Ford’s SUVs and pickup trucks are the company’s best-selling offerings on the car market. Ford offers many SUVs, and the Escape is Ford’s premier compact SUV. Here’s everything you need to know about the tech that Ford offers on the Escape. 

The Ford Escape’s standard features 

Like many standard models of cars, the standard Escape doesn’t have too much tech. U.S. News reports that the Escape comes with a 4.2-inch display screen as well as Ford’s SYNC system. Notably, that 4.2-inch display isn’t a touchscreen. Ford’s SYNC system is a system that allows the occupants to control things with just their voice. 

However, as smart as this system may sound, it’s actually not compatible with Android Auto nor is it compatible with Apple CarPlay, according to U.S. News. That’s mainly because Ford’s SYNC system is relatively old when it comes to tech. The first generation of SYNC, which is what comes standard with the Escape, first came out in 2007, for example. 

Other than those things, Ford only offers a single USB port and a six-speaker stereo system as standard features on the Escape. These lackluster standard features were reasons why car reviewers, according to U.S. News, didn’t think too highly of the interior of the Escape.

The Ford Escape’s optional features

Unsurprisingly, Ford offers more high tech features in the more expensive trims of the Escape. One of these features includes an 8-inch touchscreen display that is actually compatible with Android Auto as well as Apple CarPlay. On top of that, this infotainment system will come with Ford’s SYNC 3, which is a vastly improved version of the SYNC system that Ford offers on the standard Escape. 

Additionally, Ford also offers several other premium interior features on the Escape. U.S. News says that these include a single or dual-zone automatic climate control system, a navigation system, a premium 10-speaker stereo system, satellite radio, and a WiFi hotspot. 

Car reviewers, such as Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book, and Car and Driver, all praised the touchscreen infotainment system of the Escape. They all found that the SYNC 3 system was very intuitive and easy to use. Furthermore, the touchscreen itself was, according to Kelley Blue Book, the star of the Escape’s interior. 

Other car reviewers said that the touchscreen was responsive and that the graphics looked great. Additionally, due to the interior design of the Escape, reaching the touchscreen was very easy from the driver’s seat. 

One trim of the Escape, the titanium model, also offers a 6-inch head-up display. U.S. News says that it isn’t like any other head-up display though, as it physically flips up and down rather than being a projection. As a result of this, U.S. News didn’t really like the head-up display option for the Escape, saying that this design choice actually hurts the usefulness of the head-up display. 

Smart safety features

Ford may not be known for its safety, but Ford actually offers a lot of standard smart safety features on the Escape, according to U.S. News. Some of these include: blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keep assist, forward collision warning, a pedestrian detection system, and automatic emergency braking. Many of these systems, including others that weren’t mentioned, aren’t offered as standard on other SUVs.

For the optional smart safety features, Ford offers adaptive cruise control, rear parking sensors, evasive steering assist, and parallel and perpendicular parking assist. 

Taking everything into account, U.S. News says that the Escape is a very safe SUV. It scored really well in its crash tests, and when that fact is combined with its large suite of standard safety features, U.S. News gave the Escape a 9.9 out of 10 for safety.