Ford News: Spying: 2020 Ford Escape Sees the Light

[William Maley]

The Escape is an important model for Ford. Last year, the company moved 308,296 Escapes off dealer lots. But with the announcement last week that Ford will be focusing more on trucks and utility models in the coming years, the Escape will be playing a bigger role.

Car and Driver obtained the first spy shots of the next-generation Escape, expected sometime next year as 2020 model. Due to the extensive use of camouflage on the mule, we can't tell much about the design. We're guessing the front end might look similar to the EcoSport partly due to the flat shape. The lone shot of the interior reveals an interior layout similar to the EcoSport and Focus with the infotainment system sitting on top of the center stack.

The next-generation Escape is expected to move from the C1 platform to yet, an unnamed global platform that underpins the next Focus. This will address two shortcomings of the current Escape - poor crash test scores and not being able to fit a hybrid/plug-in hybrid powertrain.

Powertrains are expected to include the 1.5 and 2.0 EcoBoost four-cylinders, and a hybrid powertrain. We wouldn't be surprised if a plug-in is also available.

Source: Car and Driver

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