The design of the Ford Escape is clean: Simple and practical without unnecessary flourishes and flares, contemporary and not likely to look outdated within just a few years.
Visually, the Escape Hybrid is barely changed from the standard Escape, and most people won't even notice that your SUV is different that the rest. There are small Hybrid badges just behind the front wheels and also on the rear hatch. The hybrid also has a vent built into its left rear quarter-panel glass; this vent helps cool the battery pack.
The standard fog lamps set toward the outside portion of the lower front fascia provide a nice balance to the car's face and visually widen the Escape Hybrid's stance.
Like many SUVs, the Escape Hybrid has a two-tone appearance, with body panels and lower fascia in complementary colors. Those who want a monochromatic look can order the appearance package in a choice of five exterior colors, including the new black clearcoat metallic.
Five-spoke alloy wheels are 16 inches in diameter and wear 235/70-aspect tires tuned to provide a smooth and comfortable ride, not for severe off-road duty.
One very useful exterior feature is the way the glass backlight opens separately from the rear hatch door, providing a quick and easy way to load or unload small packages. We also liked the fact that the top of the rear bumper cover is wide enough that we could set a 12-pack of soda on it while loading other groceries through the open rear window.
