2007 Ford Escape Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The Ford Escape has evolved over the years into a friendly-looking small SUV with mostly unremarkable styling. In lower trim levels, the Escape’s black bumper, body trim, and door handles look cheap and detract from the overall appearance of the vehicle. Meanwhile, its grille and front end are clean and uncluttered, especially in higher trims with body-colour bumpers and integrated fog lights.

Inside, the setup is all about function and usability instead of style, but the feel is solid, and materials quality is excellent. The front seats are large enough to accommodate a wide variety of body styles, though the seat bottoms could use more thigh padding to make long trips more comfortable. The second-row seat is comfortable and will work well for large child seats and tall adults. The Escape’s large door openings and relatively low ride height make it easy to load and unload car seats.

With the back seats up, there’s 830 litres of space in the cargo area. That number more than doubles to 1,877 litres with the seats down, which is more than competitive in the class.

The 2007 Ford Escape is available in Canada in three trims: XLS, XLT, and Limited. Remember how we mentioned the Escape’s connection to Mazda? The magic that once made the Escape notable for its handling and driving dynamics has faded over the years to the point that it feels unremarkable when compared to its competition. That said, it’s still got a responsive and fairly engaging driving experience that feels stable and planted on curvy roads and appropriately mild-mannered in everyday driving.

The XLS models come standard with a 2.3-litre inline four-cylinder engine that is rated at power specs of 153 horsepower. A five-speed manual transmission is standard here, but a four-speed automatic is available.

Ford Escape XLT and Limited models come standard with a 200-hp 3.0-litre V6 and an automatic transmission.

Front-wheel drive (FWD) is standard, and all-wheel-drive (AWD) is an option (Ford refers to this as four-wheel drive, or 4WD). There is also a Ford Escape Hybrid available this year, which is powered by a 2.3-litre four-cylinder drivetrain with two electric motors. It comes with a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

The V6 offers more than decent acceleration, but the four-speed gearbox could use an extra gear to truly make the most of the larger engine. The four-cylinder does its job without much to complain about, but it’s not as refined as the V6, and it sounds strained under heavy acceleration. Even so, the four-cylinder can handle most driving situations and returns better fuel economy than the V6.

With the base four-cylinder engine and a manual transmission, the Escape averages fuel efficiency of 10.0 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving and 7.4 on the highway. With the automatic, this engine averages 10.5 L/100 km city, 8.4 highway. Opt for the V6 and your consumption goes up to 11.9 city, 8.8 highway. The version with the best fuel economy is the Ford Escape Hybrid, which averages 6.4 L/100 km city, 6.9 highway.

The Escape’s no-nonsense interior and smooth driving dynamics make it a worthy choice in the small SUV segment. It’s got the room to handle five people and plenty of gear, and the fact that the back seat is comfortable enough with legroom to accommodate adults for long trips is a big bonus. The innovative hybrid powertrain returns impressive fuel economy, but it’s the smooth and powerful V6 that wins the day.

The Escape is certainly aging at this point; the competition from Toyota, Honda, and others has evolved and improved so much that the technology, quality, and comfort gulf between them and the Ford is immediately noticeable.

Standard equipment includes keyless entry, a CD player, and power windows/door locks. You’ll need to opt for the automatic to add alloy wheels and air conditioning.

The XLT trim adds cruise control, a power driver’s seat, and an in-dash CD changer, while the Ford Escape Limited comes with automatic headlamps, a sunroof, leather seats, a keypad for keyless entry, a 320-watt sound system with a subwoofer, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and heated seats and mirrors, which can also be optioned on the hybrid. A navigation system can be optioned separately on the hybrid.

In crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the 2007 Ford Escape was rated ‘Acceptable’ for its moderate overlap front crashworthiness and head restraints/seats, ‘Good’ for side crashworthiness when optional airbags are equipped, and ‘Poor’ when they aren’t. The IIHS found that, without the optional airbags, crash test dummies’ heads were pushed into the B-pillar in side crashes. The agency also noted that the forces exerted on the driver’s legs were enough to cause injury.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rated the Escape four stars for both driver and passenger side front crash safety, five stars for side-impact tests, and three stars for rollover protection. The agency likely tested the Escape with optional airbags installed during side crashes. The three-star rating for rollover protection is not surprising, because SUVs have a higher centre of gravity and are easier to tip in general.

Standard safety gear includes antilock brakes, front-impact airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners, and a vehicle security system. Models equipped with the V6 engine have four-wheel disc brakes.

The Escape is available with a Safety Package that includes front-seat side airbags and full-length side curtain airbags with a rollover sensor. The Limited trim is available with a reverse sensing system.

The model year 2007 Escape, with its starting new car MSRP of under $25,000, sounds like a bargain until you consider the competition. There’s no stability control anywhere in the lineup, which is a miss on the safety side. And there’s no available rear-seat entertainment system. For families with kids, that can be a deal-breaker.

The Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 have similar price tags and have both been redesigned more recently than the Escape. They also provide better handling and stronger acceleration.

The Escape’s not-so-hidden trick is its available Hybrid trim, which offers excellent fuel economy. The hybrid system is refined and works so well that it’s almost impossible to tell that it’s not a “normal” vehicle. Fuel economy for the standard Escape is just acceptable, and fuel consumption is higher with the V6 equipped on higher trims. This means that buyers have to sacrifice a little fuel economy to get a more well-equipped Escape, which is a trade-off some might shy away from.

Note: Images show a US model.