Recently I was invited by the fine people at Ford to spend a morning checking out, driving, and climbing over the all new 2013 Ford Escape. If you’re wondering what I’d be interested in with the 2013 Ford Escape, I’ll tell you. Firstly, my daily driver is a 2010 Ford Escape of the old “two box design”. It has served me, my family, and this site very well transporting me on adventures like the pickup of Buford T Justice, the ADRL weekend in Bristol, family trips around the region, and the day to day duties of hauling kids and stuff places. The model I have is powered by a 250hp V6 and knocks down mileage in the mid to high 20s on the highway at reasonable speeds. Along with that stuff, I wanted to drive something with the new 2.0L EcoBoost and 1.6L EcoBoost engines providing the power. I am fascinated by these little mighy-mite mills and the public’s warm embrace of turbocharging after the first attempt at it on mass levels in the 1980s was so badly executed (not by Ford but by the likes of Chrysler and others). Finally, I write things about cars and given the opportunity to go drive, hang out with, and generally quiz the OEM producer of a new car I’m taking it!

The first thing that comes to mind when looking at the 2013 Escape, especially when compared to the previous “two box” design model like my 2010 is fluid. Gone are the rigid, square shapes that have defined the look for the Escape for so long and here are the flowing, kinetic lines that virtually every other vehicle in the segment has moved to. While this isn’t necessarily a design that stirs our soul down deep in the same way we feel moved by dramatic high performance cars, it is a handsome upgrade and does the job of making my previous generation vehicle look like a previous generation vehicle.

This version of the Escape is built off of Ford’s C-car platform, which is the same basic architecture that the Ford Focus is built off of. This becomes a lot more relevant when actually driving the Escape as we’ll talk about in a few minutes, but to say that there is a vastly different driving experience between the previous generation Escape and this one would be a major league understatement.

As an illustration of the ends of the Escape line there was a Titanium level model there which is the fully loaded, whole hog edition and on the opposite side there was a base model which was what most fleet buyers would spec out for mass purchase. I got seat time in both and my impressions are to be found a little further down the page.

As I mentioned in the title, at one point in the morning the Escape literally drove itself as part of a demonstration of the vehicle’s parking assist feature. I know a lot of doom and gloom has been projected regarding California’s legalization of self-driving cars, but this parking feature was 100% bitchin’ to try out! Using the base model Escape on one end and a Ford Fusion on the other, the Escape repeatedly self parked itself without incident. Interestingly, it was able to accomplish this feat in an area without a curb. Sitting in the drivers seat and watching the steering wheel whirl back and forth with a literal mind of its own was a pretty interesting experience. The parking assist feature is only available in the top shelf Titanium model. There is an array of sensors that work in unison to get the car into the chosen spot without creating an automated demolition derby. Having never experienced this technology before, it was cool.

As crossover sport utilities are designed to be family trucksters and easy to use, Ford came up with another neat piece of technology that isn’t the most Earth shattering thing ever devised for an automobile, but it certainly makes like easier in lots of situations. The rear lift gate will open automatically if the key fob is within a meter of the vehicle and you kick your leg under the rear bumper. If you are lugging kids, groceries, parts, several cases of beer, a drunken wedding guest, whatever, a swift kicking motion under the bumper flashes the rear lights and lifts the gate so you can load your cargo, human or otherwise.

The gate will also close if you kick under the bumper when it is open. Also, there is a safety function that causes the door to reverse direction of it comes into contact with anything solid (read: your head).

Moving on to the inside of the Escape and starting with the Titanium model, there’s no comparison between the new model and the outgoing generation. It is VASTLY superior to my MY 2010 version for a myriad of reasons. In both the Titanium and base model, the interior experience is far more car like and far less CUV like. The seats were comfy and had some side bolstering. I’m not talking racing seats here but they were comfortable and held me in place nicely during my drive. In the base model Escape, the seats were less bolstered but the overall feel of the interior is that of a car. From the driving position to the “cockpit” style drivers area it is a lot more cozy and closed than the more truck like position that previous versions of the Escape had.

