FORD UNVEILS REDESIGNED 2013 ESCAPE

Ford unveiled the redesigned Escape this week at the LA Auto Show, which will be sold in the US and Europe in late 2012. The new Escape boasts eleven features no other small SUV offers in a sleek and more modern design.

In addition to more cargo volume behind the first and second rows than the current vehicle, the new Escape delivers:

• An available hands-free power liftgate that allows quick and easy access to cargo with the kick of a foot
•  SYNC® with MyFord Touch® offers multiple ways for customers to manage and control information through voice commands, menus accessed through controls on the steering wheel, touch screens, buttons or knobs
• Active Park Assist. With the press of a button, the system detects an available parallel parking space and automatically steers the vehicle into the space. Drivers control only the accelerator and brake pedals
• Escape’s sensor-based BLIS® (Blind Spot Information System) with cross-traffic alert, triggers a warning sound when a vehicle is detected entering a blind spot
• The all-new Ford Escape is the first Ford SUV to combine class-exclusive technology to automatically slow the vehicle when it’s cornering too  fast (Curve Control) or help accelerate through a turn (Torque Vectoring Control); a new Intelligent 4WD System helps deliver outstanding handling on good pavement and in adverse conditions as well, along with excellent traction off-road.
• Escape offers a 1.6-litre, a 2.0-litre and a 2.5-litre Eco- Boost engine with a nearly 10 percent increase in fuel efficiency than the outgoing model.
• The new Escape’s active grille shutter system, which is on all models with the 1.6-litre EcoBoost and 2.5-litre four-cylinder engines, reduces  wind resistance.

“We call our all-new Ford Escape the ‘Smarter Utility Vehicle’ because it offers the strengths that customers today really value – fuel economy,  versatility and new technology that makes driving and living with the vehicle easier and more fun – all wrapped in a sleek, more modern design,”  aid Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development.