Three years into its current generation, the Ford Escape shows no sign of slowing down. Sales continue at a gangbusters pace, aided in part by a booming segment. But to keep the Escape vying for the top spot in that segment, the compact sport-ute is going in for a mid-cycle update for the 2017 model year. What we have here is an early look.
As these photos show, while the Escape appears little changed in profile (even down to its front-fender gills), the front and rear have been restyled. Visible through the camouflage in front, we see that the current Fusion-style front-end treatment is replaced by a face that is more in line with the larger Edge. That means a deeper grille with chunky horizontal bars, a shallower and wider lower air intake, and headlamp units comprised of dual, rectangular elements underlined by an LED strip. At the rear, the tailgate has been restyled and the taillamps made smaller, but the rear glass and the bumper area look to be unchanged.
The current Escape hews to convention with its choice of front- or all-wheel drive, and the updated model is sure to do the same. It remains to be seen whether Ford will rejigger the three-engine powertrain lineup: 168-hp 2.5-liter four, 178-hp 1.6-liter EcoBoost turbo four, and 240-hp 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbo four. If anything, the 1.6 might be swapped out for Ford’s newer 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. On the infotainment and technology fronts, the Escape is already due to get Sync 3 for 2016, so that’s sure to carry over to the new model—although it could add Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability.
Through the first three quarters of this year, the Honda CR-V is out in front in the compact-SUV race (259K), with the Escape in second (230K), and the Toyota RAV4 close behind (227K). The Escape, however, had been in the top spot some months, and Ford surely is hoping the 2017 update will help get it back there.
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