2010 Ford Escape: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

The 2010 Ford Escape receives some new features. This compact SUV is a five-passenger, 4-door wagon that includes a liftgate with opening glass. It shares its basic design with the Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute. Escape comes in XLS, XLT, and Limited trims, each with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. All have a standard 171-hp 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine. Optional on XLT and Limited is a 240-hp 3.0-liter V6. The front-drive XLS has a standard 5-speed manual transmission. Optional on those and standard on all others is a 6-speed automatic.

A gas/electric Hybrid model also returns in Base and Limited trims. It teams a 153-hp 2.5-liter 4-cylinder gas engine with an electric motor. It requires no plug-in charging and uses a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Maximum towing capacity for the 4-cylinder is 1500 lb. V6 models tow up to 3500 lb. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain side airbags, and front side airbags. Also available are leather upholstery, heated front seats, rear-obstacle detection, a navigation system, and Ford's Sync voice-activated control for cell phones and MP3 players. A rearview camera is one of the new features. MyKey allows owners to program a key that can limit the vehicle's top speed and audio volume. Also new is Ford's Active Park Assist, which uses ultrasonic sensors to help automatically guide the vehicle into a parallel-parking space.