Finding the Fun in the 2018 Ford Escape

Photo by Emily Cordonier

I've never been the mom with the “cool” car. In fact, I’ve never had a cool car. I’ve pretty much always driven a mini-van – even before I had kids. So, I admit, I was pretty thrilled when Ford offered me the opportunity to test drive a new 2018 Ford Escape Titanium.

The Ford Escape is one cool car.

It's an SUV with a ton of power, but it feels light and effortless to drive. With the power of 245 horsepower, the Ford Escape also offers economy with Auto Start-Stop technology. Reducing fuel consumption and vehicle emissions during city driving, shutting down the engine when it senses the vehicle sitting idle. When you lift your foot from the brake, the engine instantly restarts and you're on your way.

I wanted to get the Escape out on the highway, so we piled our two kids into the back seat and headed towards the small town of Montebello, Quebec. Only one hour away from Ottawa, it is an easy drive, and was made even easier with the Ford Escape's enhanced technology. I especially enjoyed the adaptive cruise control, which allows you to select the speed and distance you want to maintain from the vehicle in front of you. So, if traffic ahead of you slows down, your car automatically slows too.

The drive was made all the more fun due to the Ford Escape’s impressive audio system. 10 high quality speakers including subwoofer, and more than 120 Sirius Satellite Radio channels. The best of the 90s radio station had us all grooving, well, me anyway.

Our family started our day off at the Fairmont Chateau Montebello, where we had booked ourselves a table for their fabulous brunch. After our meal, we had time to relax in front of the Chateau’s massive fireplace, before hopping back into the Ford Escape.

The Escape’s voice activated navigation system led us to our next destination – Parc Omega.

It is such a treat for our family to experience the Canadian safari at Parc Omega, where you can feed the animals from your own vehicle. Normally, in our van, the back windows don't roll down and so it's hard for anyone sitting in the back to feed the animals. But, our Ford Escape made it easy for the kids in the back seats to get up close and personal with the elk, deer, wild boars and more.

This is definitely where the parent-controlled windows come in handy. If my five-year old son had had his way, the deer would be hopping through the window and sitting down in the backseat with him. But, I could control how far down the windows went, and make sure the door child locks were also secure. The Ford Escape also features a panoramic Vista Roof, which was perfect for taking in all of the sights of Parc Omega.

One feature of the 2018 Ford Escape which truly blew my mind was the active park assist. Using ultrasonic sensors, this feature will identify a suitable parallel or perpendicular parking space, calculate the trajectory and automatically steer the car into the space. Just take your hands off the wheel and let the car do the work.  

Along with the parking assist, the Escape has a system that will provide cameras and sensors which alert you when there is something close to any side of the car. This proved especially helpful when trying to not run over any of the adorable baby wild boars running around Parc Omega.

This fun day trip was supposed to be a “spring escape”, but spring has been delayed and we were still dealing with wintery conditions. The weather gave me a chance to enjoy the Ford Escape’s convenient (and necessary) features such as heated seats, remote start, winter wiper de-icer, heated mirrors and heated steering wheel.

It seems to me Ford has thought of pretty much everything when it comes to this newest edition of the Escape. This SUV combines technology, power, and safety. It made this mom feel pretty cool behind the wheel. It was a joy to drive and a worth a look for individuals and families considering buying a new car.