2012 Ford Escape Manchester NH
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The 2012 Ford Escape is a mid sized SUV that offers a perfect balance of city road manners, highway power, and off road capability.The Escape is available in XLS, XLT or Limited trim, with either front or four-wheel drive. There are no significant changes for 2012, only that the Escape receives one new exterior color. The Escape features as standard MyKey, which allows owners to create settings for teen drivers such as a top speed limit, maximum stereo volume and alerts if the driver goes faster than 45 mph. Safety features include front- and side-impact airbags for front occupants and curtain-type head protection airbags for all outboard seats.
Powering the 2012 Escape
For power the XLS features a 171-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission. The XLT and Limited trims feature the same 2.5-liter engine with a six-speed automatic transmission. A 240-hp 3.0-liter E85 capable V6 is an available upgrade on XLT and Limited models. The Escape's optional self-parking system handles all the steering required for parallel parking. The driver must still shift the transmission into gear, as well as operate the gas and brake pedals. The Escape is truckish as the current crop of small sport utility vehicles go, but not in a bad way. Its ride height and seating position are higher than a lot of unit-body utilities, though lower than many traditional truck-based SUVs.
'12 Ford Escape Design
The five-seat Escape is Ford's smallest crossover SUV. The 2012 Escape seats five in two rows of seats. The rear seat is split 60/40 and folds to increase cargo space. Ford's optional voice-activated Sync multimedia system includes traffic and weather information. The headlights of the 2012 Escape are essentially connected to the grille, and shaped to create a family resemblance with Ford's Edge crossover SUV. Yet the grille itself is tall and flat and stacked right on top of a skid plate-type fascia that flows under the bumper. The Escape's beltline, or the crease that runs just under the windows, is high, too, and its roof pillars are blacked out. The taillights have a clear band that wraps around the rear corners.
2012 Ford Escape Lineup
The XLS comes with cloth upholstery, air conditioning, power windows, mirrors and locks, an AM/FM stereo with CD and auxiliary jack, rear window defroster and 16-inch steel wheels.
The Escape XLT adds more standard features, including upgraded cloth upholstery, a power driver's seat, cruise control, privacy glass and 16-inch alloy wheels.
The Escape Limited comes standard with the V6 and automatic, plus leather seating, a six-CD changer and automatic headlights.
Conclusions
The Ford Escape is a mid-size sport-utility vehicle with credentials that make it equally suited to urban commutes or weekend off-road outings. Standard safety features include front airbags, front seat mounted side airbags and side-curtain airbags for front and rear passengers. AdvanceTrac stability control with anti-rollover technology, four-wheel ABS and tire pressure monitoring round-out the impressive list. The Escape's competition includes the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Equinox and Hyundai Tucson. For more on this model, visit the official 2012 Ford Escape website.
Some information for this review was obtained from NewCarTestDrive.com