- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
3.0i, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
152kW, 276Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 12.2L/100KM
- Manufacturer
4WD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Short cut leads to rough track
Good: 3.0 V6's class-leading power and performance. Smooth auto. Excellent brakes. Comfortable ride. Occupant space, especially in rear seat. Ground clearance.
Bad: Spooky steering. Built to too low a price, with below-average fit and finish quality and some design and safety compromises. No permanent 4WD system. Thirsty on the highway. Front-end suspension noise. Low-rent interior.
Verdict: Gloom, gloom.
Stars: 2 (out of 5).
You wouldn't wish Ford's recent run of bad luck and blunders on your worst enemy. The Falcon that nobody wants, the Explorer/Firestone tyre fiasco in the US, a local product line-up with more holes than Bonnie and Clyde and going down yet again to the General at Bathurst are just a few of the dramas that turned 2001 pear-shaped for the Blue Oval.
The Escape mid-size four-wheel-drive, launched in March, was supposed to be a sure thing. After all, here was a brand new vehicle hitting the hottest-selling niche in the market, with a Ford Duratec 150kW 3.0-litre V6, the most powerful in the class. It couldn't fail.
Failure is probably too strong a word to describe its sales performance, but the Escape has hardly done great business. Its twin - Mazda's Tribute - has outsold it by more than two to one, and it hasn't touched the dominant four-cylinder Honda CR-V/Subaru Forester/Toyota RAV4 triumvirate.
Mazda's Tribute has had the advantage of the big-spending "Zoom Zoom" advertising campaign and a four-cylinder variant, but the advent of a $34,990 drive-away deal on the V6 Limited indicates that Mazda, too, has found the going tougher than anticipated.
It seems that many buyers in this market won't go beyond $30,000 and are happy enough with four cylinders.
The V6/four-speed auto-only Escape costs $34,200 for the XLS, and $38,400 for the XLT, which is comparably equipped to the Tribute Classic - anti-lock brakes, air-conditioning, six-CD stacker, remote central locking and cruise control - but $2,100 cheaper. The Mazda has a sunroof.
The body is of unitary construction. The twins are built on a Mazda production line and are mechanically identical, but chassis tuning variations produce markedly individual characters on the road.
The Escape is relatively soft and its cornering limits are considerably lower than a conventional sedan or hatch, but its handling is reasonable for a 4WD. It doesn't pretend to be anything else.
The steering is overassisted and, for a tall, heavy wagon, it's too direct just off-centre - to the extent that, if you're a bit quick changing direction, the Escape can feel very unstable.
Mazda is pushing the bizarre line that a 4WD can handle like a sports car. The Tribute has firmer suspension, an even quicker steering ratio and higher-revving transmission shift calibration.
The Mazda's steering is also far too sensitive for a vehicle with a high centre of gravity. Its suspension delivers a ride which is less comfortable and compliant than the Ford's; the front end in both vehicles also makes a racket on a corrugated dirt road.
The brakes, despite running humble drums at the rear, are excellent in power and progression. In emergency stops, the Escape pulls up in class-leading distances. Fade resistance is also good.
Performance-wise, the Escape's 150kW of power and 266Nm of torque blitzes the class. It drives the vehicle from rest to 100km/h in a fraction less than 10 seconds.
The V6 is acceptably smooth but fairly noisy under acceleration. It cruises along at 1,900rpm at 100km/h in fourth gear; a relative lack of urge under 3,000rpm sees the auto shifting quickly and often to third on slight inclines, so open-road fuel economy is ordinary.
Drive goes to the Escape's front wheels until one or both begin to lose traction. Up to 50 percent of the engine's torque is then automatically directed, via a rotary blade coupling, to the rears.
A full-time 4WD system (as fitted to Forester/Outback, RAV4, Freelander and Santa Fe) produces superior traction and stability on a loose or wet surface.
The Ford's coupling can be locked - there's a button on the dash - for a fixed 50/50 drive split. In this mode it is appreciably more tidy, especially at the back end, and enjoyable on dirt, but the handbook recommends locking the coupling only on seriously slippery surfaces - ice, mud and sand - to avoid drivetrain wind-up.
No low-range gearing is fitted. With 200mm of clearance (the greatest in this class) the Escape/Tribute are less likely than their rivals to get stuck on a rough track, but here you would be risking expensive damage. The Escape has no protective shielding for the sump or other underbody components, and the lower control arms on the rear suspension are vulnerable.
Inside, the Ford is considerably less upmarket than the Mazda. The Escape's decor is panoramic grey, more akin to a working truck than a "lifestyle" vehicle. It certainly doesn't feel like $35,000-$40,000 worth.
Quality is also surprisingly second-rate for a Japanese product. The bean counters took too many short cuts to build the Escape/Tribute. The test car's interior featured hard, loose, roughly trimmed or improperly fitted plastics and a few rattles. The flimsy cargo cover would last about six months. The bumpers are unpainted. The aerial doesn't retract. A temporary spare is under the floor.
The Escape/Tribute have dual front airbags, but achieved only a "Marginal" rating in US Insurance Institute of Highway Safety frontal offset crash tests, another surprisingly downmarket result for a relatively large "Made in Japan, 2001" vehicle.
The driver faces a bulky dash, with clear, ivory-faced instruments. The column shift auto lever, on the left, obstructs access to the audio controls; the volume knob on the left of the head unit is too far away to easily reach.
The comfortable driver's seat has height and lumbar adjustment; the wheel is also height-adjustable. Cruise control buttons are mounted on the wheel.
There's plenty of storage space.
Occupant space, front and rear, is best in class. The well-padded back seat will take three adults comfortably on short trips, and has heaps of leg room, but there's a lap-only belt and no head restraint for the centre occupant. Three child-restraint anchors are in the roof.
The load area is average in size, with a short but wide floor, a cargo net and two netted side bins. Access is via the roof-hinged tailgate or the rear window. It is easily extended with the 60/40 split-folding rear seat back, which doesn't compromise front seat travel.
The Escape/Tribute earn points for occupant space and engine performance, but little else. It is difficult to see value unless you require six cylinders; both are short-changed in refinement, quality, safety and dynamics.
Around the same money will buy a Subaru Outback. Drive one back-to-back with an Escape or Tribute and you'll wonder why.
Vital signs
Engine: 3.0-litre 24-valve fuel-injected V6.
Power: 150kW at 5,900rpm (best in class).
Performance: 0-100km/h in 9.9 seconds (quickest in class).
Brakes: Disc/drum with ABS (excellent).
Economy: 11.8 litres/100km highway (thirsty); 13.3 litres/100km city (average).
Price: Recommended retail - $38,400. Street price - Mazda's drive-away price on Tribute Limited is worth $3,000, so expect this sort of discount.
Main options: Metallic paint $120.
Warranty: Three years/100,000km (average).
Safety rating: Marginal (US IIHS frontal offset test); Excellent (US NHTSA frontal and side impact tests.)
Residual value: Difficult to predict. Mid-size 4WDs usually hold up well.
Alternatives
Holden Frontera 3.2 - $36,840
Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 2.7 - $36,990
Land Rover Freelander SE 2.5 - $40,950
Mazda Tribute Classic - $40,510
Mitsubishi Challenger 3.0 - $38,990
Nissan Pathfinder 3.3 ST - $40,490
Subaru Outback 2.5 (4-cyl) - $38,180