Obviously, the most fun part of the morning was driving the cars. It was what I looked forward to most because I wanted to see how this Escape was dynamically different than mine on the road and also to see how a little bitty 2.0L and 1.6L engine could lug this thing around. Also, because of our location in Brookline, Massachusetts, we’d have a good opportunity to get on some bendy roads and make the chassis work in that manner as well.

I was very impressed with both the 2.0L EcoBoost engine and the 1.6L. I drove the 2.0L first and using my own car for comparison’s sake, I can say that the EcoBoost engine would run flat away from the V6. With a six speed transmission and 250 fl/lbs of torque, it was never in the wrong gear and the power was very smooth to come. This engine makes about 240hp as well, just 10 shy of the V6 that carried 60 more cubic inches of displacement. The small turbo on the 2.0L is the difference maker.

I think Ford decision to roll EcoBoost out in the F150 line first was both risky and brilliant. With the technology “proven” in the tough world of trucks, it makes selling it in vehicles like this one easy as pie. A few of the media attendees at this event weren’t the most knowledgeable gearheads in the world and commented about how EcoBoost engines must be strong because they have been used in pickup trucks. In my opinion, had Ford started with cars like the Focus and gone up, the engine family and concept of EcoBoost wouldn’t have taken root nearly as deep as it has thus far. The company literally cannot build them fast enough.

Having driven plenty of small displacement turbo engines before, the typical experience is something that is doggy and lame in low RPM situations and then peaky when the revs comes up. Like the 3.5L twin turbo engine found in pickup trucks, the 2.0L exhibits that same flow of nice linear power. Obviously turbocharger sizing has lots to do with this as well as the DFI that the engine is equipped with. The Escape is not going to cause your heart rate to quicken due to incredible acceleration, but it isn’t going to leave the typical buyer wanting more power. Landing on the pedal makes things happen RIGHT NOW, not when the motor winds up and the turbo spools.

The 1.6L engine also had my interest because we’re talking about something with under 100ci total. This little guy measures out to a mere 96 cubic inches! The 1.6L engine is billed as the best mileage package for the Escape, delivering 5 more mpg than the previous generation’s best. The engine is factory rated at 173hp and 177 lb/ft of torque. While nothing about this engine shocked me, I left the drive feeling as though I could certainly live with it as a commuter mobile. Less powerful than the 2.0L engine, it still hustled up to traffic speeds quickly, felt responsive and never obviously lacked for power. The less dolled up base model did have more engine noise in the cabin of the vehicle and a less richly appointed interior, but it wasn’t spartan or cheap. There was still a big LED screen in the center stack to navigate through the radio and other systems. Some base models are only suitable for rental duty and to hand to a delivery driver, but this is one you could live in and for just over $20,000 MSRP, you’d be living well dollar for dollar.

The Titanium model, which as I mentioned before was loaded up with virtually every option (except the cool panorama style glass roof) retails in the mid-$30,000 range. Some of the equipment, like the kick to open lift gate can be optioned on models other than Titanium, but other stuff like the parking assist only comes in the top of the line trim package. As in previous generations front wheel drive and AWD are both available. In speaking with the folks from Ford, the Northeast is a hot market for them so AWD models will probably dominte the lots up here as they’re great for the snow and ice we battle every year.

In my opinion, the 2013 Escape continues to prove the validity of the One Ford campaign that Alan Mulally and the company brass have been working on for several years. Moving the majority of their vehicles onto global platforms is smart business and can result in something like the Escape which manages to blend the best aspects of both a car and a larger SUV into a more compact vehicle that would be good for any small family or business. Some stuff hurts, like the cancellation of the Econoline in favor of a smaller Euro-spec van, but we have to believe that other things like trucks won’t be compromised as those are a core business to Ford and messing with that math could be fatal.

Is the 2013 Ford Escape as cool or fun as a Boss 429 Mustang? No. Is it something that I’d gladly recommend to friends and family as something they should have on their shopping list when checking out crossover utilities? Hell yeah. I’d just make ’em let me play with the parking assist after they got it as a finder’s fee. (It really is neat).