Photos by Ulysses Ang

The demise of Ford’s C-segment crossover in the Philippines is greatly exaggerated as the company used the Manila International Auto Show to preview the all-new 2015 Escape—a crossover that’s expected to bridge the gap between the EcoSport and Explorer in terms of both features and price. Though no official specs were given during the preview, Ford Philippines Managing Director Kay Hart announced that the 2015 Escape will be formally launched in the fourth quarter of 2014 with deliveries to start soon thereafter.

Leveraging their global product portfolio, the all-new Escape is a completely-built up (CBU) unit sourced from North America. Based on what we saw at the Ford pavilion, the initial unit the company has brought in is the Escape in the Titanium trim. This means it is powered by a 2.0-liter EcoBoost with 240 horsepower putting it squarely even with the Subaru Forester XT; in fact, the Escape out torques the Forester XT at 350 Nm vs 366 Nm. This engine is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission and may either a front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive variant. In terms of wheels, the Escape Titanium rides on beefy 19-inch rims.


“We are excited to bring the all-new Escape to the Philippines, which further expands our unmatched lineup of SUVs in the market and addresses the various needs and requirements of every market segment,” said Kay Hart, Ford Philippines Managing Director.

Though everything is purely speculative at this point (and we don’t know for certain what variant Ford is bringing in), the impending arrival of the all-new Escape is certainly welcome news. Here’s hoping for a renewed compact crossover battle that’s (currently) convincingly won by the Subaru Forester.