I have a 2010 Escape 4x4 XLT V6 auto that I really enjoy. I was interested in what Ford was going to do with the change of the Escape in 2012 I have seen different motors, different transmission and complete new body. If anyone has any more information let me know thanks.










2005 SD XLT 4x4 V10 4.30s Reg cab

 

The conventional wisdom is that the Vertrek that was displayed at the Detroit autoshow is a pretty close example of what the 2012 Esape will look like. There has been little info about drivetrains but if you consider the emphasis on economy I would expect to see a 2.0 liter direct injection as the standard engine with the turbo version as the upgrade. I sort of doubt that we will see a V6 but since I tow with my 2009 V6 I am hopeful we will see one. A six-speed auto will continue to be the dominant tranny and I wonder if a manual will even be offered - maybe in the intro version.

 

Articles at that show time mentioned that it's the Escape replacement. I get two magazines from Ford that had articles about it also but stated nothing about it being a 2012 or any other MY replacement for the Escape.

 

I think that you can take it to the bank that the Escape replacement will share the same platform as the Kuga replacement and the Escape is far past it's due date for a complete makeover. 11 years on the same platform is unheard of these days. I just hope they keep the Escape name.

 

With the listed engine in that Vertrek article there's no way it could replace the Escape. If it's still a good seller, why would they change it? It's when sales slow, they consider changes.

 

The Escape sells well but Mulally want global platforms, the Escape's is old and the vehicle itself isn't all that economical ('cept for the Hybrid). Ford has already announced that the Escape assembly line in Kansas City will soon be shut down with future assembly moving to Louisville. We will have to wait and see.

 

from what i read there thinking it will be built like the Kugo platform wise.Still waiting to see the Rangers make over also. Figure since theres a new Focus and Explorer for this year Escape and Ranger will be next.

 

I am expecting Ford to totally screw-up the Escape concept by creating a me-too vehicle like the Vertrek, which will alienate the people who look to a small SUV for its carrying capabilities, both people and luggage.

IIRC, the 2010 Escape sales were greater than 190,000 units. The Kuga, well glory be, were something like an astonishing 26,000 units. So the lesson is... we need the Escape replacement to be a Kuga upgrade. What?

The precedent is Saturn/GM with the Saturn VUE. They sold a heck of a lot of the original VUE. Then the new one was a Korean design of an Opel whatever, a totally different vehicle. Consumer Reports (I'm a lifetime member, but their auto reviews sometimes really bug me) liked the new VUE much much better than the old. But when I got into the new-style VUE at the auto show, it was a disaster to me. Head room, both above and especially to the left side to the door top was less. My legs seemed like they went down into a tube to get under the dash. The edge of my right foot rubbed the floor hump. My right leg and knee hit the console. The storage room behind the rear seat was pitiful, the rear window sloped so much and ate up the space. The top of the windshield, where it meets the roof, instead of being out ahead of me, was now over my lap. Oh, but the sloped windshield gives it such a zoom-zoom look. Oh yeah. These were just some of the changes that alienated me. And we all know how well the second-generation VUE did... I have seen ONE of them on the road. That's it.

After scoping out small SUV's for 3 years, we chose the Escape because: you can get into it from a truck, and everything feels right. Plenty of space for the driver, you don't feel hemmed-in if you are a taller person. Luggage space is very very good. The upgraded powertrains for 2009-on are great. A 2009-on 2.5L 4 cyl. accelerates just as fast as a 2008-and earlier V6. And the 2009-on V6 has been improved too. It drives great, tracks straight, is nice to drive. Handles interstate driving very well, not tiring. I have no complaints.

I don't need a swoopy look that degrades everything I want a small SUV for. It does not have to handle like a Corvette, that's not what its about.

If you like the Escape and don't have one, better get the 2011 before the production ends.

A word about Consumer Reports - if you were a pickup truck buyer, who would you want to review pickups? Other pickup truck drivers who use them everyday? Or some weenies that drive BMW's or whatever, far from pickups. That is my major gripe with CR. The people reviewing the vehicles are reviewing against a "standard", rather than the specific use for specific types of vehicles. So they say things on the Escape like "both engines are loud". Well, not to me they aren't, not at all. But compared to a $60k luxury car? Of course they are. If in occasional situations the Escape engines are louder than a Honda CR-V's, inside the cabin, is that bad? Not to me.

Rant over... well not really, I think Ford is about to make a big mistake.

 

You make a lot of good points. If I can't fit my wife and I's two road bikes inside the 2012 Escape (upright with the front wheels off) because they drop the roofline I will have to look elsewhere when I comes time to replace my '09 Escape.

 

See this for pics of the expected replacement:

Detroit auto show: Ford Vertrek previews the next Escape - AutoWeek Magazine


IMO: ugh.
Why does everything have to get so swoopy? Me-tooism taken to the nth degree. The shape dictates an extreme reduction in interior volume. Try hauling your new appliance home in that 'thing'.
Will the next version of the F-150 look so weird too?

tom

 

Believe it when Ford says so not some auto writer.

During that show I seen an interview with a so-called car expert that stated that ther was an issue when it come to charging a Chevy Volt. They said that you needed a 220 volt line. I guess they never seen the commercial showing a person plugging one in to a standard 110 volt receptacle.

 

"I don't think you'll be disappointed when you see the production car on the road," Ford design chief J Mays said. "It's a radical departure from the Escape."

WP, the chief designer has no authority? You don't believe what he's saying? Do you have sources he's not aware of? C'mon, tell us what the future product will be, don't keep it a secret.

This re-design, along with the choice to drop the Ranger, essentially, and failure to produce a diesel powered pickup mark three mistakes in my opinion. Similarly, in my opinion, the size of the F150 makes it obnixious. I would need a stepladder to check the oil, or climb into the bed. Perhaps to get into the cab. I drove a customer F250 4X4 turbo diesel, and I looked for a handle to grab onto to get up into the cab. Humongous.
A whole bunch of cars are based on the Fusion platform, a Volvo design, and are sheet metal and badge engineered to distinguish between them. What will they do for the follow on now that Volvo is sold? They are peddling Mazda, but so far no takers, I think, so they will not be a source. Where will they get the engineers to design the new ones that have some experience, given the most recent, and most popular design is of foreign origin?
tom

 

Yes, Alan Mulally is a relative.

 

tomw - the Fusion is based upon a platform shared with Mazda and not a Volvo platform. You are thinking of the Taurus/Freestyle/Explorer. The next Escape will share the same platform as the Kuga and it will be a Ford platform - they do have worldwide engineering capabilities. Do you think that Geely has platforms for Volvo?

 

boy I sure got that wrong... it is[was] used for:
Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX, Lincoln MKZ, Lincoln Zephyr, Mazda6, Mazda CX-9, Mercury Milan, and the Fusion itself... Lotta eggs in one basket, no?
I wonder if Mays is being told to mis-lead the competition by spreading ... whatever...

tom