Buyers looking to dress their 2026 Ford Escape with a flashier color beyond the typical grayscale options should be prepared to pay a little more. Vapor Blue Metallic, previously a no-cost color since its introduction, now becomes a hue with an added charge.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Vapor Blue Metallic (paint code K1) is now an extra-cost color on the 2026 Ford Escape. At the time of this writing, pricing for the hue is not available – although it’s worth noting that when it was introduced to the 2025 Ford Explorer, that same color came with a $495 price tag.
Vapor Blue Metallic is offered on all 2026 Ford Escape trims, including Active, ST-Line, ST-Line Select, ST-Line Elite, Platinum, and PHEV. It can also be combined with all interior colorways, making it one of the most widely available colors on the crossover’s options list. The hue was first made available on the 2023 Ford Escape, where, as previously stated, it was included as a no-cost color. It continued to be a no-cost hue for the 2024 and 2025 model years before becoming a premium color option on the 2026 Ford Escape.
The future of the Ford Escape seemed murky until a few months ago, when Ford Authority reported that the crossover would live to see the 2026 model year after all. With its unexpected return comes a handful of changes and updates, headlined by the deletion of the front-wheel-drive (FWD) hybrid powertrain. The hybrid isn’t going away entirely; it’s simply now offered exclusively with all-wheel-drive (AWD).
While the 2026 Ford Escape is officially on offer, its run may be brief. Availability will be limited to select U.S. states, as the model isn’t being built to meet California-compliant emissions standards, meaning it won’t be sold in California, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Oregon, and Washington and all CARB states.
In addition, the facility that handles its assembly – the Ford Louisville Assembly plant – will be shut down for retooling in late 2025. That means production of the Escape and its corporate cousin, the Lincoln Corsair, will almost certainly conclude before the plant receives upfitting for the future assembly of electric vehicles. This will involve three building projects expected to add 52,000 square feet to the facility, along with new dock positions and the construction of an electric vehicle charging station.
Comments
“Oh, you want it painted? Let me add that to your bill.”
Does the Platinum trim exist? I haven’t seen one on any lot, or even advertised. I asked a Ford sales rep and he said he never heard of it.
I had to special order mine. I don’t know why the dealers won’t put them on the lot. Maybe they assume no one will pay the higher price point.
Ford makes little sense. They sell a lot of Corsairs, in non hybrid form. Why kill it? The hybrid is 10k more and tough to justify