Spy Photos of the Upcoming 2020 Ford Escape
- 1/18
New spy photos of the Escape show the compact crossover nearly undisguised, save for a camouflage wrap on the lower half of the body. We can see a catfish-like front grille with trapezoidal headlights, a sleek greenhouse with refreshingly large windows surrounded by thick chrome trim, horizontal taillights, and a rear diffuser with dual exhaust tips.
Brian Williams - 2/18
The fourth generation of Ford’s popular compact crossover. Yes, Ford has overhauled the Escape just twice in 18 years.
Brian Williams - 3/18
The blocky 2001 Escape made plenty of friends almost instantly, and a 2008 redesign on the same platform kept the momentum going until the truly all-new 2013 model arrived with a set of turbocharged engines and more expressive styling.
Brian Williams - 4/18
The Escape is one of five Ford SUVs and crossovers wearing names that start with the letter E, and each year it handily outsells the rest.
Brian Williams - 5/18
Cars are dead-at least according to Ford. The company’s latest investor statement predicts that crossovers and trucks will make up 86 percent of Ford’s production volume in a couple of years.
Brian Williams - 6/18
All Ford sedans and hatchbacks are being dropped, with the presumption that those buyers will simply move over to car-based crossovers such as the Escape.
Brian Williams - 7/18
Already the model is one of America’s best-selling nameplates; in 2017, Ford moved more than 308,000 of them.
KGP Photography - Car and Driver - 8/18
Expect the new Escape to ditch the current C1 platform (shared with several front-wheel-drive Fords) for the all-new global platform underpinning the new Focus.
KGP Photography - Car and Driver - 9/18
Although the current Escape was refreshed for 2017, an upgrade that included additional stiffening for the body structure, the model scored the worst rating, Poor in an IIHS passenger-side offset frontal crash test.
KGP Photography - Car and Driver - 10/18
The new platform’s higher-strength steels should help it earn a better score. The current architecture also can’t accommodate a hybrid or plug-in powertrain, another shortcoming that will be addressed.
KGP Photography - Car and Driver - 11/18
Modest sales of the first- and second-gen Escape hybrids-the first and, for a time, the only hybrid SUV (excluding their Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner siblings)-led Ford to drop the gas/electric powertrain and instead downsize its gas engines for the current generation.
KGP Photography - Car and Driver - 12/18
With the 2020 model, a hybrid will return, and there will be a plug-in version as well. Both may use a 48-volt secondary electrical system with a belt-driven alternator/starter for improved efficiency.
KGP Photography - Car and Driver - 13/18
The coarse and anemic 2.5-liter inline-four will be dishonorably discharged. A 179-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder, new to the Escape for 2017, will likely carry over, as will the 245-hp 2.0-liter turbo.
KGP Photography - Car and Driver - 14/18
Even though Ford is launching ST versions of the Edge and Explorer, we doubt Escape buyers will get anything hotter than the 2.0-liter.
KGP Photography - Car and Driver - 15/18
To boost EPA ratings and trim production complexity, Ford’s new eight-speed automatic will likely be the only transmission offering. Unless Ford can drastically cut the Escape’s weight, don’t expect the 1.0-liter turbo inline-three for U.S. customers.
KGP Photography - Car and Driver - 16/18
Look for the new Escape to reach showrooms in spring 2019 with starting prices around $25,000.
KGP Photography - Car and Driver - 17/18KGP Photography - Car and Driver
- 18/18KGP Photography - Car and Driver
The all-new fourth-generation model is on the way.