First Drive: 2013 Ford Escape – Conquering the Rocky Mountains

2013 ford escape titanium ecoboost
2013 Ford Escape Titanium 4WD EcoBoost in Ruby Red

There is one vital question that those of us living in the Rocky Mountain Front Range ask ourselves in the winter season.  How quickly can I get up to my favorite ski area?  The 2013 Ford Escape Titanium with its powerful 2.0 liter EcoBoost engine and the Intelligent 4WD says: pretty darn quick and do it in style too!

I left downtown Denver in this Ruby Red Titanium model and immediately pointed it west.  The 2.0 liter EcoBoost got me up to speed quickly with its 240 hp and impressive 270 ft-lb of torque.  This power rating assumes that you are using Premium fuel.  If you choose Regular, then you get a slightly lower 231 hp.  The 6-speed automatic worked the gears quickly and smoothly.

I soon found myself on I-70 going past the city of Golden and beginning the first major climb.  I set the cruise control to 65 mph with the tachometer showing somewhere just below 2,500 rpm.  The Escape practically flattened this steep grade.  The transmission remained in 6th gear, the rpms were the same, and whole experience was smooth, quite, and uneventful.  Just the way it should be.  The 2.0 liter had plenty of passing power in reserve.

I have driven this stretch of the Interstate in all sorts of vehicles over the last 18 years, and I know first-hand that not all cars can do this climb with such ease.  Long live turbo-charging!

The way down was just as easy.  The 6-speed automatic has a Sport mode with manual shifting performed via a toggle switch on the gear lever.  I could easily select 5th or 4th gears whenever I needed extra engine braking.  The sweeping corners allowed me to sample the handling and steering ability of the Escape.  The body lean was minimal for a CUV of this height.  The steering was tight and precise, but I was left wanting some more feedback from the front wheels.

The road surface was perfectly dry during this test, but I have no doubt that the Intelligent 4WD system would do a good job in wet or snowy conditions.  I would choose the 2013 Ford Escape 4WD 2.0 EcoBoost for my next skiing trip in a heartbeat.

Please enjoy this Man vs. Machine Self-Parking challenge, where we find who is a faster parallel parker: the 2013 Escape or Roman?

Andre Smirnov
Andre Smirnov

 

Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, and software engineer. On the weekends – you may find him at a car show, an auction, watching a race, or tinkering with a car in the garage. When not working or spending time with the family – he often scours the internet and other media for various automotive, mechanical, and computer related information.