The numbers are a bit confusing. Here I stand, firmly planted in 2006, at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show, where Ford has just taken the wraps off the 2008 Ford Escape and Escape Hybrid. And yes, they couldn't resist the temptation to paint the hybrid green. And they had Kermit the Frog there too - also green...
All-new sheetmeatal and a freshened interior sits atop a largely carryover platform and powertrains, including the hybrid edition. Its a new "top half," explained Kim Pittel, Escape's Vehicle Line Driector. The only piece of sheet metal that survived the redesign is the roof panel.
Because Ford now has the Edge, it became possible to toughen up the Escape. Despite a wheelbase and track width identical to the outgoing model, the higher beltline and blockier nose, when viewed in person, do indeed give the Escape a more substantial and truckier look that belies its crossover underpinnings. The look is, in a nutshell, more mass and less glass.
Ford representatives told me we can expect to see the 2008 Ford Escape in showrooms in the first quarter of 2007. Prices will be released in a week or so. Despite increased standard safety content, including Roll Stability Control, we were assured that prices will drop. If so, the new Escape might turn out to be quite a value.
ateixeira says:
08:45 AM, 11/30/06
Pretty lame refresh. This is just a face-lift, basically.
The new model looks half way between the old Escape and the Dodge Nitro. Like they chopped it and squared it off.
actualsize says:
09:22 AM, 11/30/06
This is a bit more than a face lift, which is usually defined as a mid-cycle change to the front and rear fascia, and sometimes hood and front fenders. All of it bolt-on stuff, leaving the unibody intact.
Here, in raising the beltline, major stampings of the unibody itself are new. But yeah, the running gear and floorpan are straight carry-over.
textra says:
09:41 AM, 11/30/06
I went to Edmund's Future Vehicle Index to see the pictures of the interior and I was shocked! The dashboard was lit up in a shade of blue, not the usual Ford uglier than ugly green. I hope the production version is the same. I also hope that they make this change in the rest of their vehicles.
actualsize says:
02:16 PM, 11/30/06
They call it "Ice Blue," and it will make it to production on the Escape.