Ford Escape Ground Clearance: What To Know
2020 Ford Escape by Kevauto — CC BY-SA 4.0
A few years after discontinuing their iconic Bronco, Ford introduced the Ford Escape as their new small SUV offering. It has stuck around (albeit in pretty different forms) for over twenty years. And this year, the Bronco has returned, but since the Escape has changed so much over the years, they serve two very different purposes in Ford’s lineup now.
While the Bronco is an off-roader more in the vein of a Jeep Wrangler, the Escape is mainly meant to provide you with plenty of cargo space and passenger room with a smooth ride on city streets and highways.
As such, the Ford Escape’s ground clearance is a respectable 7.8 inches. This isn’t the highest ride in its class, but it should be enough for your average driving needs. We’ll give this number more context by telling you what this means for the driving experience and how it compares to its competitors.
What Can You Do with a Ford Escape?
You should be able to drive any road with your Ford Escape. But with the sporty suspension system, it won’t be enjoyable. With 7.8 inches of ground clearance, there aren’t too many paved roads that should worry you, even if they’re in bad shape. Even if you can’t avoid a pothole or bumpy section of the road, it’s unlikely that your car will bottom out low enough to risk any damage to your transmission, gas tank, or exhaust system.
You can also take the Escape a little off-road. Not too much, but as long as you have tires with plenty of traction (you might want wider ones with bigger treads than the stock wheels), the all-wheel drive option, and preferably the more powerful turbocharged four-cylinder 2.0L engine.
You should stick to well-worn paths if you don’t want to stay on the pavement, and be vigilant to any obstructions in your way. The Escape doesn’t have a skid plate to protect its undercarriage, so a decent-sized rock, tree stump, or hardy bush could spell disaster for your car. While you can purchase and install an aftermarket skid plate for your Escape, if you want to take your vehicle off-road so badly that you’re willing to modify your car, you might want to look for one already built to handle tougher trails in the great outdoors.
BE CERTAIN YOU’RE GETTING THE BEST DEAL
CoPilot searches your area and lets you know if there’s a better deal on a similar vehicle nearby, so you’re always certain you got the best deal possible. The CoPilot app is the smartest way to buy a car.
What Can’t You Do with a Ford Escape?
While the latest redesign for the Escape didn’t lower the ground clearance at all, it wasn’t completely unchanged. It got a new suspension system designed to make the car feel more sporty and agile on the roads. While this makes for a great driving experience on well-paved streets, it can take away from your experience when taking it off-road.
The stiffer, surer ride has less give so that you can feel the small bumps on a dirt road. And not all Ford Escapes should be taken off-road unless it’s pretty flat. If you got an Escape with standard front-wheel drive and have stock wheels on it, you might not get enough traction to accelerate anywhere with a slope or uncertain ground.
And even with the proper tires and optional all-wheel drive, you must ensure you have enough power. Luckily the new generation of Escape has three powerful options with 181, 200, or 250 horsepower. Still, you don’t want to discover the limits of your car’s engine by sliding dangerously down a hill on a dirt road that a tow truck might not reach.
With under eight inches of ground clearance and a suspension built to feel sporty on the asphalt, you won’t be driving over boulders and across creeks in an Escape. If you want that danger and excitement, get an appropriate car like Ford’s new Bronco or the classic Jeep Wrangler.
How Does it Compare to the Competition?
The compact SUV segment is one of the most competitive markets in the automotive industry these days. Due to the improved efficiency of engines these days and the relatively low price of gas, they are becoming increasingly viable options that provide you with more versatility than a sedan or hatchback.
Each car has to be a little different, so you have a reason to buy this one instead of another, leaving most of them with a ground clearance between 7.5 and 8.5 inches high, different enough to be noticeable but not too different.
The Ford Escape’s ground clearance is higher than that of the Kia Sportage (6.4 inches), the FWD Hyundai Tucson (6.4 inches), the Mazda CX-5 (7.5 inches), and the Chevy Equinox (7.6 inches). More road-oriented cars also focus on sporty rides and agile handling.
Meanwhile, small SUVs like the Honda CR-V (8.2 inches), AWD Hyundai Tucson (8.3 inches), Toyota RAV4 (8.4 inches), and Subaru Forester (8.7 inches) are still primarily designed to stay on the road. Still, they sacrifice a little handling ability in exchange for slightly better off-road capability. Some even come with optional packages to shift that balance further towards off-roading.
Then, of course, you have the Jeep Wrangler, a small SUV made to tackle any terrain with a ground clearance of 10.8 inches.
Within its own stable, Ford now has the Bronco and Bronco Sport to scratch that off-road itch. The Bronco Sport features 8.8 inches of ground clearance, while the Bronco comes standard with 8.4 inches of clearance.
However, the clearance can be upgraded to 11.6 inches with the optional 35-inch tires. These two models also have mechanical changes designed for going on harsh terrain and even going through water (with those 35-inch wheels on, you can even ford water up to 33.5 inches deep), two things you should not be doing with the Ford Escape ground clearance.
Should You Buy the Ford Escape Based on Ground Clearance?
While the Ford Escape is excellent for daily driving and the occasional trip to Whole Foods, it’s not the greatest SUV for off-road adventures. Older Ford Escapes have a ground clearance of 7.8 inches. However, the more recent models saw a decrease in ground clearance (like with previous generations) which is now between 6.8 and 7.3 inches for the 4th generation.
Don’t get us wrong; the Ford Escape is more than capable when it comes to moderate off-road duties such as light trails and gravel. You’ll generally want a vehicle with at least 8 to 10 inches of ground clearance for serious off-road activities. Thus, the Ford Escape will come up short if you’re looking for an actual off-roading machine. In comparison, competitors like the Subaru Forester Wilderness and Ford Bronco Sport have 9.2 inches and 8.8 inches of ground clearance, respectively.
With the decreasing ground clearance with each Escape generation, we suspect Ford is trying to shift its focus with this compact SUV. Light off-roading is a go, but you should look for another option if you plan to go down and dirty.
Get a Curated List of the Best Used Cars Near You
The CoPilot car shopping app is the easiest way to buy a car. Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll search the inventories of every dealership in your area to make you a personalized list of the best car listings in your area.
Only looking for newer models? CoPilot Compare is the search engine for nearly-new cars. Only see cars five years or newer with low mileage — CoPilot Compare is the best way to find off-lease, early trade-in, and CPO cars.
The best part? CoPilot is built using the same technology that dealerships use to buy and sell their inventories, so we have more info on each vehicle than competitors. CoPilot doesn’t work with dealerships, so there are no sponsored posts or other shady practices — just the most info on the best cars. Check out our About Us page to see how CoPilot works.
