BoomerSooner

This is *exactly* my concern. Having recently experienced what extremely cold weather does to battery range with my plug-in, the "rated" 300 mile range will be far, far less than that under anything less than ideal conditions. Add to that the complications about not fully charging unless you really need it, about not actually drawing the range to zero, about sustained highway speeds zapping the battery, about the enormous range consequence 7 passengers would impose, about the inability to tow anything within any normal distance, and you have all the makings for a functionally useless--but very expensive--vehicle. Worse, Tesla reportedly allows consumers to use more of the available battery than manufacturers like Ford. So the real-world 7-passenger Ford's range would likely fare even worse.

As tepid as the market is for full EVs, as quickly as Ford has drawn back on its grandiose EV sales goals, and as little as Ford has done to improve the range of its current EVs, let's hope the 7-passenger replacement for the Edge is at least a plug-in hybrid. Ford--nor the market--needs another 200-mile functional range EV vehicle.

Your experience is exactly like the review of the plug-in I read before buying the new Escape. The reviewer commented on how the ICE cycled on and off to a surprising frequency. I assumed the reviewer was not aware of how to drill down into the settings to eliminate that on/off cycling of the ICE. Evidently, this isn't unusual even though my particular Escape doesn't do it. For me, the only minor disappointment has been the overall range with gas + electric. I didn't realize the extra chunk of batteries they added to the pack apparently carved in to the gas tank space. Overall range is still in the 400 range, but I'm always willing to take more range--whether battery, gas, or combination.

The ICE on our 2023 kicks on during prolonged downhill stretches too. I noticed it and was curious about it until I noticed that the ICE icon on the power gauge doesn't also light up on these downhill stretches. Also, none of the other indicators about the operation of the ICE occur during these downhill stretches. As best I can tell, the Escape is just using the ICE's internal drag to slow the vehicle. You can, however, switch out of "EV Only" to a mode that will allow the ICE to fire up and you will see different indicators on the dash. I would be more concerned, personally, with driving the car down a hill with it deliberately in neutral. That's just me, though. We have, so far, been blessed with zero problems. As I indicated earlier, this one is screwed together noticeably better than our 2020 was. Happy motoring!

I am the former owner of a 2020 Hybrid Titanium Escape and appreciated a number of the advantages of that CUV. It had as much rear-seat legroom as my 2017 Edge, it was quiet, and it could eek up to high 50's in the mpg department if you drove conservatively. However, the paint quality was poor, with the roof resembling brush strokes, the subwoofer randomly--though frequently--generated a grating distortion sound (yes, even after the recall), various rattles, poor quality sound, and the overall interior materials were iffy. Intrigued by the mpg's though, I ordered the plug-in version for 2023. 3,000 miles into ownership, I'm pleased with the results. For most of my wife's use, the ICE never starts. It will go a couple of weeks with the same tank of gas being virtually untouched. Acceleration in EV-Only mode isn't terrible and on city streets blends in seamlessly with traffic. We are variously getting 26-30 miles range on EV-Only mode. Crossover to ICE is wholly transparent. Even when you know the EV battery is depleted and the ICE is going to kick in you still can't feel it. The only indications are the icon on the dash and the subtle gravelly sound the 2.5 engine makes under load. Charging through the 110 outlet is, admittedly, slow, but that's what overnights are for. Besides, unlike a dedicated EV, there's always a full tank of gas to take us wherever we need to go if we have to interrupt the charging cycle. There's even a handy text message to let you know when the charge is full. On the highway with a full EV battery in ECO mode, my 100 mile trip yesterday with mostly highway driving (secondary roads, two-lane highways, four-lane 75-mph highways) still netted me 89.1 mpg for the trip (though it obviously wholly depleted the EV mode). Also, even when the EV battery indicates complete discharge, the basic hybrid mode seems more robust than the 2020's, allowing from-rest acceleration to higher speeds than the older model. The hybrid system (again, with the EV battery showing 0% and the charging-while-driving-mode off) engages more frequently, stays electric longer, and manages better mpg than the 2020. The only criticism of this is that the giant touch-screen controller is slow to react. And, to dig into the menu deeply enough to access these various EV settings can require multiple inputs that are usually laggy. The graphics on the screen are, fortunately, bright and quite clear, but everything seems a touch laggy at best and confused at other times. I preferred the console toggle button on the 2020 to access these features. If you are going to the trouble to find a Titanium Escape Plug-In (hard-loaded examples of which are very difficult to find in the Midwest--trust me), you're likely focused on better mpg so making these features instantaneously accessible makes sense. True, there is an actual button on the dash to access the EV settings, but it is merely a shortcut to get to the same laggy screen. Of course, sport mode makes the otherwise dishwater-dull acceleration seem much more energetic--at the cost of mpg. Again, if you bought a plug-in, how often are you going to tool around in sport mode? However, there are times in traffic it would be nice to just push a tactile button a couple of times to summon sport mode for near-term traffic needs. Alas, the system is sufficiently laggy that I have yet to timely summon all 100% of the Escape's acceleration capabilities within a narrow margin of time for imminent traffic conditions. So, if you're behind me and think I should have gunned it and would have easily made it through the yellow light, my apologies. But your estimation of my acceleration was wrong. However, if I wanted to go fast I would have taken the other vehicle. The paint quality on the 2023 is leagues better than the 2020's. Since delivery, I've waxed it twice to go over every part of it,and the paint is fine. The 2023 is carbonized gray metallic. Maybe not my favorite gray on the market, but it works well on this car. The space gray interior is a nice change from the coal-bin black-on-black-on-black-on-black of the 2020. The LED lights provide a piercing and exact light pattern--better than the 2020's. The LED accents are more attractive in real life than I thought they looked in the online photos. The seat upholstery is a step up from the 2020's. The steering wheel cover feels like leather and not the faux-grained "leather" on the 2020. The interior is quiet. The stereo, fortunately, sounds much better. It's not great, but it is easily tolerable and, again, leagues better than the 2020's. Oddly, the physical knob for the volume and on/off was moved to the far right side of the center dash--making it inconvenient. For whatever reason, the on/off button for the CUV was moved to the former radio on/off/volume knob. I routinely stab aimlessly where the previous on/off button was located. Not sure this made much progress. Still, the whole of the interior feels "screwed-together" tighter than the 2020--no squeaks, rattles, or thumps to date. Other interior upgrades include the HUD display. I found it annoying and distracting at first, only to come to like it now. Plus, it's fold-down feature is kind of a gee-whiz factor. The 2023 has every option except the BAMR, which my wife never used on previous cars anyway. Of course, the big change when you get in the 2023 is the dominant center-mounted touch screen. As noted above, the images are crisp and clear, the animated start-up and shut-down show is new, and the placement is within arms reach. The organization of the accessories on the touch-screen is something I have yet to get right routinely (is it a feature? a setting? where is it in the menu?). Also, the "gas mileage until empty" indicator is frequently AWOL and I, frankly, haven't invested in the time to figure out how to make it join the party on a full-time basis. The ride is smooth but with the one-inch-smaller wheels than the 2020, seems a bit more controlled. Neither one would qualify as "fun to drive" in the twisty-bits. Both are floaty and feel slightly disconnected from steering inputs. If you want something fun to drive, shop elsewhere. However, smooth ride, quiet interior, comfortable seating, easy ingress/egress, and plenty of room for two--and little to no gas use--makes this the go-to for most all city travel. No, it won't pull the boat. No, it's not going to beat anyone in a stoplight race. No, it's not 4WD and would quickly get stuck, I'm quite sure. However, I have a pickup that accomplishes those goals. In the end, I'm sad to see Ford giving up on the Escape. This one is my family's 5th Escape. I do not see us replacing it with a Bronco II, as that vehicle's raison d'etre is considerably different than the Escape's mission. However, given the notable improvements over the 2020 and my week-long experience in a 2022 Toyota RAV4 recently, I find the Escape wholly competitive and, in some respects, superior to the RAV4.

