Ford has released a freshened and upgraded Escape medium SUV. The five-door wagon, which shares common architecture with the Mazda Tribute (see here), officially went on sale yesterday.
The revisions include new front and rear styling, powertrain tweaks and an upgraded interior. Ford has also rationalized its Escape model line-up with the XLS V6 and XLT V6 replaced by a new XLT Sport V6.
The new line-up will consist of the Escape XLS 2.3L (pictured), Escape XLT 2.3L, Escape XLT Sport V6 and the range-topping Escape Limited V6.
The prices of the XLS and four-cylinder XLT 2.3L are $29,990 and $33,490 respectively. The V6 XLT Sport is $37,190 with the Limited priced at $41,990.
"The new Escape exterior has been dramatically refined, giving the vehicle a very stylish urban SUV look," said Ford Australia boss, Tom Gorman.
Gorman said the styling changes featured "distinctive Ford DNA" and that the SUV now more closely resembled its Territory stablemate.
According to Ford while body, powertrain and chassis engineering work was carried out in Taiwan and Japan, the update’s design was managed from Australia. Extensive local testing was conducted according to the carmaker.
CarPoint's launch review of the new Escape will be published early next week.