After the successful introduction of Ford’s carlike Escape SUV into 2002 with minor polishing and tweaking. The Escape has quickly come to dominate the army of small, maneuverable, relatively economical sport utes that has marched ashore in the US recently. Ford established a new calendar year sales record for small Truck is 2001, selling 121,184 through September, breaking the old record set by the Honda CR-V in 1999.
The template for this class of vehicle, as followed by the CV-R, Toyota RAV4 and other, includes a compact unibody design, 4wheel independent suspension, front wheel drive and 4wd capability, the choice of 4 cylinder or small V-6 engines and a low price. Because many of these vehicles are built on car based platforms, the manufactures rarely bother with low range transfer cases or brawny off road gear. These low fat, eco-savvy urban roustabouts are the politically correct SUVs of the moment.
The Escape brings some traditional Ford Truck brio to the class. Neither the Honda nor Toyota competition offer a V-6, while the Escape can be had with either a 2.0 liter dohc inline 4 or 201 bhp 3.0 liter dohc V-6. The V-6 is now standard equipment on the XLT. The 2.0 liter engine is teamed with a 5 speed manual transmission, while the V-6 comes with a 4 speed automatic.
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