Sam McEachern
The 2020 Ford Escape debuted this week along with the European-spec version, which is called the Kuga.
Now the Chinese-spec 2020 Ford Escape has made its debut, arriving with a slightly larger grille that aims to help it stand out amongst the sea of crossover offerings in the country.
“Reflecting the aesthetic preferences and particular needs of young urban Chinese, the all-new Ford Escape Titanium offers a unique front face tailor-made for Chinese consumers, demonstrating Ford’s ambitions in accelerating the launch of more products with customer-centric design in China,” the automaker said in a prepared statement.
Moray Callum, Ford’s vice president of Global Design, explained why the automaker took a different design approach for the Chinese-spec Escape.
“After considerable research, we found that Chinese consumers favor ‘subtle and dynamic’ aesthetics – they prefer designs that are understated yet powerful,” he said.
It’s not yet clear what the powertrain lineup for the Chinese 2020 Ford Escape will consist of. The U.S. model’s base engine is a 180-horsepower 1.5L EcoBoost three-cylinder, with a 250-horsepower 2.0L EcoBoost four-cylinder available as an option. There’s also a 48V mild hybrid model with a 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle engine, which delivers a total system output of 198 horsepower, along with a plug-in hybrid that offers up to 30 miles of electric range.
As for the European-spec 2020 Kuga, two hybrid powertrains will be offered, along with a 1.5-liter three-cylinder diesel, which is available with either 120 horsepower or 150 horsepower.
The previous-generation Escape, which was marketed as the Kuga in China, may remain on sale in the country – serving as a budget alternative to the more up-to-date 2020 Escape. This is a common practice in China and Ford appears to have alluded to this in a statement, saying that “together with the Ford Territory and Ford Kuga, the all-new Ford Escape will provide more choices to Chinese customers and enable Ford to fully cover China’s midsize SUV market, enabling more consumers to enjoy the convenience and fun of a Ford SUV.”
If you’re wondering, the Ford Territory, first shown late last year, is a new budget-friendly crossover from Ford sold locally in China. It’s not an original Ford product, however, and is instead based on the locally made Yusheng S330. It was introduced to help drive growth in the region after Ford China sales plunged in 2018.
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Looks better than the US Escape, but also looks a hell of a lot like a Hyundai Tucson.
The front end looks much better.