Ford Escape will make a good family car substitute, being a five-seater with a large boot.
It is not simply a soft-roader, but a reasonably competent 4WD. Four-cylinder and V6 engines are offered, but both are matched to a four-speed automatic.
This normally drives only the front wheels but should the fronts start to slip the rears are brought into action. The central differential can be locked by way of a dash-mounted switch for added grip.
On-road, the latest Escape is quieter than before due to considerable work being done on noise, vibration and harshness suppression.
On smooth bitumen and motorways it feels almost as quiet as a car, but it's still fairly noisy on coarse-chip surfaces. Steering and handling are safe and predictable, and the body has a solid feel in an almost-European manner.
The Escape is starting to look its age despite a solid facelift and interior revamp for the 2007 model, and a new model is presumably due within the next couple of years.
Interestingly, the aforementioned face lift was largely Australian in its design so there are cues to the popular Ford Territory in its new shape.
The next Ford ESCAPE update is expected around June 2008. The next generation gets extensive exterior changes, and a new interior too. 2.3 litre and 3.0 litre engines.
