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Escape - Designed For Fun - On Road and Off Road

Staff, Thursday March 1, 2001.

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Escape: Designed For Fun – On Road and Off Road

Ford Escape is designed and constructed to a high standard of ruggedness and durability to take whatever the customer dishes out – whether commuting to the office or travelling to the remote camp ground.

“Escape had to have robust off-road capabilities,” said Ford Australia 4WD and Commercial Marketing Manager, Kevin Lillie.

“It also had to deliver the kind of driving dynamics to fit seamlessly into an everyday urban driving lifestyle. Every detail was optimised to ensure that Escape would not only be at home in both environments but also provide fun there.”

Key features of its driving capabilities include:

An all-new platform with unibody construction for comfortable ride, refined handling and advanced bodyshell protection.
Independent rear suspension with double lateral link and semi-trailing arms, plus long-travel jounce bumpers to allow for lower spring rates and a smooth ride.
MacPherson front struts with dual path upper strut mounts for separate mounting of springs and shocks, allowing better isolation and comfortable ride characteristics.
Rack-and-pinion steering, plus widely spaced mounting locations that increase rigidity for responsiveness and steering feel.
Front disc and rear drum brakes, plus four-channel anti-lock braking system (ABS) on the XLT.
150kW 3.0 litre Duratec quad cam EFI V6 engine with four speed electronic control automatic tranmission.
Fuel economy offering 13.0 litres for every 100kms of city driving and eight for highway driving.
Full-time 4WD with auto torque proportioning and 50/50 lockup mode.

Escape has been designed, tested and built to Ford’s tough truck standards. The development of a rigid unibody structure and a four-wheel independent suspension were key to meeting customer needs in diverse driving conditions.

The versatility of the all-new independent rear suspension system owes a great deal to the foundation of rigidity provided by the new unibody structure. The end result is a suspension system that is designed to respond precisely and consistently – both on road and off.

Solid foundation
The body structure of Escape was computer designed for lightness, superb stiffness and rigidity to facilitate responsive handling.

Body panels are stamped in single sections that encompass the door openings. This practice minimises build variations, ensures more accurate door openings and facilitates consistent quality.

More to sound than just a great stereo
The attention to design detail in the unibody structure delivers other benefits, the most noticeable of which is the quiet interior. The rigid body structure provides a strong foundation for development engineers to optimise noise reduction. The team has attacked every possible source of sound to enhance the driving experience.

A key element is the use of a laminated instrument panel to reduce vibration. This laminated panel incorporates two layers of steel with a layer of elastomer insulation sandwiched between.

When this laminated panel is heated in the paint ovens, the elastomer expands and provides a more substantial noise barrier between the occupants and the vehicle’s powertrain.

Sound deadening mats are also used under the hood, on the bulkhead, on the underside of the carpeting and on various trim panels to further isolate road and powertrain noise. Noise-absorbing materials are used to reduce resonance, while heat-expandable foam sealings are used in the vehicle’s A, B, C and D pillars to reduce transmitted noises.

IRS vitally important
The four-wheel independent suspension, large brakes and wide stance of the Escape contribute to the vehicle’s confident and sporty handling.

Escape’s rear suspension employs a semi-trailing arm with two lateral links and coil springs located between the trailing arm and the body, conceptually similar to the independent rear suspensions used in some sport sedans.

This means there is no extra unsprung weight to hamper the vehicle’s ride and handling. The elimination of friction in the rear spring further helps ride quality.

The independent rear suspension of the new Ford Escape needs a level of robustness beyond that of a sports car.

“It had to be a rugged suspension to pass all of Ford’s usual durability requirements – which it does,” says Kevin. “Yet we also wanted something that gave the customer outstanding handling and steering – which it does.”

The multi-link suspension provides the Escape with precise steering and handling, as well as dynamic toe control, with the rear suspension helping to steer the vehicle during manoeuvres. When the vehicle is making a sharp turn on a rough road or rounding a curve at highway speeds, vertical tyre orientation with the road is maintained, thus enhancing grip and minimising loss of tyre adhesion during cornering.

“The independent rear suspension provides the customer with very precise steering,” says Kevin. “The vehicle goes exactly where you intend it to go. The rigid body structure complements the rear suspension as well as the steering. This gives the driver added confidence and pleasure.”

Front suspension
Escape’s front suspension uses MacPherson struts, which attach to rearward facing L-shaped lower control arms for lateral stiffness and road impact isolation. The springs and shocks are separately mounted to a dual-path upper strut mount, further helping to isolate shock forces that would otherwise hamper suspension tuning and ride qualities.

The rack-and-pinion steering gear is mounted to a cross member. To increase rigidity and produce a tighter, more responsive steering feel, the steering gear features widely spaced mounting locations.

Set-up for Australian conditions
To ensure the spring and damper settings, tyres and suspension geometry were optimised for Australian driving conditions, several development trips were conducted in Australia with participants including Ford Escape Chief Program Engineer, Keith Takasawa, and Vehicle Engineering Manager, Don Ufford.

Four wheel drive confidence and fun
Escape comes complete with Ford’s all-new Control Trac IITM 4WD system. When set in the “4×4 auto” position, this driver-friendly system automatically proportions more torque to the rear wheels when the front wheels begin to slip.

