Ford Escape

 

 It's the weekend at last. Time to throw off your work clothes and let your hair down. The blue sky and the wide open spaces beckon. Fishing, skiing, hiking in the hills or just exploring? which appeals to you most? It's time to leave the noisy, dirty, bustling city behind and head out on the freedom of the highway and the peace of country roads. And what better vehicle to make an escape in than the Ford Escape?

But although the Ford Escape is an SUV rugged enough to handle the back-country roads you'd care to tackle (and a little basic offroading by the river), it also looks good enough with sleek and futuristic lines to make it more than respectable around town. Truly, the Ford Escape is a vehicle that will accompany you around town and then enjoy getting away into the great wide open with you.

And don't go thinking that because the Ford Escape is rugged, you'll have to rough it. Even the basic 2WD XLS 4-door wagon (manual) comes with front bucket seats, air conditioning to keep you cool, power steering so you can turn the big beast easily, attractive cloth upholstery, cupholders, power mirrors, keyless entry and an AM/FM/CD/MP3 player to provide a soundtrack to the story of your adventure. A theft-deterrent system and roof rails complete the basic standard features. The most upmarket versions of the Ford Escape (the Limited version) comes with luxurious leather upholstery, a leather-wrapped steering wheel to match, keypad entry, alloy wheels and a compass to help you navigate your trail off road.. The dashboard is attractively laid out, with the distinctive feature of the tachometer slightly overlapping with the rev counter.

Once you're on the open road, you'll be able to see what the Ford Escape can do. The 2.3 litre engine in the 2WD XLS 4-door wagon version has a maximum power output of 153 bhp at 5800 rpm while the 3.0 litre V6 engine inside the Sport and Limited models (and one of the XLT variants of the Ford Escape) boast a good 200 bhp at 6000 rpm. In torque terms, that's 206 Nm for the XLS and 261 Nm for the V6 versions. If you're using the Ford Escape for towing, it's got more than enough grunt to tow the horse trailer or the boat (a towing package is available as an option with some models). If you're not towing and can get somewhere to do it legally, then the Ford Escape has a top speed of 180 km/hr and can roar to 100 km/hr from zero in 9.8 seconds for the 2.3 litre and 9.3 seconds for the V6s, which is pretty good for a sizeable SUV like this. If going off-road is more your thing, then the Ford Escape has decent ground clearance (it does not, however, have the low gearing necessary for heavy-duty offroading, even in the all-wheel drive versions. Pity.).

Back on the road again and heading off on that family holiday, it's good to know that the Ford Escape will be able to keep you safe. Not only is it a large, tough vehicle that will come out best if a smaller car collects it, the Ford Escape has scored pretty well in safety tests - 4 out of 5 on average in the NHTSA tests. Some of its safety features include dual front airbags, antilock brakes and a tire-pressure monitor.

And if you're going off on holiday, you're going to need to have space to put all the sleeping bags, tents, camping stoves, etc., etc. etc. And once more, the Ford Escape proves its practicality. The generously sized cargo space is more than adequate to fit all this in and more. The roof rails mean that you can take even more (all the kids' bikes, perhaps?). The split folding rear seat means that if you don't have to seat five, then the cargo room increases even further.

If you're a lover of the great outdoors, then you may occasionally worry about noxious emissions and depleted oil reserves - not to mention ever-rising costs of petrol. The Ford motor company is aware of your concerns - and the concerns of many others, so the new Escape comes in a hybrid fuel version that is aimed at reducing emissions and saving petrol. This version of the Ford Escape comes in both 2WD and AWD versions with a 2.3-litre 4-cylinder engine and electric drive motor hooked up to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).

And there's a new version of the Ford Escape due out in 2008. Better make the most of this year's model while the going's good.

Current model series include:

• Ford Escape Limited V6 3.0
• Ford Escape XLS 2.3
• Ford Escape XLT 2.3
• Ford Escape XLT Sport V6 3.0

For anymore information on the Ford Escape, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you'd like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Ford dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet - car buying made easy!

 

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