Handling is perhaps the chink in the Escape’s armour it handles with assurance and there’s plenty of grip through tight corners but although body roll is contained, corners betray the weight and height of the car. Ride on the standard 19-inch alloys is always a bit fidgety and unsettled and as other reviews have attested, the ride on the Trend’s 18-inch wheels is noticeably more comfortable on our rough Victorian roads. The Sport setting is simply another “notch” below Drive and it’s quite easy to knock it down into the Sport setting without realising. Personally, I always keep the gearbox in the standard Drive setting as the Sport shifts can feel a bit too aggressive and grabby for daily use. I’ve found that there’s an occasional off-boost (?) flat spot between 15 revs where the car feels like it’s taking a quick breath but otherwise there’s always plenty of power available when moving away and when demanded, it positively flies when passing slower traffic. Performance from the 2.0 turbo 178kw engine makes the Escape an entertaining drive with 345Nm of torque. In black with privacy glass, chrome accents and the 19-inch ST-style starfish alloys it’s also a bit of a sporty looker with a nice stance on the road. It’s a 2.0 Titanium ZG with the added Technology Pack that was absolutely loaded with equipment it really is a comprehensively equipped car. An ex Ford company car from a Ford main dealer in Melbourne, ten months old with only 2500kms on the clock, a compelling discount from new and generous trade-in sealed the deal. However, a test drive of the Ford Escape showed performance and handling that felt much more assured than the competition. The Honda really impressed with its looks, practicality, economy, warranty, equipment and drove pretty sharply although there were no deals to be had as the car had just been released. I had shortlisted the Subaru Forester (servicing costs, CVT and lacklustre performance ruled it out), the Kia Sportage Platinum or Hyundai Tucson 1.6 turbo (both just about to be facelifted and at the time didn’t have the technology features I was looking for) and the new Honda CR-V. Despite my attempts at persuasion, my husband’s wish list was that our next car had to be an SUV. My wish list included preferably a traditional automatic gearbox rather than a CVT, the full suite of active safety features including radar cruise control, decent performance, no “premium” European brands and new or nearly new. The Escape was purchased just under three years ago to replace a Toyota RAV4 V6.
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