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New Ford Escape SUV to join Australian showrooms in 2017 (699)

The new family-friendly Ford Escape will join Ford’s expanding SUV line-up in 2017 with a fresh face, five-star ANCAP safety rating and improved fuel efficiency, all at a more affordable price than its predecessor.

The New Ford Escape will build on the success of Ford’s expanding SUV range, led by the locally-developed Everest and supported by the EcoSport and forthcoming SUV based on the Ford Edge.

“The Escape sees the return to a proven nameplate that Australians can identify with, and sees young families and millenials with a sense of adventure benefit from Ford’s global vehicle portfolio,” said Ford Australia President and CEO, Graeme Whickman. “It strengthens our SUV line-up with a more refined and sharper offering as our SUV range continues to grow.”

The Escape will follow the formula set by the kid-ready Ford Kuga as a family friendly, fuel-efficient and five-star ANCAP safety-rated SUV.

Key changes over the Ford Kuga include:

• Refreshed design inside and out for more rugged appearance without diminishing practicality, such as 1603L cargo space

• Improved specification including paddle-shifters on auto Escape, enhancing the fun- to-drive dynamic, as well as improved optional Driver Assist Technology including more capable Autonomous Emergency Braking and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert2

• Improved fuel economy for 2.0L EcoBoost models thanks to start/stop as standard and a new twin-scroll turbocharger for improved response and enhanced drivability

• New FWD 1.5L Escape Trend offers consumers more choice, previously limited by AWD only Trend offering

• More accessible starting price of $28,490 (MLP)¹ for greater affordability despite improved equipment levels as well as focus on improved refinement levels

Enhanced visibility and safety

The 2017 Ford Escape is the first vehicle in 2017 to be given a five-star ANCAP safety rating. The Escape’s five-star result included a score of 36.33 out of a maximum possible 37, achieving a higher score in ANCAP testing than the Toyota RAV4, Kia Sportage and Mazda CX-5.

The Escape features the latest Ford technologies and sophisticated body engineering to help drivers be more aware of their surroundings and enhance safety on the road for occupants and other road users.

Ford’s Adaptive Front Lighting System is standard on Escape Titanium and monitors ambient light conditions and automatically optimises visibility by adjusting the beam angle of the bi-xenon headlights depending on the vehicle’s speed, steering angle and distance to an object in front. It features anti-glare capability, as well as country road, city street and also maneuvering beam shaping abilities.

New Escape also offers advanced Ford technologies, including an enhanced version of Ford's Autonomous Emergency Braking system,mknown as Active City Stop, which now operates at speeds of up to 50km/h,increased from 30km/h ². It’s available as part of the optional Technology Package on Escape Trend and Titanium. Active City Stop uses sensors at the front of the vehicle to look for stationary objects in the road ahead and pre-charges the brakes if the vehicle is approaching an object too quickly. If the driver still does not respond the system is designed to reduce engine torque and automatically apply the brakes to reduce the impact of collisions, or avoid them altogether.

Improved value with New Escape Trend

The New Escape will introduce a new model to the segment from Ford: the new front-wheel drive 1.5-litre Escape Trend. Capitalising on consumer demand for a high level of equipment, safety and technology in a family-friendly package with low fuel consumption, the Escape Trend comes with the 1.5-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder with start/stop technology as standard. This enables the Escape Trend to achieve an official 7.2L/100km combined fuel economy figure ³ while delivering a fun-to-drive 134kW/240Nm power and torque.

“Offering a front-wheel drive Escape Trend is significant news for consumers looking for value,” said Graeme Whickman. “If you look where consumers are purchasing, in this hotly-contested segment, the biggest volume is in mid-level, front-drive models. Now, with a front-drive Trend, we’ve significantly broadened the appeal for Escape, something we’ve learnt from consumers both directly and through engaging with our dealer network.”

In addition to its EcoBoost powertrain and standard six-speed automatic transmission, the Trend delivers heightened driver enjoyment with paddle-shifters as standard, in addition to 18-inch alloys, full-colour reversing camera via the 8.0-inch SYNC 3 touchscreen display as well as embedded satellite-navigation. Satellite navigation is standard across the entire Escape range. The Trend also adds convenient features including privacy glass, to keep its rear-seat occupants cool, automatic headlights and windscreen wipers.

Escape Trend also offers an array of sophisticated options that aren’t offered by some key rivals on mid-spec models. These include a Hands-free Power Tailgate with Smart Keyless Entry, and a great Technology Pack.

The Technology Pack is even better value at $1300 (down from $1600 previously) and contains:

• Lane Departure Warning (LDW) with Driver Alert
• Lane Keeping Assist
• Auto High Beam
• Autonomous Emergency Braking up to 50km/h (previously up to 30km/h)
• Adaptive Cruise with Forward Alert and Enhanced Collision Mitigation
• Blind Spot Information System (BLIS)with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (rear-cross traffic alert is new) ⁴
• Tyre Pressure Monitoring System

The optional 2.0L EcoBoost engine, available in the Trend and Titanium exclusively with intelligent-AWD, now offers a more sophisticated twin-scroll turbocharger. While this improves throttle response to further enhance the Escape’s drivability, it’s joined by an improvement of 0.2L in fuel efficiency over its predecessor.

The revitalised line-up sees the family-friendly New Escape offered in a broader variety of models, reflecting the fragmentation of the SUV market in Australia, and Ford’s more than doubling of its SUV range since 2012.

The Escape joins the EcoSport, 2018 Edge-based SUV and the locally-engineered, award-winning Ford Everest in Ford dealerships, capitalising on Ford’s SUV heritage and expertise. In 2017, Ford will launch a five-seat Everest to further broaden its SUV range, capitalising on the $2 billion local investment over the past six years and ongoing innovation at Ford’s You Yangs, Victoria, Proving Ground as a hub for Asia-Pacific engineering and global development.

Sophisticated technology for simpler, safer parking

The new Ford Escape will make driving and parking simpler for customers, using sophisticated Ford driver assistance technologies. New perpendicular parking functionality enhances the semi-autonomous Active Park Assist technology ⁵ that’s standard on Escape Titanium. Using additional ultrasonic sensors, perpendicular parking at the push of a button helps drivers to locate parking spaces alongside other cars as well as parallel to the road, and helps to steer the vehicle into them while the driver controls the accelerator and brake⁶.

Read more about Ford Escape