All-New 2020 Ford Escape Earns Top Spot in J.D. Power APEAL Study

July 23, 2020 6:01 am

So far this year, Ford has experienced a mixed bag of success in various J.D. Power studies, most recently securing a respectable fifth-place finish in the Automotive Brand Loyalty Study, which followed a below industry average score in the Initial Quality Study. But now that the 2020 J.D. Power APEAL Study results are out, The Blue Oval has a couple of new, positive results to hang its hat on.

For starters, the automaker finished fourth among all mass market automakers in the study. On top of that, the all-new 2020 Ford Escape took home the top spot among all compact SUVs, tying with the Mazda CX-5 and beating out the GMC Terrain, specifically.

The J.D. Power APEAL Study (Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) was designed to measure the “joy” a vehicle provides its owners, particularly to the point where it overshadows any potential problems they might experience with those vehicles. This is an unique phenomenon drives sales and generates brand loyalty and advocacy.

The 2020 APEAL Study has received some updates in this, its 25^th year. It is designed to complement the Initial Quality Study and the Power Tech Experience Index Study by measuring owners’ emotional attachment and level of excitement with their new vehicle across 37 attributes.

This year’s version of the study is based on the responses gathered from 87,282 owners of new 2020 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership, and was conducted from February through May, 2020.

J.D. Power polls owners on qualities like the sense of comfort and luxury they feel when climbing into the driver’s seat to the feeling they get when they step on the gas pedal. These attributes are then used to compute an overall APEAL index score, which is measured on a 1,000 point scale. Ford scored an 853, which landed it behind cross-town rivals Dodge (872), Ram (871), and GMC (857), but far ahead of Chevrolet (839) and the segment average (838).

We’ll have the latest on all notable automotive studies in the future, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford Escape news and and continuous Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.