zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
2023 Ford Escape Gets a Sporty ST-Line and an LED Across its Nose
2023 Ford Escape Gets a Sporty ST-Line and an LED Across its Nose-May 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:09:20

2023 Ford Escape plug-in hybrid in blue, ST-Line in red.

The has already received a pretty substantial update. Just three years into its product cycle, Ford has given the Escape a whole new look for 2023.

The styling is the biggest and most obvious update. It’s not as cute as it was before, which is a good thing. The redesigned front facia comes across as more grown-up and handsome. Aside from the new grille and headlights, some models can be equipped with a full-width light bar that Ford describes as running from “coast to coast.” It’s reminiscent of the light bar seen on Mercury models in the 1990s, but slimmed down to a narrow LED strip.

Image for article titled 2023 Ford Escape Gets a Sporty ST-Line and an LED Across its Nose

Inside is more or less the same as the previous model, but Ford has updated the interior with new materials for an upscale feel on certain trims. The Escape is also jumping on the big-screen wagon with an available 13.2-inch landscape-oriented touchscreen that runs Ford’s cloud-based SYNC 4 operating system. There’s also built-in Amazon Alexa with voice recognition, a suite of driver safety aids that include Ford’s Co-Pilot 360, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Image for article titled 2023 Ford Escape Gets a Sporty ST-Line and an LED Across its Nose

There’s also some thoughtful features that show Ford paid attention to customer needs. For example, the new dashboard design places the most frequently used controls at the bottom of the touchscreen so you don’t waste your time sifting through menus to find them. The sliding rear seat also gives the Escape some serious rear legroom: Ford says the Escape has more second-row legroom than a Toyota Sequoia, which, for reference, offers 39.2 inches of second-row legroom.

2023 Ford Escape ST-Line

The next big news is the addition of ST-Line trims to the Escape lineup. The Escape has never been a sporty vehicle, but for 2023 Ford hopes to inject a little sportiness. You’ll be able to tell the ST-Line apart by the black mesh grill, rear spoiler, and that LED light bar up front. The sporty version also gets standard 18-inch wheels, with optional 19s available. Inside, the ST-Line gets a black interior with red stitching on everything from the doors to the steering wheel and even the floor mats. Ford even threw in a flat-bottomed steering wheel for good measure. The ST-Line join the existing base, Active, Platinum, and plug-in hybrid trims.

Image for article titled 2023 Ford Escape Gets a Sporty ST-Line and an LED Across its Nose

As before, the 2023 Escape comes standard with a 180-hp 1.5-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder turbo engine and either front- or all-wheel drive. This setup is available on base, Active and ST-Line models. Premium, ST-Line Select and ST-Line Elite models offer the 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbo four-cylinder making 250 hp with standard all-wheel drive. Hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants will be offered as well.

2023 Ford Escape PHEV

And Ford is making some big promises with those hybrid drivetrains. Final EPA numbers have not yet been released, but Ford says we can expect the plug-in hybrid to make 210 hp total and go 37 miles on battery power alone. And while the automaker says every 2023 Escape should be able to exceed 400 miles on a tank of fuel (again, pending final EPA numbers), the full hybrid Escape will trounce that, aiming for more than 550 miles on a tank of fuel.

Ordering for the 2023 Ford Escape opens today, with vehicles due to reach dealers in early 2023. Pricing starts at $28,995 for a front-drive base-model Escape with the 1.5-liter engine; ST-Line models start at $31,335; and the top-of-the-line 2.5-liter plug-in hybrid will run you $39,995.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
At $18,700, Could This 1977 Ford Mustang II Prove An Electrifying Deal?
At $18,700, Could This 1977 Ford Mustang II Prove An Electrifying Deal?
With the debut of the Mach-E taking the Mustang brand in unfamiliar directions, now’s a good time to look back on another pony that flouted tradition. Today’s Mustang II represents the most vilified of editions—at least so far. Let’s see if it, and its price, are really all that...
May 21, 2026
The 2020 Audi R8 Is Your Friendly Neighborhood Supercar
The 2020 Audi R8 Is Your Friendly Neighborhood Supercar
The 2020 is kind of the ultimate mass-appeal supercar, but that feels like an undersell. It’s really fun to drive and ride in regardless of how talented or “into cars” you are, and somehow it manages to be imposing without being intimidating. (: Audi got me a lovely room at...
May 21, 2026
The 2020 BMW M235i Gran Coupe Is Full Of Surprises
The 2020 BMW M235i Gran Coupe Is Full Of Surprises
“Wait a minute. Holy shit,” I said out loud in near-total disbelief as I walked up to my friend and Jalopnik contributor William Clavey as he started up the new . I was not expecting a bellowing and cracking exhaust note I could hear from 20 feet away. “That...
May 21, 2026
My Halloween Road Trip In A 797-HP Challenger Redeye Got Real Spooky
My Halloween Road Trip In A 797-HP Challenger Redeye Got Real Spooky
Deep within the dark and wild forests of New England, an ancient beast awakens. Its fierce growl unmistakable, it emerges from the mist-heavy woods hungry, searching for fuel for its infernal heart below cold, indifferent stars. This Lovecraftian monster wasn’t something out of myth and lore, but a 2019...
May 21, 2026
At $8,200, Would You Drop The Hammer On This 2004 Mercedes E55 AMG?
At $8,200, Would You Drop The Hammer On This 2004 Mercedes E55 AMG?
The seller of today’s E55 AMG offers to let you bring a mechanic round to check it out. Let’s see if its price demands you also bring along your accountant. There’s a question that pops up perennially on Reddit that asks if you could bring back one extinct animal...
May 21, 2026
The Only Way For Long-Term Electric Car Sales To Work Is To Do What The Communists Did
The Only Way For Long-Term Electric Car Sales To Work Is To Do What The Communists Did
I saw documenting how , a Southern California car shuttle service that only operates Teslas, has some of the highest-mileage Teslas in the world, with many having over 300,000 miles on the clock. The important part here, though, is that maintenance-wise, the cars are doing fantastic, way better than...
May 21, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved