Test drive report – Ford Escape XLT
It wasn’t my first experience of the Ford Escape as I had a brief drive at Ford’s test track in Dearborn, Michigan, last year on the ‘Ford Deep Dive’ event for the media last year. That drive wasn’t particularly conclusive as it was short and the speeds controlled over smooth roads. It was also the 3-litre V6 variant which is not being offered in Malaysia. I was impressed by the tight handling, good ride and low noise levels but wondered how a smaller 2-litre four would perform.
Well, as you now know, Ford Malaysia is selling the Escape in Malaysia as a locally-assembled model and only the 2.0-litre version is available because the 3.0-litre would cost too much due to the duty structure that penalises large engine displacements.
Being keen on SUVs these days, the opportunity to test yet another new one in the market was most welcome. Ford Malaysia’s move to import some units from Japan allowed an early feel of the Escape which was followed up by a longer one that covered over 7,000 kms.
Back in April, the media had their first go at the Escape on the East Coast and the drive took in some off-road sections to prove that the Escape has the capabilities to go with the rugged looks. Of course, the off-road tracks weren’t terribly rough – in fact, the 4WD may not have been used – but it is not likely that the typical owner is going to venture into the sort of areas which the Lanun Darat crowd (the club for Ford Ranger owners) goes to.
In moderate off-road conditions, the Escape performs fine and the high ground clearance is useful. However, the side steps take away some of the clearance too and the driver will have to be aware of them. As for the Control Trac-II system, this comes into operation without any driver action and it works so smoothly and transparently that you are unlikely to know it. For those who want to feel it in action, one way would be to drive up a sandy slope and stop midway. Then try accelerating off and you will feel the front wheels spin a bit and suddenly, the rear wheels also get powered up and push the vehicle forward.
The differential lock is probably going to be unused by most people and should never be engaged on dry roads or even during rainy days. It is intended for constantly slippery surfaces (like ice) or deep mud where the vehicle is really bogged down. If you use it on dry roads, you’ll find the steering heavy and turning will require effort. Use it in such a situation for long and you will probably wear out some drivetrain components as well as cause unnecessary wear to the tyres.
Talking of tyres, the ones that are fitted to the locally-assembled units have been specially tuned for the Escape. They are an excellent match and a good compromise between ride comfort and low noise. It is usually the case that SUV tyres are noisy and hard but the Goodyear GT Sport 70s (a new pattern in Malaysia) are as good as street tyres (which they are). According to a Goodyear Malaysia engineer, Goodyear Wranglers – a popular SUV tyre – were not suitable for the Escape as they are heavier tyres.
The engine performance has a punchy feel but the gearing seems to be oriented towards highway cruising and this is evident from the fact that at 100 km/h, the engine is spinning at just over 2000 rpm. This has implications on low-speed motoring and in some cases, it may be better to disengage overdrive (easily done by depressing a button on the end of the shifter).
Initially, I found the transmission to be ‘trigger-happy’ – just a slight pressure would bring a kickdown and the vehicle would zoom ahead. However, I soon discovered that this is the ‘default’ character of the shift program when the engine is new. Being an adaptive transmission, it takes a few hundred kms to adapt to the driver’s style. This was clear after some 5,000 kms that the Escape was driven; it eventually reached a point where shifting was optimised and smooth but the change was gradual. Of course, the shifting character will also change all the time as you may drive in a different manner but over a length of time, when the computer has obtained enough ‘samples’, it will provide an optimal program. After 7,500 kms, it no longer has the jerky shifting that was evident in the beginning.
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