The advantage of this advanced system is that it requires no intervention from the driver as there are no gear shift levers to move in order to engage the system.

In ordinary driving conditions, the 4×4 system functions as a 4×2 to enhance fuel economy. The rear wheels only come into play in adverse driving conditions.

With the button on the instrument panel pressed to “4×4 auto”, Escape is always ready to make the best use of the traction available.

“The key advantage of the automatic mode versus some of the current systems on the market is that it is a seamless system,” says Kevin. “The customer has no indication that the torque is being moved around. Some other systems make noises and jerk when the torque transfer is happening. On Escape, this is virtually impossible to detect. All the customer knows is that the vehicle is going forward and not having any problem negotiating slippery surfaces.”

However, to handle more adverse driving conditions, Escape also comes complete with a 4WD lockup feature that enhances performance when driving off-road or on especially treacherous or slippery surfaces. The lockup feature is a seamless system that can be smoothly engaged, while the vehicle is moving, with the simple push of a button to the “4×4 Lock” position.

The advanced system is comparable to the “4×4 High” position found in rear-wheel-drive 4WDs. When engaged, it distributes torque, or driving power, equally between the front and rear wheels. The setting however is not recommended on dry roads because it can cause some binding in the driveline during tight turns.

“The 4WD system was jointly developed by Ford, Mazda and Dana Corporation,” Kevin says.

“One of our targets was that more than 90% of customers more than 90% of the time could leave Escape in the “4×4 auto” setting and just forget about it. For those who are more adventurous or go off-road, there is a “4×4 Lock” feature that locks the front and rear-end together and provides a 50/50 torque split.”

Key Control Trac IITM system components
One of the key parts of the Escape’s advanced 4WD system is a power takeoff unit (PTO) that attaches to the transmission. The PTO is a series of gears that transfers power to the rear axle through a two-piece drive-shaft – a design that allowed engineers to have a lower floor without sacrificing passenger roominess or cargo space. The two-piece drive-shaft also reduces noise and vibration in the vehicle, making travelling in the Escape a quiet, pleasant experience.

The “brain” of the 4WD system is a rotary blade coupling (RBC) that governs the front/rear power proportioning. Pushing the button on the instrument panel to the “4×4 Lock” position automatically activates a solenoid to lock the RBC for a full-time 50/50 power split between the front and rear axles.

The RBC is located between the end of the drive-shaft and the rear axle differential. It contains a clutch pack and hydraulic pump. The system can detect differences in the rotational speed of the front and rear wheels. As soon as any slippage is detected, the hydraulic pump generates pressure to engage the clutch pack and redirect power to the rear wheels. It is a transparent and smooth transition that will keep the Escape moving through snow, mud, or slippery road surfaces.

3.0 litre Duratec V6 engine
The 3.0 litre Duratec quad cam EFI V6 engine produces 150kW @ 5900rpm and 266 NM of torque. Transversely mounted, the engine was created using innovative manufacturing methods and has been updated and continuously refined since its introduction in 1994.

Revised for its unique application in the new Escape, the engine achieves good low-end torque and overall useable kilowatts. The engine enhancements are designed to give Escape a fun-to-drive character in both urban and off-road situations, as well as robust towing capabilities. With a Ford approved tow bar, the Escape is capable of towing up to 1600kgs.

The design of the Duractec’s oil pan was also upgraded with the use of higher strength aluminium and deeper ribs to protect the oil pan in off-road conditions. In addition to weight savings over steel, the aluminium pan contributes to quiet engine operation.

New composite intake manifolds, rather than aluminium, are used on the engine, providing reduced weight while achieving optimum torque and power curves for 4WD consumption.

Braking system
Escape is designed to provide confident braking performance. The front disc brakes have rotors that measure 277mm in diameter and are approximately 25mm thick. The brake callipers have large-diameter (61mm) caliper cylinders for exceptional braking power and consistent brake feel. In addition, optimised disc brake pad material contributes to robust braking performance. Rear drums measure 229mm in diameter.

A four-channel anti-lock braking system with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) is standard on the Escape XLT. Four-wheel anti-lock brakes provide the driver with improved steering control even when the driver applies the brakes to their fullest. EBD registers slip between the front and rear axle wheelspeeds and control brake pressure levels accordingly to further enhance brake performance.

Right-sized for customers
Escape is 4415mm in length and 1825mm wide with a wheelbase of 2620mm and a track of 1555mm in the front and 1550mm in the rear. This gives Escape an athletic, powerful stance and helps to provide a smooth ride and responsive handling.

Interior space in Escape is one of the roomiest in its class, with front head room measuring 1026mm, front leg room 1057mm, and rear leg room 938mm.

Wheels and tyres
Escape XLS models come standard with 15×6 inch styled steel wheels with centre cap and P225/65 R15 tyres, while the XLT model comes with five-spoke 16×7 inch alloy wheels and P235/65 R16 tyres.

The spare tyre stows under the cargo floor and is accessible from inside the vehicle.

Fuel tank
A 62 litre fuel tank is standard on the Escape.

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