2010 Ford Escape Overview Change Vehicle

This 2010 Ford Escape overview explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2010 Ford Escape, and includes Ford Escape safety, reliability, and fuel economy information.

Ford continues to improve and refine the Escape for 2010, adding standard side spotter mirrors to help see in the SUV’s blind spots, MyKey programmable safety features, and Pull-Drift Compensation technology to the electric steering system. The 2010 Escape is also available with an optional reversing camera system, and Active Park Assist technology can automatically steer the Escape into a parallel parking system while the driver operates the pedals. The available Sync system also gets a new Traffic, Directions and Information service plan.

The 2010 Ford Escape is sold in base XLS, popular XLT, and luxurious Limited models. The Escape Hybrid is based on the XLT model, and the Limited trim level is available on Hybrid models. All come with standard front-wheel drive, and an optional four-wheel-drive system can automatically direct power to the front and rear wheels.

The Ford Escape XLS might be the least expensive model, but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking in terms of equipment. Power windows, power side mirrors with integrated convex blind-spot sections, power door locks with remote keyless entry, and air conditioning all comes standard. The XLS also has a CD player and an auxiliary audio input jack, a tilt steering wheel, cruise control, and alloy wheels. Ford’s brilliant MyKey programmable technology allows parents to program speed and volume limits for when teenagers might be taking the car out for a drive. An automatic transmission and 4WD are options, along with Sync wireless technology, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and cargo-carrying upgrades.

For a wider variety of options, it is best to select the Escape XLT. An automatic transmission is standard on this model, along with dark tinted privacy glass in the back, fog lights, automatic headlights, and roof rails. The XLT also includes a power driver’s seat, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a keypad entry system, satellite radio, a compass, an outside temperature indicator, and floor mats. Options include a V6 engine, leather seats, navigation with a reversing camera, a premium sound system with a CD changer, Sync hands-free technology, a power moonroof, remote engine starting, and a towing package that bumps capacity to 3,500 pounds.

For a fully equipped Escape, examine the Limited model, which has leather, heated front seats, Sync, a CD changer, and ambient interior lighting. You can identify the Escape Limited by its body-color exterior trim and chrome 17-inch alloy wheels. Dual-zone automatic climate control, and parking sensors embedded into the front and rear bumpers, and an Active Park Assist system are available exclusively on the Limited. Navigation, a reversing camera, premium sound, a power sunroof, remote engine starting, and a towing package can also be added to the Limited model.

Switching gears to the Escape Hybrid, the standard model includes everything that comes standard on the XLT plus Sync technology, a 110-volt power outlet, and a dual-zone automatic climate control system. Choose the Escape Hybrid Limited, and it’s equipped like other Limited models but gets a standard power sunroof. A navigation system is optional on both hybrid models.

A 171-horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine is standard on all non-hybrid Escapes, driving the front or all four wheels. On XLS models, this engine is paired with a five-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic. The automatic comes standard on the XLT and Limited variants. Fuel economy estimates are 22 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway with the manual gearbox. The automatic matches that highway rating, and gets 21 mpg in the city. Escapes with 4WD can achieve 20 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway.

A 240-horsepower, 3.0-liter V6 engine is optional on the Escape XLT and Escape Limited. The sole transmission choice is the six-speed automatic, and fuel economy rates 19 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway with front-wheel drive or 18-city/23-highway with 4WD.

The Escape Hybrid is the best way to maximize fuel economy. A 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle gasoline engine assisted by an electric drive motor powered by a rechargeable battery pack produces mileage estimates of 34-city/31-highway with front-wheel drive and 30-city/27-highway with 4WD. A continuously variable transmission and a regenerative braking system are also part of the Escape Hybrid’s hardware package, and this is considered to be a “full hybrid” that can get up to 25 mph on electricity alone.

Ford equips every 2010 Escape with six airbags, stability and traction control, and an antilock braking system. Front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera are available, and this year the Escape can even be equipped with an Active Park Assist feature that automatically steers the SUV into a parallel parking space.

In National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tests, the 2010 Ford Escape receives 5-Star ratings for each evaluation except for rollover resistance, which produces a 3-Star rating with or without 4WD. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is on the same page, and the only thing keeping the Escape from achieving a Top Safety Pick rating is its Marginal roof crush strength rating.

Reliability predictions improve for 2010. Consumer Reports thinks the Escape will provide average dependability over time, while J.D. Power and Associates gives the Escape a predicted reliability rating of slightly better than average.

Now that the 2010 Ford Escape is expected to produce average or better reliability over time, we can recommend it. In standard trim, the Escape represents simple, basic, honest transportation at a great value. Upgrade it with options, and it provides a modicum of luxury. Or, you can go high-tech with features like Active Park Assist or the Escape Hybrid’s gas/electric powertrain. In any case, we like the Ford Escape.

By Christian Wardlaw