The 2013 Ford Escape, the first complete redesign of the iconic Sport Utility Vehicle, has debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show featuring a sleeker design, two new engine options and a host of outrageously titlet exterior colors, Ginger Ale to Frosted Glass Metallic.
The new Escape will only be available with a gas engine since Ford has dispatched the Ford Escape Hybrid while focusing future hybrid attention toward the C-Max five-seat small minivan.
While maintaing its Escape name in North America and other locales, where it debuted in 2001, the SUV crossover will be called the Kuga in Europe and in China and will feature different engines.
The 2013 Ford Escape's sleek new appearance makes sense. The interior cabin is larger with 34.3 cubic feet behind the second seat and 68.1 cubic feet behind the front seats. The new Escape also has a considerably lower lift-over height of just 27 inches.
While EPA mileage estimates haven't been announced, the new Escape will be available with three engines types, all projected to get increased gas mileage.
Article Last Updated: November 16, 2011.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
Quite disappointed that the hybrid drivetrain was dropped. The new 1.6 EgoBoost Escape gets 20 mpg, whereas the old Hybrid Escape gets 30 mpg (that’s EPA city mpg, but close to what most people actually see.) That is quite a drop in mileage.