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Our View: King's other message ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: King's provocation ... Chris Honoré: The Lewis Glacier on Mount Kenya — an elegy ... Our View: King's other message ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: King's provocation ... Silvio Calabi: Ford Escape Still a Solid Player Comment By Silvio Calabi More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Jan. 19, 2015 @ 7:07 am By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Jan. 19, 2015 @ 7:07 am » Social News The Escape is Ford’s two-row (five passengers) compact crossover SUV. The model got a tires-up makeover for 2013, which transformed it from a box into a much more modern, attractive and livable vehicle, and then it skated into 2014 virtually unchanged. Now, another year on, the 2015 version remains much the same again. Nevertheless, the Escape still stacks up credibly against the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, the just-updated segment leaders, and even against Mazda’s CX-5, the sportiest sport-ute in the class. One of the Escape’s strengths is that it’s available with a choice of three engines (a 2.5-liter Four, a 1.6-liter EcoBoost Four and a 2.0-liter EcoBoost Four) as part of three trim levels (S, SE, Titanium), and the S version has front-wheel drive while the SE and Titanium can be had with all-wheel drive or FWD. The reason for the three drivetrains isn’t fuel economy, which varies only a few mpg — at least on paper — from the 168HP Escape S to the 178HP SE to the Titanium with 240 horsepower and a whopping 270 lb-ft of torque. Instead, the choice lets Ford spread its prices over more family budgets. The FWD Escape S starts below $23,000; our Titanium AWD example, with options galore, topped $36,000. Regardless of their powerplant, Escapes all share the same six-speed automatic transmission with normal and sport modes and a thumb switch in the shift knob for selecting gears manually. Steering-wheel shifter paddles aren’t available; there are no racecar pretensions here. While we can’t call it a rocket ship, the Escape with the “big” engine and all that torque was surprisingly quick (the AWD kicked in to keep the front tires from squealing), and with the optional Class II trailering package it would have been rated to tow 3,500 pounds. Ford has been getting tremendous mileage, so to speak, out of its family of powerful-for-size EcoBoost engines, rather piously positioning them as paragons of fuel economy. But, thanks to turbocharging, they’re more “boost” than “eco,” and we’ve never achieved the projected highway MPG in any EcoBoost vehicle except the three-cylinder Fusion. (Evidently we’re not the only ones, as on its website Ford cautions EcoBoost owners that “the faster you drive, the more gas you use.” Oh, now you tell us. Turbocharging squeezes more energy out of fuel, but it only improves mileage if we restrain ourselves—and that EcoBoost power is seductive. Safe bet: Future Escapes will get stop-start ignition and extra gearing, and eventually a hybrid drivetrain, as Escapes had from 2005 to ‘07.) The modern Escape’s structure is stiff and solid, and insulated well—little wind or noise gets inside. The styling, with its svelte nose and overbite grille, has a touch of upper-class Brit to it, just like Ford’s Explorer, Focus and Fusion. On the inside, it’s pure American Moderne, presented well and apparently put together well. Some switches can be awkward to reach, but generally everything is functional. For winter comfort, the Escape Titanium lacks only a heated steering wheel; otherwise, it is satisfying to drive and to inhabit, underway or while traffic-bound, and plenty of communication and entertainment is available. The optional hands-free liftgate is still unique to the Escape: Stick a foot under the back bumper and, if the electronic key is in your pocket, presto! The hatch opens so we can dump a double armload of groceries into the cargo bay. The same process closes the hatch. It’s clever and convenient, although a few times I had to wave my leg around like a tango dancer. (The power liftgate also operates by pushbutton.) For 2015, the Escape is available in a new color (Magnetic, aka silver) and with Active Park Assist and voice-activated navigation with SiriusXM Traffic and Travel Link updates. That’s the sum of the substantive changes, and prices stay much the same too. Well and good, but the Escape can’t stand still for much longer — it’s a cruel market out there. However, it’s worth noting that our Escape had more than 21,000 miles on the clock. Carmakers generally recall their press vehicles before they go half that far, to shield us impressionable journalists from whatever flaws time, mileage and brutal use might bring out. But this Escape still felt new. Likes EcoBoost torque Sensible design & packaging Still looks fresh Dislikes Sync voice-activation Long reach to center touchscreen Elusive mpg targets Silvio Calabi reviews the latest from Detroit, Munich, Yokohama, Gothenburg, Crewe, Seoul and wherever else interesting cars are born. Silvio is a member of the International Motor Press Association whose automotive reviews date back to the Reagan administration. He is the former publisher of Speedway Illustrated magazine and an author. Contact him at [email protected]. By Silvio Calabi More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Jan. 19, 2015 @ 7:07 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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