2024 Ford Escape compact crossover gets revised styling for the 2024 model year, with sharper headlights linked by LED strips and a squarer grille.
Just five years ago, Ford sold more than 300,000 units of its Escape compact crossover. But the fourth-generation model, which goes on sale starting in the 2020 model year, has not proven to be as popular, with some 178,000 sold in 2020.
Sales dropped another 33,000 units last year as the formidable Bronco Sport arrived as an internal competition. . In a bid to stop the Escape’s spiral, Ford is preparing a facelift, and the updated crossover has now been spotted completely undisguised near its production facility in Louisville, Kentucky.
The most notable change for the Ford Escape 2024 is the trendy light bar that extends above the grille and connects the headlights. The headlights themselves were revised, with a less rounded shape reminiscent of the headlights on the Jaguar I-Pace.
The grille has also been redesigned, sitting higher on the front fascia and with boxier lines, and the Ford logo has migrated to the center of the grille. While it doesn’t look as chunky as the Bronco Sport, the Escape’s facelift definitely adds another level of toughness with a faux skid plate on the front bumper.
Changes to the rear of the Escape are more subtle, with the taillights sporting the new upside-down-U LED headlight markings. The rear bumper has not changed, and this example avoids the black plastic cladding along the sides of the vehicle for body-colored trim.
The facelifted Escape is expected to continue to offer gas, hybrid, and plug-in variants, and that should be revealed in the fall before starting production later this year.
Ford is preparing a refresh for the 2024 Escape, and the updated crossover was spied on without camouflage near its production facility in Louisville, Kentucky.
The front end is heavily revised, with more pointed headlights, a boxier grille, and an LED light bar.
The taillights have also been redesigned, and the Escape facelift is expected to debut this fall.
2024 Ford Escape Review
The new-generation Ford Escape had a rocky start in the United States. Sales of the Kuga brother in North America fell 26.1 percent in 2020 compared to 2019 despite the crossover being completely redesigned.
In October last year, it was also announced that production of the Escape PHEV would not begin until Ford fixed a battery problem that the Euro-spec model was experiencing.
Now, it turns out that the seven-seater Escape is also not in the plans for a US launch. FordAuthority reports the Blue oval company is working on a three-row version of the compact crossover but it will only be available in China.
According to preliminary details, the seven-seater model will be launched in the People’s Republic towards the end of this year or in early 2022.
Our sources say the vehicle will be slightly longer than the standard Escape and will continue to be based on the C2 platform currently used by a number of Ford and Lincoln products.
The design is almost entirely identical with the only difference between the five and seven-seater versions being the more boxy roofline. Access to the third-row seats will be assisted by the sliding second-row seats.
Initially, it was believed that the seven-seater Escape could replace the Edge in Ford’s US lineup. The latter was expected to be discontinued after the current model year but apparently, the automaker’s plans have changed.
We believe that Fusion’s successor like the upcoming wagon could be positioned as a successor to the Edge, which leaves no room for the three-row Escape in the United States.
At this point, there is no word on whether Kuga will get a seven-seater version for Europe.
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2024 Ford Escape Redesign
The Ford Escape is coming for a major facelift, and the latest prototype has shed all the camouflage gear seen in previous testers.
The current Escape, known as the Kuga in some markets, was introduced for the 2020 model year with a rather lukewarm design that was made even more forgettable with the launch of the associated Bronco Sport a year later.
Ford has attempted to address this shortcoming with a mid-cycle update to the compact crossover. The rounded front end of the current Escape has given way to a tougher, more blocky look on the updated model.
The headlights are also new and the grille is now taller and features the Ford logo in the center. Currently, the logo is on the front edge of the hood.
The overall result is something more akin to the Mustang Mach-E’s design.
Changes to the rear styling are less dramatic. There’s a revised fascia and a new design for the exhaust tip.
A look inside reveals a revised dashboard with a larger infotainment screen. To make way for a larger screen, the physical controls that currently sit above the air vents have been moved to the bottom of the display bezel as capacitive touch controls.
It’s unclear what Ford plans for the powertrains. The current Escape has a relatively diverse lineup starting with a turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-3 capable of 181 hp.
A turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 offers 250 hp, and for fuel-conscious buyers, there is a 2.5-liter inline-4 offered in hybrid and plug-in hybrid configurations. They offer up to 200 and 221 hp, respectively.
Look out for the updated Escape to be announced as a 2024 model soon.
Ford Escape 2024 Spied
A new spy shot has caught the updated Ford Escape fully unlocked. We first saw the revamped crossover late last year, but Ford hid the styling changes under the camouflage wrap that is now missing in this new image. This is our first clear look at the updated style, and there are significant changes on the front.
The lack of camouflage reveals that the Escape will feature a light bar at the front connecting the redesigned crossover headlights, similar to elements on the F-150 Lightning.
Ford is reshaping the trapezoidal grille that will be on the restyled face of the crossover. The grille looks taller than before, which sits right under the new hood.
The new styling forced Ford to reposition the Blue Oval to the grille. The new photos also reveal a crossover sporting new fog lamps and a restyled lower bumper grille. The changes at the rear are more subtle, but the updated Escape will arrive with revamped taillight internals.
We haven’t looked inside the new Escape yet, but we don’t expect any significant changes with this mid-cycle refresh. The current Escape is all new for the 2020 model year, and we doubt Ford will make any major changes to the interior layout.
However, Ford might expand the available technology to include the BlueCruise driver assistance system.
While the new Escape features Lightning-like lighting elements, we didn’t expect the crossover to come with a battery-electric powertrain. Instead, we expect the current engine model to carry almost unchanged. That means the new Escape will continue to offer petrol, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
We don’t know when Ford will reveal the updated Escape, but we hope it will be before the end of the year. Our spy photographer believes Ford will unveil the new Escape before the end of September, with production starting for the 2024 model sometime in November.
The Escape shares its foundations with the new Bronco Sport, and the redesign will help differentiate the soft crossover from its fan-focused sibling.
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Ford Escape 2024 Price
The starting price of the new Ford Escape 2024 is estimated to be around $27,000, with the price going up by a few hundred dollars to cover the upgrade.
Adding all-wheel-drive increases the price by about $1,500. This price is relatively competitive with competitors’ compact SUV/crossover ranges.
2024 Ford Escape Release Date
Possible fleet production We estimate that production of the updated Ford Escape crossover will begin in November 2023. This points to the Ford Escape 2024 release date starting December or January 2024.