2025 Ford Escape

Pros

• Seats that are big and comfy.
• A ride that is smooth and pleasant.
• It is easy to use the controls.
• One type of hybrid engine achieves approximately 40 miles per gallon. 

Cons

• Sudden changes in transmission.
• She is not managing well. 

How does the Escape’s engine work? We tested the Escape ST-Line Elite’s 2.0-liter turbocharged engine. This motor has enough power to get through traffic and reach highway speeds quickly. Edmunds tested our Escape and found that it went from 0 to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds, which was faster than similar small SUVs with more powerful engines.

Unfortunately, the eight-speed automatic gearbox shifts quickly when going up and slowly when going down. As you slow down, both upshifts and downshifts send out a number of small shocks. The Escape doesn’t like even the engine stop-start feature, which turns the engine back on when you let go of the brake button. It looks like Ford should have fixed something simple before putting the Escape on the market.

The Escape is also managed badly. As you go around turns, it feels heavy and rolls around a lot. Also, the tires give you little grip. When the car is in its normal mode, steering is light and doesn’t take much work. It adds weight and is easier to tell where the front wheels are aligned when it is in Sport mode.

What level of comfort does the Escape have? We’re happy with how comfortable the Escape is generally. The front seats are very comfortable and have a nice shape. The chairs in the back are comfortable for adults and give their legs enough support.

The Escape is very good at going around corners and on roads. Most of the noise that gets in the way when you’re going fast is from traffic. A two-zone climate control system is now on the list of choices. Sadly, there isn’t yet an Escape grade level that has heated or cooled back seats or front seats.

How is the state of the inside? The bedroom of the Escape is nice and useful. It takes little time to learn how to use the buttons on the steering wheel, and you can get to the main features right away. The Sync 3 tablet interface is quick and easy to use, and it’s always getting bigger to add new features. Some buyers might like the big tablet screen, but others might not like the physical climate settings. From the driver’s seat, the rising beltline in the back just slightly blocks your view. It’s easy to find the right position because the seat can be adjusted in many ways. One bad thing about the door handles is that they are a little thin.

The Escape does a great job of using the room inside. There is enough space for everyone, and the highly curved front seatbacks give people in the back a lot of room for their knees. Very tall people may need more headroom in the back of cars with panoramic sunroofs. With the big door sills, the Escape is relatively easy to get in and out of.

What’s wrong with the tech? The entertainment system in the Ford Escape is great. The navigation is quick and simple, but unlike the version that came out before the refresh, the latest version doesn’t tell you which way to go when a point-of-interest search gives multiple results, like “a Starbucks is 0.5 miles to the left or 1 mile forward” There is no better way to set up a basic sound system than with six speakers. The music sounds good, and the bass is strong. The extra 10-speaker B&O system is even better for this price. All types have a lot of power outlets inside and can connect to smartphones wirelessly with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

It’s the norm for these driving tools to work well. The lane-centering feature works great on the highway and stops the “ping-ponging between lanes” problem that some rivals have.

What’s going on with storage? With 33.5 cubic feet of space, the Escape’s trunk is smaller than those of other compact SUVs. We like that the low floor and high seatbacks make it easy to store things vertically without putting things in the way of seeing out the back. The outer seat belts can be taken out of their holsters to make room for more cargo while the truck is loading. However, you can’t fold the back seats flat.

Thanks to the large cubbyholes in the front and the large door pockets in the back, there is a lot more space inside. Each cupholder has anti-tip tabs, which is a first for this type of car. It is easy to put a child safety seat in the back seat because it is roomy, and the clamps and tethers are placed neatly.

Most cars in this class, like the Escape with the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, can pull up to 3,500 pounds.

How much fuel does it use? The EPA said that our Escape with the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine got 26 mpg on the highway, which is better than other small SUVs with engines of about the same power. Even though the estimates were good, our test car should have used more gas. The best we could get in real life was 20.2 mpg.

Does the Escape key do anything? The inside of the Escape is mostly made of soft-touch plastics. Hard plastics are usually silver, gloss black, or have a noticeable roughness. The real leather on our tester was too stiff to be comfy, but the fake leather on the lower trims looks and feels very real. Overall, the cabin looks good for the price, though the door handles inside feel incredibly cheap, and the gaps between the panels aren’t perfectly even.

Ford’s price is comparable to other small SUVs with strong turbocharged engines, and over time, changes to the Escape series’ features make it more valuable. (Now, all cars have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.) Ford has a basic guarantee that lasts for three years and 36,000 miles. It covers the powertrain for five years and 60,000 miles and also covers roadside help. For the class, they’re all not good enough.

The ST-Line versions of the Escape have a fast feel inside, and the car looks great. The cabin may look better on the non-ST types at first, but once you use the Escape for a while, you’ll see how easy it is to use. The 2.0-liter turbocharged engine isn’t as good as I thought it would be, and the transmission never seems to work right. Most of the time, this trim level with the hybrid engine is the best deal.

As of this writing, Ford has yet to make a public announcement about the 2025 Escape. We will change our advice if anything changes. We suggest the Active trim, which is now the base model because the base Escape can only be bought as a fleet vehicle based on the Escape from the previous year. The Active has 17-inch wheels, dual-zone climate control, and a power liftgate.

Styles of the Ford Escape

The small SUV Ford Escape has six different models: Active, PHEV, ST-Line, ST-Line Select, ST-Line Elite, and Platinum. The lineup includes four engine choices, including a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid.