2020 Ford Escape Review & First Drive — A Small SUV Standout?

The 2020 Ford Escape has been redesigned to look more like a car yet still offers the increased cargo space and higher driving position of an SUV.

Ford builds the Escape in Louisville, Kentucky, so special correspondent Elana Scherr and the Edmunds video crew took a 2020 Ford Escape Titanium for a test drive around its hometown. Along with spotting racehorses and the giant Louisville Slugger baseball bat, they tested the Escape's cargo space, tried out its advanced safety features — such as lane centering — and compared the interior space and available technology to other small crossovers in the price range. How did the Ford Escape compare? Watch the video to find out!

About the Ford Escape:

As SUVs replace sedans as America's vehicle of choice, buyers want more than just a roomy interior and large cargo space. The 2020 Ford Escape satisfies both needs with powerful engines, versatility and sporty handling that makes it drive like a smaller car.

The Escape has been thoroughly overhauled for 2020. Aside from a revamped exterior design that gives the Escape a sportier look, there's a new base engine, an improved suspension and 200 fewer pounds' worth of weight.

As for the interior, the redesigned Ford Escape offers more interior room than before, especially in the rear seat where a sliding second-row seat helps open up a massive 40.7 inches of legroom. Folding the rear seats yields 65.4 cubic feet of maximum cargo space, slightly less space than rival crossovers, because of the new Escape's contoured rear window styling. But it's still a useful amount of room for a two-row crossover.

Other highlights of the new Escape include an 8-inch freestanding touchscreen, a head-up display, and a bundle of driver safety aids (rearview camera, automatic emergency braking and blind-spot warning among them) dubbed Ford Co-Pilot360.

Ford's much-needed changes appear to be the real deal, and the host of improvements should make the Escape a player again in the small crossover SUV class.

The 2020 Escape is a compact crossover SUV available in five trim levels: S, SE, SE Sport, SEL and Titanium trim levels.

The top-trim Ford Escape Titanium comes standard with the hybrid engine, leather-trimmed upholstery, an upgraded sound system, and more advanced driver aids. The revamped turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine (250 hp, 275 lb-ft) is optional and paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. This engine is also optional for the SEL and only comes with all-wheel drive. On all other trims, all-wheel drive is optional.

Read more about the 2020 Ford Escape: https://www.edmunds.com/ford/escape/2020/

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