OREANDA-NEWS. April 15, 2016. For 16 years, Ford Escape has been a leader in the popular small SUV segment by bringing the latest in advanced technologies to customers.

The 2017 Escape will continue that leadership when it arrives in showrooms in May, featuring available SYNC® Connect technology that gives FordPass® members remote access to their vehicle from their mobile device.

SYNC Connect enables drivers to use the new FordPass platform to lock, unlock and locate their Escape, as well as schedule remote starts and check fuel level. SYNC Connect is included in the Technology Package on Escape SE and is a standard offering on Escape Titanium.

“SYNC Connect provides the convenience customers want,” said Don Butler, executive director, Ford Connected Vehicle and Services. “It was designed with the customer as the focus – everything the technology does is intended to improve the vehicle-owning experience.”

Owners enable SYNC Connect through a two-step verification process to protect personal information, confirming setup on both the app and vehicle touch screen. The service is provided for five years at no cost to customers.

SYNC Connect makes its global debut on the 2017 Ford Escape, followed by the new Ford Fusion later this year. The platform will then migrate to the rest of the Ford lineup.

New Escape adds even more driver-assist technologies
The new Escape features available driver-assist technologies that enhance safety and convenience. These include:

•Adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support: Sensors detect when Escape is approaching a slow-moving vehicle and automatically apply the brakes – slowing the vehicle as needed

•Enhanced active park assist: Provides steering assistance to park the vehicle in a parallel or perpendicular parking spot, and to pull out from tight parallel parking spots with the driver controlling brake, accelerator and shifter. The technology includes side park distance control

•Lane-keeping system: The system includes lane-keeping alert to alert drivers when they drift unintentionally from their lane, and lane-keeping aid to provide steering assistance to guide an unintentionally drifting vehicle back into its lane

•Driver Alert System: Using data from the lane-keeping system, Driver Alert can detect signs of fatigued driving and provide a warning on the instrument cluster, as well as a steering wheel vibration

Three series, new Sport Appearance Package
Customers can continue to select from S, SE and Titanium models, as well as a new Sport Appearance Package available for Escape SE and Escape Titanium.

Across the lineup, the new Escape has been redesigned from the inside out. The new interior dramatically enhances ergonomics and storage, emphasizing comfort and convenience for driver and front passenger, while the redesigned exterior leans toward the nameplate’s capable SUV heritage.

Replacing the bulky, hand-actuated parking brake with a modern, push-button electronic system enabled Ford designers to rework the center console area. The gear shifter has been moved rearward for improved access to climate controls on the center stack, while an added storage bin offers easy access to a lighted USB port and a covered power outlet to charge and store electronic devices.

“Our interior redesign was driven by what our customers were telling us,” said Milton Wong, Ford Escape chief engineer. “We considered every detail, listened to our customers, and made a significantly better Escape.”

The center console introduces improved cupholders designed to accommodate cups of all sizes. Two new bins, in front of and behind the cupholders, add storage, and the center armrest has been extended for added comfort for driver and passenger.

An all-new steering wheel features easy-to-work buttons to control audio, adaptive cruise control and SYNC 3 voice command systems. A new “swing-bin” glove box offers easier access to stored items.

Escape Titanium features a Charcoal Black interior with subtle Deep Space black trim. Leather seats, featuring Salerno leather trim, show a unique horizontal pattern. Titanium customers can also opt for Medium Stone seats to contrast with the black interior.

The redesigned hood and raised trapezoidal upper grille set a wider stance – evoking a more prominent feel for the front of the new Escape. The grille is flanked by updated headlamps with low-beam projector lenses. Signature LED daytime running lamps are available for Escape SE and are included on Escape Titanium. The lamps can double as parking lamps at night. Bi-functional HID projector headlamps and speed-dependent cornering halogen lamps are available for Titanium as well.

The new Sport Appearance Package offers customers such unique features as:

•19-inch Ebony Black painted wheels
•Ebony Black high-gloss painted upper grille
•Piano Black high-gloss fog lamp bezels
•Ebony Black high-gloss painted side vents
•Absolute Black painted mirror caps
•Darkened headlamp and taillamp trim

Standard Auto Start-Stop with two new EcoBoost engines
The availability of Auto Start-Stop on the 2017 Escape marks the technology’s first high-volume appearance, a standard offering with either of two EcoBoost® engines new to Escape – a 1.5-liter and a 2.0-liter twin-scroll. It’s already available on F-150 equipped with 2.7-liter EcoBoost, Focus with 1.0-liter EcoBoost, Fusion with 1.5-liter EcoBoost and Edge with 2.0-liter twin-scroll EcoBoost.

The new 1.5-liter EcoBoost with Auto Start-Stop is standard on Escape SE and Escape Titanium. The technology shuts off the engine during common stops, so the vehicle burns no gas and emits zero tailpipe emissions. The engine restarts automatically – in less than half a second – when the driver releases the brake pedal.

A six-speed automatic transmission is standard across the line, with new paddle-shift technology available for Escape SE and Escape Titanium.

Both the 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter twin-scroll EcoBoost engines are available with Ford’s intelligent four-wheel-drive system that monitors traction and road conditions every 16 milliseconds. The system can transfer up to 100 percent of torque from front to rear wheels, constantly adjusting to road conditions to relieve driver stress and increase confidence by keeping the vehicle on its intended path.

When equipped with the 2.0-liter twin-scroll EcoBoost and Class II Tow Package, Escape can tow an impressive 3,500 pounds. Trailer sway control works to help keep both the vehicle and the trailer under control if sway is detected.

Horsepower and torque figures for the new EcoBoost engines are impressive. The 1.5-liter produces 179 horsepower and 177 lb.-ft. of torque; the 2.0-liter delivers 245 horsepower and 275 lb.-ft. of torque, which tops all four-cylinder competitors in the compact utility segment.

The 1.5-liter EcoBoost is EPA-rated at 23 mpg city, 30 mpg highway and 26 mpg combined on front-wheel-drive-equipped Escape; and at 22 mpg city, 28 mpg highway and 24 mpg combined with four-wheel drive. The 2.0-liter EcoBoost is rated at 22 mpg city, 29 mpg highway and 25 mpg combined with front-wheel drive; and at 20 mpg city, 27 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined with four-wheel drive.

“With the most powerful four-cylinder engine in its segment and available Auto Start-Stop, Escape now delivers the perfect balance of performance, efficiency and capability,” said Wong.