Agreed. I will be one of those people. I have only owned sedans, but now that I've driven a few CUV's and minivans (haha, i know ), i see the hug benefits of owning a cuv over a sedan now. An RX may be in my future (i know it's an suv,).

 

^^ Mike, note: you have a lot of the old/current pictures of the Kuga, etc. above in post #30.

The future redesigned Escape/Kuga will be different from every vehicle shown directly above (brand new design, not a facelift). The new 2012 model will be a "world vehicle" for both US market and other markets. See my picture of the Vertrek at top of page here for a better idea of what the 2012 Escape will look like.

I won't waste any time discussing Forrester sales catching up to CRV sales, not even close, not even a realistic scenario. Your "if" is a stretch again. We don't need to wait and see, the trend is obvious to everybody (almost everybody maybe).

 

They were labeled 2012/2013 Escape. Google shots are sometimes inaccurate...we'll see.


Well, that's one reason why I don't like guesswork (even my own, sometimes). Automakers, IMO, should not play a cat-and-mouse game with the bras and body-tape....but they do.

Fine. In this thread, it's somewhat off-topic, anyway.

 

This is not offtopic for following reasons.

1. When we use Google, we need to use judgment and our knowledge and refine the results, not guessing. Here we are trying to research 2012 Escape

2. The 2012 Escape and Kuga will be "world" vehicles from Ford, shared platforms for a change.

It's not about being "fine", it's about getting the best available information on Car Chat for members here.

 

Agreed...but I was referring to the Forester-vs.-CR-V issue. We can safely drop that, because, for the new Escape, it's probably irrelevant.

Yeah, I have at least some interest in the design of the new Escape myself. For one thing, though it's OK as a small SUV, I didn't particularly like the low-rent interior fit/finish of the current 2gen model.....nor did I like the excessively spongy brakes when it first came out, though Ford tossed out the rear-drums for discs last year and reworked the brake-hydraulics. I know you are (probably) more interested in it than I am...though the Escape is on my Top-Ten possible new-car-list, it is not in my Top Five.

 

Yes, I share the same interest in a capable crossover/SUV of this size too.

But really any discussion of the current 2nd gen Escape doesn't relate to 2012 Escape (the topic here). None of the dated current Escape engines will be used in new 2012. The new Escape/Kuga will have zero common parts with current Escape fortunately.

 

Minor note (in the interest of accuracy), not that we need to dwell on the old Escape in it's final days:

2011 Ford Escape (current model) brake system still has rear drums:

or per Ford, "Power front disc/rear drum with 4-wheel Anti-Lock Brake System"

 

Fine. That's OK.......I'm not egocentric or conceited. I don't mind you posting something that corrects me if I'm in error. I remember Ford trying to address the spongy-brake complaint of Escape owners a few years ago with some reworking (I drove one myself, and thought the brakes were awful). I thought I remembered them going to a 4-disc system....apparantly not.

And, yes.....on to the new model.................

 

Cool,, yes they did address the spongy brake feel, if not the long braking distances. (I think the confusion is the result of somewhere in the Escape lifecycle rear discs were used for a short period of time on some models, but no longer the case on any models today).

Yes, I'm keeping a look out for new info on the all-new Escape/Kuga. I think Ford might have a potential hit in the works.