Better Tech, Better Looks, Better Value

The Ford Escape is a good little SUV that’s always done most things right while just falling short of being genuinely great. For the updated 2024 Escape, Ford bet big on tech to get back on customers’ radar. The updates got our attention, but so did some unfinished business.  

Ford spent the bulk of its midcycle refresh budget on engines and tech, but you’ll only see the tech. The gas-only engines might appear to be clones of the old ones right down to their power outputs, but they’ve been completely redone to pass stricter emissions requirements. That’s a sizable chunk of change right there. The hybrid, the focus of this review, received zero mechanical or software changes but was re-rated on a new test procedure and received slightly different output figures, which we’ll get to.  

Ford also went big on the Escape’s electrical architecture so it could install a much-needed suite of passive and active safety features the competition has been offering as standard equipment on even base models the last few years. Unfortunately, Ford is still charging extra for its full Co-Pilot360 package, but basic aids come standard. Should you pay for the whole enchilada, you’ll get the latest safety aids plus convenience features such as adaptive cruise control and steering assistance with lane centering. In our testing, we found Ford’s steering assistance to work better and more consistently than the systems employed by the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.  

It’s not just driver aids, either. The new Sync 4 system running the infotainment comes with built-in Amazon Alexa and over-the-air updating that allows bug fixes, upgrades, and new features to be added in the future. Even if you don’t want to pay for Alexa past the trial period, the enhancements to the voice control system that accompany its adoption make it a much more useful feature.  

All this can be displayed on a new 13.2-inch infotainment screen that features a much more intuitive and user-friendly interface than anything Honda or Toyota are currently doing. The same software runs on the standard 8.0-inch screen, but the controls are a lot more crowded. Either way, you also get a standard 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster instead of Honda’s half-and-half and Toyota’s mostly analog. There’s even an optional pop-up head-up display on the top of the instrument cluster hood, which neither Honda nor Toyota offer.  

Things are more complicated under the hood. The new test regimen drops the hybrid’s combined horsepower from 200 hp to 192 hp while torque stays the same at 155 lb-ft.  

Not only does the hybrid lose power on paper, its fuel economy drops as well. Under the new test, it comes in at 42 mpg city/36 mpg highway/39 mpg combined, dropping slightly from its old ratings of 43-44 /37/40-41. The good news is there’s no longer a penalty for getting all-wheel drive, as it’s now rated the same as front-wheel drive.  

Thankfully, there’s some payback in performance. The hybrid performs better across the board. It’s quicker, getting up to 60 mph in 8.1 seconds instead of the previous 8.7. It stops shorter from 60 mph in just 120 feet rather than 122, and it hangs on tighter in a corner to the tune of 0.80 g up from 0.77. For those comparison shopping, that makes the Escape hybrid a little slower than the CR-V hybrid and RAV4 hybrid, but the Ford stops shorter and has more lateral grip.  

Given its mostly minor differences, the Escape hybrid doesn’t really feel any different to drive. It gets up and goes nicely thanks to the stout electric motor providing instantaneous torque off the line. It’s quick enough during merging on the freeway and does its level best not to use the gas engine until it must. It handles corners just fine, too, something the Escape has always gotten right.  

Should you plan to spend a lot of time on loose surfaces, be it country living or long winters, you’ll get a little more peace of mind from the hybrid as it’s offered with all-wheel drive. The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model is front-drive-only, which is plain disappointing as it’s the most expensive model in the lineup.  

Apparently, there wasn’t any money left in the budget to tighten up the chassis. Drive down a badly maintained road and you’re going to feel it. The chassis very much betrays its age, sending far more vibrations through the body structure than the competition and making the rear seat shake like a phone on vibrate.  

When you look a bit closer at the rest of the interior and you realize a lot of what you see is carryover. Look hard enough and you can find some parts dating even back to the last-generation Escape. No, Ford didn’t need to invest in new door lock buttons, but they’re emblematic of the cost-saving at play here. The good news is, if you don’t already own a newer Escape, you’re not going to notice.  

You will notice and, we think, appreciate the exterior facelift. At launch for 2020, the latest Escape generation leaned into a more carlike, lifted hatchback look that didn’t catch on in an SUV-crazy market. Consumers seemingly want their SUVs to look like small trucks with permanent camper shells, so Ford toughened up the Escape’s nose and we think it did a good job.  

Altogether, the refreshed 2024 Escape hybrid feels like a big step forward that could have been bigger. The advancements in technology are noticeable and welcome—and should draw forward-thinking buyers away from Honda and Toyota. On the other hand, the mild drops in fuel economy may cause many of those same customers to reconsider, while the ride quality won’t do the Escape any favors. Yet again, the new Escape is almost all the way there. Perhaps next time Ford will find a way to take the final few steps to greatness.  

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