepower four-cylinder base engine has been replaced by a smoother, quieter 2.3-liter four-cylinder with 153 horsepower. A 200-horsepower V-6 remains available and has been refined, with better part-throttle response. (A hybrid gasoline-electric Escape is scheduled to arrive later this year.)

The new engine increases the towing capacity from 1,000 pounds to 1,500 pounds, with the V-6 able to handle up to 3,500 pounds.

The old four-cylinder engine was offered only with the five-speed manual transmission to coax the most performance from it. The new base engine comes with either a new five-speed manual gearbox with reduced shift effort or an extra-cost four-speed automatic transmission. The V-6 comes only with the automatic, which works well with either engine.

My test Escape with the new engine and automatic transmission provided lively acceleration to 60 mph. But, despite its larger size and increased power, it delivered strictly average 65-75 mph passing times on the highway with no passengers-- although steady 75 mph cruising was no problem.

The V-6 is the way to go for the best merging and passing, but falls a few miles per gallon short of the four-cylinder engine, which provides an estimated 22 mpg in the city and 25 on highways.

All Escape models come with front-drive or an improved all-wheel-drive system, which has no low-range gearing for serious off-road use. The smoother system provides slightly better fuel economy.

The V-6 is standard in the higher-line XLT and Limited Escapes, which start at $22,750 and end at $26,365. The four-cylinder XLS Escapes begin at $19,265 and go to $21,155.

The XLS and XLS Value models are well-equipped, with such items as a tilt wheel, air conditioning, AM/FM/ CD, rear defogger and power mirrors, windows and locks with remote keyless entry.

Move to the XLT and you get a power driver's seat and cruise control, besides the V-6. The Limited adds leather upholstery, automatic headlights and special alloy wheels.

Standard safety features include anti-lock brakes, which previously were optional. Newly optional are $425 head-protecting curtain side air bags with rollover protection for both seating rows.

Quick, accurate steering helps the Escape feel carlike. So does its retuned all-independent suspension, which helps provide nimble handling and a good ride -- although larger bumps can be felt. The improved brakes stop the Escape quickly, although the pedal occasionally feels a little touchy. They have a new Quick Brake Assist feature, which recognizes hard braking and helps a driver apply maximum braking force for shorter stops.

The large exterior door handles are easily grasped. It doesn't call for much extra effort to get in or out of the moderately high Escape, although rear doorways are rather narrow and the running boards get in the way of those with large shoe sizes. The large windshield has front posts with large, convenient grab rails. Occupants sit high, with a good view of surroundings.

Interior improvements include an automatic transmission shift lever on the console, rather than on the shift column -- where it blocked some controls. Front seats are more comfortable and stylish. They're also supportive, and there's plenty of room for up to five 6-footers. The rear seat area provides more room than some mid-size sport-utilities.

Gauges in a new instrument cluster can be quickly read, and controls work smoothly. The new center console has larger, conveniently located cupholders.

The 2005 Escape has more sound insulation material, but wind and road noise still is noticeable at highway speeds.

The opening for the large cargo area is fairly high. But it's also wide, with two large pull-down areas on the inside of the hatch that make it easy to quickly slam shut. The entire rear seat easily flips forward to make room for considerably more stuff. There's 29 cubic feet of cargo capacity with the rear seats in their normal position and 66 cubic feet with the seat folded. The spare tire has been moved from inside the cargo area to under the floor for more space.

The Escape is a good alternative to more trucklike SUVs that are bigger and more fuel-thirsty but don't offer much more interior room.

2005 FORD ESCAPE

Prices
$19,265-$26,365

Likes
Larger base engine. Roomy.
Nice ride and handling. Smoother styling. Many improvements.

Dislikes
Lazy highway passing with standard engine. Narrow rear doorways. Road and wind noise.