“But I don’t want to give back the cool car,” my daughter wailed.
Yes it was love at first drive for the whole family, and as I told everyone who asked, “If the Ford Escape came with a third row, I have no doubt my next car would be a Ford Escape.” True story.
The Ford Escape is a fun car to drive, it looks sleek, it has some of the coolest new tech gadgets I have seen in a car and it is equip with parts made from recycled and bio materials. It even has a good size trunk and storage compartments. (If only it had a third row…)
The Ford Escape arrived at my house for a week-long test drive the week school started, which meant K went back to school in style. From the moment it pulled in my driveway there were two features I couldn’t wait to test, the Hands-Free Liftgate and Active Park Assist.
With one kick, I was spoiled for life. Woe is me, I have to manually open the trunk in my Pilot. In the Ford Escape, all you have to do is kick your foot under the back bumper and voila the trunk opens (and closes). Perfect for a mom with her hands full. And self parallel parking, wow! This is one driving skill I have never truly mastered (in my defense there are not a lot of places around us to do so), so I was amazed when the car did all of the work for me. It was very surreal letting go of the wheel and letting the car do the steering, but it parked itself perfectly. (Much better than I ever have.)
Because both of these features are things you have to “see to believe,” I made a video showcasing the tech features I am still dreaming of having in my own car. Check it out.
httpvh://youtu.be/x8M3mxHsk-w
Besides the wow features, this car comes with tons of other tech including Microsoft Sync with touch-screen navigation, remote start and push-button start. This car is teched out.
Another tech feature I fell in love with is the Ford Belt-Minder with auto mute. I ALWAYS wear my seat belt. But certain members of my family (uhmm Dad) still refuse to wear their seat belt. This feature makes wearing your seat belt a must. In addition to a persistent chime in six-second intervals for five minutes, the audio system is muted with the first chime and message center display “Buckle Up to Unmute Radio” also appears on the instrument cluster. No more radio for you non-seat belt wearers!
But it’s not all about high-tech. When I asked K what she loved most about the car, she said the sunroof. And she is right, the Ford Escape has the biggest sunroof I have ever seen. The seats are wonderfully comfy with plenty of leg room. There are only latches available for two car seats in the back row, but I was able to buckle in a booster seat in between the girls’ car seats. It was tight, but it fit.
While I am all about tech, there was one techy feature that I found annoying. The Escape in enabled with MyKey, which is a built-in alert that chimes when the car reaches 45, 55 or 65 miles an hour (the car I had was set to 55). It is mean to remind teen drivers to watch their speed, but I found it distracting. The highway by my house has a speed limit of 65, so I heard the chime often, and each time I was momentarily distracted wondering what that was. “Was there something wrong with the car? What was that warning? Oh yeah… just the speed.” In theory it sounds like a good idea, but I would probably disable it. (No teen drivers in our house after all.) Interestingly, when activated it also prevents the car from going faster than a top speed of 80.
Besides loving all the features I could see, I also love Ford’s emphasis on sustainability that is reflected in the materials used to make that vehicle. I had the chance to talk to one of the Ford bio materials engineers to learn more about bio and sustainable materials. It was fascinating to learn about all of the ways Ford (and other companies) are using bio (or plant) materials in place of traditional plastics. As a mom who is very concerned with green initiatives I was intrigued and excited about the initiatives to use recycled materials in Ford vehicles.
From parts made of recycled water bottles and cotton scraps from jeans to plastic substitutes made from wheat straw and soy beans, right off the lot this car has lessened its carbon footprint. When all is said and done approximately 85% of the car is reusable or recyclable too. If only the same could be said about everything we use in our lives.
(Click on the image below to see the infographic bigger.)
The 2013 Ford Escape is truly a modern vehicle with fancy new tech, loads of comfort features and an emphasis on sustainability. Oh and you know what I didn’t mention – it drives great too! While I love my Pilot, it is based on a truck and drives like a tank. The Escape is built on a car platform and dives like a zippy little car. It was a breeze to navigate in and out of tight parking lots with plenty of getup.
Disclosure – I was loaned a Ford Escape to facilitate this review, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
We need a third row too… my ideal would be for someone to come up with a hybrid mini-van… I’d be first in line!
It’s soooo pretty! Can’t wait until I can get a new car!
It looks roomy and cool at the same time, which you don’t often find!!
I drive a 2002 Ford Escape that I absolutely live. I drove it off the lot with 7 miles on it and I’ve put 180,000 miles on it since then. My next car will also most likely be a Ford Escape. They really are amazing cars!
Wow love the style of that car!