More horsepower and more electronics, but less braking?

Ford

Ford Motor Co. acts like a smart kid seeking popularity. It has all of the stuff necessary to be at the head of the class, certainly enough to be among those students on the dean’s list or honor roll.

But it continually succumbs to the nonsense of “keeping it real,” being like everybody else, worse than the best.

At Ford, this is manifested in the 2009 Ford Escape compact sport-utility vehicle, the original version of which was introduced a decade ago.

At birth, the Escape was something of a prodigy. It was small enough to make sense in the city, rugged enough to survive in the outback, fuel-efficient enough to get through an economic downturn.

It can be argued that the Escape was so good that it set an example for the competition, especially in the category of fuel efficiency for small SUVs. But like the smart kid afraid of losing friends, the Escape, with the blessing of its Ford parents, slowed its pace toward excellence, allowing competitors to catch and pass it in the marketplace.

Let us, for example, consider the matter of brakes.

Disc brakes are more effective than drum brakes. Four-wheel disc brakes are better at reducing stopping distance than an arrangement of disc brakes up front and drum brakes in the rear.

The rival Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav4 and Hyundai Santa Fe all come with ventilated discs up front and solid disc brakes in the rear. They all stop smartly when those brakes are applied. What about the Escape?

The Escape once came to us with disc brakes front and rear. That was a good arrangement, a smart setup. But the Escape was losing the popularity contest in styling. So, the people at Ford decided to spiff it up for model year 2008, giving it a complete makeover inside and out, an effort highlighted by an attractive chrome grille that simultaneously bespeaks elegance and ruggedness.

Interior materials were improved along with fit and finish and general ergonomics. Horsepower was ramped up in the standard inline four-cylinder Escape, as well as in the six-cylinder model driven for this column. Also, like a teenager with the latest telecommunications and infotainment gizmos, the Escape got all of those — in the form of the onboard Microsoft/Ford Sync communications system.

Apparently, the people at Ford thought that looking good, flexing more muscle and getting hip with electronics were good enough — because they proceeded to do something dumb. They replaced the Escape’s rear disc brakes, which worked wonderfully well, with substantially less effective rear drum brakes.

The new Escape, as a result, is something of a dullard when it comes to stopping. