2005 Ford Escape Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Subtle styling changes improve upon the Escape’s already handsome new-car looks. Boxy and rugged-looking, the Escape sits high off the ground and emphasizes utility, even though it’s engineered primarily for on-road use.

The interior is simple and uncomplicated, and because the Escape is an affordable compact SUV, the interior features plenty of hard plastic. Tasteful silver trim gives the cabin a more technical appearance.

For 2005, the Escape gets a new standard engine. The 2.3-litre four-cylinder makes 153 horsepower and 152 pound-feet of torque, and it pairs with a five-speed manual transmission or four-speed automatic transmission. While a vast improvement over the old 2.0-litre four-cylinder, it remains suitable for only light-duty use.

Most people will prefer the available 3.0-litre V6, which pumps out power specs at an even 200 hp along with 196 lb-ft of torque. It comes only with a four-speed automatic transmission and helps the Escape to accelerate with authority. It is, however, less efficient: the Ford Escape XLT AWD and Limited are rated to get no better than 13.3 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving and 9.9 on the highway, compared to the four-cylinder engine’s 12.7 L/100 km city and 9.9 highway with the auto and AWD (or as low as 9.7 city/7.3 highway with the manual and the FWD drivetrain).

For the best gas mileage, the new 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid is the SUV you want. It sacrifices a little bit of cargo space and useful towing capacity, but the Escape Hybrid gets fuel efficiency as low as 8.1 L/100 km in combined driving.

The Escape Hybrid pairs a four-cylinder gasoline engine with an electric motor to make a combined 155 hp. That doesn’t sound impressive, but keep in mind, the electric motor’s instantaneous torque is available the moment you step on the accelerator pedal, making the Escape Hybrid feel more responsive. As a true parallel hybrid, it can also operate at low speeds only on electricity from the battery pack. The main downsides here? Cost, which is more than $10,000 higher than it is for the four-cylinder, and the continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).

You sit up high in a Ford Escape, and because the SUV is boxy in shape, it’s easy to see out of and maneuver in tricky situations. The V6 engine provides good acceleration, and the Escape has a taut, connected feel from behind the wheel. Hybrids have regenerative brakes, which can be hard to modulate. They also carry more weight mounted low in the chassis, giving them a different character.

Every 2005 Escape provides seating for five people, and, this year, every backseat location has a three-point seatbelt. Standard equipment includes single-zone automatic climate control, remote keyless entry, power windows, power door locks, power mirrors, power steering, a tilt steering wheel, and cloth seats. A useful roof rack is also standard.

Upgrade to the Ford Escape XLT for cruise control, heated front seats, a power driver’s seat, a better sound system, a sunroof, and aluminum alloy wheels. The Ford Escape Limited installs upgraded interior materials, automatic headlights, and unique wheels.

This year, a new centre console with a transmission shifter debuts, and Ford says it has improved interior storage space. Cargo capacity behind the rear seats measures up to 830 litres, depending on the trim level, powertrain, and equipment. Fold the backseat down, and the Escape can manage as much as 1,877 litres of cargo. With the V6 engine, the 2005 Escape tows as much as 1,587 kilograms (3,500 pounds).

Ford equips the Escape XLS with a CD player and remote keyless entry, but otherwise, this version of the SUV is lacking in terms of gee-whiz factor. Limited trim ups the ante with an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and a trip computer. A navigation system is an option.

The real technology story for 2005 is the Escape Hybrid. Just as sophisticated as what Toyota installs in the vaunted Prius, the Escape Hybrid’s Atkinson-cycle 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine, 70-kW electric motor, and 330-volt battery pack can go lower than 8.0 L/100 km in combined driving and allows the Escape to operate at low speeds purely on energy stored in the battery.

To recharge the battery, the Escape Hybrid’s regenerative braking system captures the kinetic energy that is otherwise lost during braking, feeding it to the battery pack. When the SUV coasts, that energy is also recouped and transferred to the battery.

Ford makes two important safety improvements to the 2005 Escape. First, the SUV’s underlying structure is modified to better protect occupants in a moderate overlap frontal-impact collision. Second, an optional new Safety Canopy system of side curtain airbags debuts. They join the standard antilock brakes (ABS), standard dual front airbags, and available front side-impact airbags as modern protective measures.

The results of these changes are evident in crash-test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). In the moderate-overlap frontal-impact test, the Escape improves from Marginal to Acceptable. Side-impact ratings remain the same: Poor without the side airbags, and Good with them.

Oddly, in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) testing, the protection level for the driver falls from 5 stars to 4 stars. The NHTSA evaluation also reveals a mediocre 3-star rollover resistance rating with both front-wheel drive (FWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD), so you’re going to want the Safety Canopy airbags.

Prices for the 2005 Ford Escape start at just under $23,000 in Canada and rise to more than $36,000. The Hybrid costs just a bit more than the Limited trim, helping to make it an accessible upgrade. Just keep in mind that the less gasoline costs, the longer it will take to recoup the extra investment in terms of savings.

Overall, the 2005 Escape remains a solid small crossover SUV, and with its new hybrid powertrain option, it’s got something neither the Honda CR-V nor the Toyota RAV4 can offer: reduced emissions, green planet credentials, and sub-8.0 L/100 km combined fuel economy.

Note: Images show a US model.