Actually, I'm very curious about anyone's reliability experience with a 2022 or 2023 Explorer--hybrid, 4-cyl, or 6-cyl. [Unnamed dealer sources] have strongly encouraged me to not get an Explorer (citing a host of electrical, drivetrain, and fit-and-finish issues). However, with Ford continually whittling down its available vehicles, the Explorer and Ranger are the only two vehicles that fit my requirements. Thoughts, anyone?

Am I the only one who believes a 250 mile range (see: Mach-E base powertrain) qualifies as a "toy" and a 310 mile range (see: Mach-E with $7,000 extended range battery) is is mostly annoying? I had a 1998 Mercury Mystique V6/5-speed that barely eked out a 300 mile range and found it enormously inconvenient for my use (frequent fuel stops). If Ford is going to force us go EV (or, well, to another manufacturer), shouldn't we be seeing some dramatic improvements to the erstwhile staid progress of the Mach-E?

In my family, we've had 3 Fusion/corporate twins. Gone. We've had 3 Edges. Gone. We've had 4 Escapes (a 5th on the way). Now apparently also gone. So my future is going to have about 150-mile real-world range with long "refueling" times?

Then that's exactly what I had read: that the ICE will fire up intermittently based upon whatever metrics its programming is using. The review I had read said the ICE started up much more frequently than the reviewed had anticipated. Given the anticipated arrival of my '23 plug-in Escape, I was wondering whether it would basically just be a full EV car until it was on a longer trip. j2sys's comment (and what I read) suggest Ford's programming start the ICE for any number of reasons regardless of the selected mode of operation. It'll be interesting to see how it all works--but 525 mile projected range is pretty cool regardless.

Reviews I saw on earlier model year Escape plug-ins suggested you could not force the CUV into full EV mode; that it would cycle the ICE on and off per its operating system. What I'm reading/seeing about the '23 is you can now go into the dash menu and force the Escape into battery mode until depletion, at which point it kicks on the ICE and operates normally on gas until the battery is recharged. Is that correct?

Me playing on my keyboard.... [:====:] Ford designer..... "hey, what if we made that the front end of the SD??" *Full disclosure: I don't think it looks that bad.

I've seen several postings inquiring about curb weight--which was always a bugaboo with the previous model. Any chance the '24 lost some weight? Anyone?

My family had an '86 Mercury Sable LS with the constantly-burning-out bulbs in the lightbar. Looked cool when it worked.

Is it just me, or does the new nose give it a faintly Subaru-ish look? Not a criticism, as almost anything would be an improvement over the current nose (full disclosure: my wife drives a '20 Escape Titanium Hybrid).

I have a 2020 Ranger and I'm pretty sure it's the same as the '22. Yes, the rear seat has a latch when it is "returned to its full upright and locked position." Mine is super finicky, too. And very tight (so much so, it squeaks on the rubber mounts against which the seatback rests on the back wall of the cab). I think I took off the headrests once to get it to latch. You might consider shaving down the rubber bump-stops--it shouldn't take much. Once I got it re-latched I've left it, since there's no appreciable storage back there and the seatback doesn't fold down parallel with the floor anyway. (I'm hoping the new Ranger will fix that oversight.)