Its sleek new contemporary design, an efficient and flexible fuel engine that delivers excellent on-road and off-road performance, and a price that is more accessible – these were cited by 191 new customers as the reasons behind their recent purchase of the new Ford Escape. Only two months since its introduction into the Philippine market, the new Ford Escape has already registered an all-time high in monthly sales in October 2008 – the highest number of Escape units sold in a single month since December 2004.
Given the recent spike in sales with 150 vehicles sold and registered in October, the new Ford Escape has risen to the #2 spot in the Compact SUV segment with 22% segment share that month, increasing five-fold versus same period last year.
Not only is the new Ford Escape rolling out of Ford dealerships across the country faster than Ford Group Philippines’ expectations, it continues to receive rave reviews from satisfied customers who confirm that the authentic SUV is indeed fun to drive, looks good and provides great fuel economy.
“Since my main consideration in buying an SUV was riding comfort, I was already convinced to get the new Ford Escape. I was truly impressed by the 2.3-liter engine’s performance when I took it for a test drive. But I must admit that it was the compact SUV’s stylish, more contemporary design that further sealed my decision to buy it,” says Freddie Manuel, a senior IT professional with a pharmaceutical company.
“The new Ford Escape’s promise of fuel efficiency – 10.5 km to the liter with combined city and expressway driving – is something I really look forward to as I take it out of town on road trips. What gives me confidence is that since this is an SUV from Ford, it comes with the promise of security and safety given its ‘Built Ford Tough’ SUV heritage,” he added of his very first Ford vehicle purchase.
“We are delighted in the way the customers have responded to the new Ford Escape,” says Steven Tan, Ford Group Philippines’ Vice President for Marketing and Sales. “The Ford Escape had always appealed to a group of customers who have a sense of adventure, pursue an active lifestyle, and enjoy travelling and exploring. These are people who typically work hard, and play harder. The new Escape suits their lifestyle perfectly with the features and flexibility it offers – driving comfort, great fuel economy, and that air of confidence and fun. It just doesn’t get any better.”
“Our customers fell in love with the Ford Escape six years ago when we first launched the compact SUV in the Philippines. Since then, the Escape has found almost 7,000 owners, and we fully intend to continue to meet their needs with the new Escape, built right here at our Santa Rosa facility,” Tan added.
Available in two-wheel and four-wheel drive models, the New Ford Escape follows a pricing scheme that starts at a low introductory price of P999,000 for the 4x2 variant.
External design changes in the New Ford Escape include: a “power dome” hood that gives its face a poised stance, a distinctive chrome-finished three-bar grill with a more pronounced Ford oval badge, purposefully lower trapezoidal grille, coupled with new wraparound head lamps, and fog lamps to complete the front fascia. New fenders with side vents, new bumpers, a new tailgate, 16-inch twin-spoke alloy wheels, bigger wheel arches, discrete new lower side cladding, side mirrors with signal lamps, and a short, sportily-angled “bee sting” radio antenna complete the fresh, powerful look. A classy, roomy interior makes use of medium pebble suede interior fabrics, complemented by titanium stone metallic finish to the centre stack as well as silver accents.
The new Ford Escape comes in two stylish new colors: Moondust Silver, and Chill (light gold). These bring to six the available color options for the SUV, which already include Infra Red, Ocean (dark blue), Panther Black, and Tonic (pale blue).
“The new Ford Escape is both tough and refined, enhancing further its fun and sporty appeal without compromising the robustness, durability and capability that the Ford Escape has been known for,” explains Ford chief designer Paul Gibson.
The New Ford Escape is powered by a reliable Duratec 2.3-litre petrol engine with variable valve timing for responsive performance and low fuel consumption. The fuel-injected engine is rated at 157ps of peak power at 6000rpm. Maximum torque is 200Nm at 4000rpm. The Ford Escape XLT 4x4 achieves very respectable fuel efficiency of 10.1 km/L, while the Ford Escape XLS 4x2 is even more fuel frugal. The New Ford Escape is also E-10 capable which means it can run using a blend of up to 90-percent gasoline and 10-percent bio-fuel.
It has the highest ground clearance among the small SUVs – 201mm front and 242mm rear – giving it superior off-road capability. The 4x4 Ford Escape XLT offers an approach angle of 28.5 degrees and a departure angle of 30 degrees. It has 200mm of running clearance and a confident stance, with a track of 1540mm front and 1530mm rear and a wheelbase of 2620mm. Its towing capacity remains unchanged at 750kg un-braked, which increases to 1000kg for braked loads.
The Ford Escape is equipped with MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link rear suspension, plus front and rear disc brakes. It runs on Goodyear Wrangler 215/70R16 all-terrain tires. Standard safety features include anti-lock brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and brake assist.
The New Ford Escape is available at Ford dealerships nationwide. In Metro-Manila, Ford dealerships are located in Alabang, Balintawak, Commonwealth, EDSA, Libis, Global City, Manila, Quezon Avenue and Shaw Boulevard. Outside Metro-Manila, Ford dealerships are located in Batangas, Bacolod, Cabanatuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cavite, Cebu, Dagupan, Davao, Iloilo, Pampanga and San Pablo. Call 889-FORD (3673) for more information.