Ford Escape (Kuga): Philippines Adventure Experience

The Ford Escape (called Kuga in some markets) is a crossover / SUV that goes up against the recently launched Hyundai Tucson. Ford hasn’t officially stated that the Kuga / Escape is coming to India but given the gap that exists in its SUV portfolio in India, it will do well to bring in a competent, well-specced and dynamic SUV like Kuga / Escape to our shores. Till then, here’s what our time with the Kuga / Escape (which we will call Escape for the remaining article for the sake of simplicity) in Philippines was like…

To experience the life of a Ford Escape owner, we were given a schedule to escape the city with an outdoor adventure. This included a 43km drive to a location called ‘The Lakeshore’, famous for its modern outdoor activities and gaming which surrounds a lake that’s renowned for its aquatic life. So we mounted up two bicycles on the Escape and hit the busy city streets before exiting the town and getting on to the highway to reach our new destination.

The Escape we drove was a petrol AWD model that makes use of a 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine capable of making 240bhp and 366Nm of torque. This engine is mated to a six-speed SelectShift automatic transmission with Sport mode and a manual gear shifting function on the lever. Other than the hint of hesitation at crawling speeds, this motor enthusiastically leaps ahead when the throttle is punched, especially in Sport mode. As the roads were quite smooth all the way, the ride turned out to be flat and comfy.

When you look at the Escape’s interiors, especially the dashboard design and layout, it is quite similar to the Ecosport. This five seater has a high cabin, so ingress and egress is much more natural unlike a saloon or a hatchback. Visibility from the driver’s seat thanks to the large windscreen is excellent, and the seats themselves have lots of contours and thigh support. With ample head and knee room also in store, all these traits translate into loads of comfort at the front.

At the rear, the panorama sunroof keeps the interiors lit up while the occupants enjoy the snug, well contoured rear seat that has adequate cushioning on the squab and backrest which is adjustable. Though there’s lots of headroom and legroom at the rear, thigh support is in short supply. Meanwhile, the boot can swallow 442 litres of cargo, and the rear 60:40 split seats fold flat to maximise storage space to 1928 litres.

Once we reached the destination, we quickly released the bicycles from their boot lid mounts and went about the scheduled outdoor adventures that included a spin around the lake on a pedal boat and a kayak, casting a fishing line, playing volleyball and badminton, and also had a go at a game of chess. Towards the end of the day, after heading back to the hotel, we began to appreciate the unique bit about this drive, and the manner in which we were able to experience what the Ford Escape exactly feels like to live with.

click here for the Ford Explorer: Philippines Adventure Experience