Solid rear axles were commonly used on the full-sized truck-based SUVs and Jeep Cherokee due to their ability to carry heavy loads at the expense of a comfortable ride and good handling. Other car makers, Jeep, Toyota and Honda had been offering smaller unibody designs, the Jeep Cherokee (XJ), RAV4 and CR-V respectively. This followed a long history of Mazda-derived Fords, starting with the Ford Courier in the 1970s.Īt the time, larger sport-utility vehicles tended to use pickup truck-based, body-on-frame designs. At first, the twinned models were assembled by Ford in the US for North American consumption, with Mazda in Japan supplying cars for other markets. Powertrains were supplied by Mazda with respect to the base inline-four engine, with Ford providing the optional V6. Although the Escape and Tribute shared the same underpinnings constructed from the Ford CD2 platform (based on Mazda GF underpinnings), the only panels common to the two vehicles were the roof and floor pressings. It was jointly developed with Mazda, in which Ford owned a controlling interest, and was released simultaneously with the Mazda Tribute. The first generation of Ford Escape was released in 2000 for the 2001 model year. Outside of North America, the Ford Escape is sold in Australia, China, and Taiwan. As with previous generations, the fourth-generation Escape is offered with gasoline, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid options.
Sharing a common body and chassis underpinnings (and several engines), the Escape and Kuga are produced in their home markets. Under the mid-2000s "One Ford" globalization strategy, the third and fourth-generation designs of the Escape have been unified with the Ford Kuga, designed by Ford of Europe. In Europe, the Escape was initially branded as the Ford Maverick from 2001 to 2008 (replacing a Nissan-produced SUV). The first two generations used the Ford CD2 platform (jointly developed with Mazda), leading to the release of the Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner as with the Escape, both the Tribute and Mariner were sold in North America. Through rebranding, Ford has sold the Escape under several nameplates through its production.
In another first, the 2004 Ford Escape Hybrid was the first hybrid-electric vehicle from Ford, and the first hybrid produced as an SUV. The first Ford SUV derived from a car platform, the Escape was slotted below the Ford Explorer in size the Escape is currently sized between the Ford EcoSport and Ford Edge. The Ford Escape (also known as the Ford Kuga) is a compact crossover SUV sold by Ford since the 2001 model year.
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