Ford celebrates the launch of the 2013 Escape in Louisville, Ky., on Wednesday. The small SUV arrives at dealers this month. Some facts about the redesigned Escape:
STARTING PRICE: $22,470.
FUEL ECONOMY: Rated 25 mpg in combined city and highway driving. Ford says one of its engines can get up to 33 mpg on the highway.
SEATING AND CARGO: Seats five. Has 34.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row.
HORSEPOWER: Ford is offering three different four-cylinder engines that get 168 horsepower, 178 horsepower or 240 horsepower.
OPTIONS: New features include a lift gate that opens automatically when the driver kicks a foot under the rear bumper, and a system that automatically parallel parks the car.
CHEERS AND JEERS: The new, more aerodynamic styling will win some customers and could steal some sales from rivals. But the Escape gets pricey when you add features. The top-of-the-line Titanium version starts at $30,370, and that doesn’t include a sunroof ($1,400 extra) or a backup camera ($995 extra).
