While the relevance of this has to be tempered with the reality of how that will be used – frankly, it’s a provision more useful for on-road aptitude than in enhancing any ability beyond – it does at least give this model a degree of additional usefulness.īeyond that, the attractions are that it builds, just as the preceding Kuga did, off the underpinning and mechanicals of a popular car with a good reputation, that it is usefully-sized – having grown 89mm longer and 44mm wider than the Kuga, yet becoming lithe (6mm lower, up to 80kg lighter) – that it shares strong styling similarity with the donor Focus and that it is stacked in respect to the specification. It has good chance of establishing coherent crossover competence because it avails in useful formats across a reasonably wide price span and has the option – across all but the base specification - of an all-wheel-drive element. If those are more important boxes to tick, then the Escape does look very worthy of further investigation. That’s a bit of a shame, but it doesn’t scupper the Escape’s changes, and not just because it’s highly probable the targeted customer might not really care about sportiness so much as good spec, spaciousness and sensibility. It’s not as laidback as the even larger and now-departed (yes, after just two years here) Ford Endura, which came to us from Canada, yet neither does it have the Puma’s energetic vitality and, if measured against the Focus, might seem less involving. Some of this is probably due to it being a more family-minded product, but you cannot help sense that the car’s attitude is also reflective of it having to find acceptance in a place Puma doesn’t tread, North America. The Escape is more circumspect in how it delivers on that front. Puma is very driver-centric and fun-focused as much as compact crossovers often tailor to appeal as urban hard-roofed couples-suited sports cars, this one really does raise the bar. So, regardless of high commonality in general design flavour, they do take different paths in all sorts of ways, well beyond the obvious disparities of North America’s favouritism for shiny leather, wider and less form-fitting front seats and allowance for some harder plastics than you tend to find in Euro fare.īeyond that, there’s the on-road feel.
Whereas Escape, like Focus, has felt the hand of influencers within the make’s home office, in Detroit. Escape, like the Focus, is more of a Ford for global consideration than Fiesta and Puma the latter really being engineered and designed for Europe, within that market. There are various reasons why the larger model delivers a different ambience, mainly relating to the DNA. Think of these less as blood brothers and more like slightly estranged cousins. Now the Escape comes under the spotlight. We’ve already tested the Puma and found it hugely likeable. Though they are not quite sister ships in different sizes, they certainly arrive as a double act opportunity with good chance of drawing interest from SUV-hungry customers keen to venture beyond the usual Japanese and South Korean opportunities. Respectively aimed at the small and medium sectors, these are new models based off well-respected hatchbacks – the Puma off the Euro-centric Fiesta, Escape off the more globally-sorted Focus – landing with the attraction of fresh stylings and strong specifications. MEDIUM and compact sports utilities have been all the rage for the past couple of years and with more adding in-vogue electric-assistance to their fossil-fuelled drivetrains, what’s to bet against strong demand continuing this year.Ĭonceivably, then, Ford New Zealand has timed its run nicely with the new Puma and next-size-up Escape. We don't like: Lacks the Puma’s charisma, some iffy interior plastics. We like: Hefty tech implementation, improved interior space over Kuga, strong powertrain.
Vital statistics: 4620mm long, 1666mm high, 2178mm wide, 2710mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 556 litres, 19-inch alloy wheels. Powertrain and economy: 2.0-litre turbo petrol four cylinder, 184kW/387Nm, 8-speed automatic, AWD, combined economy 8.6L/100km.
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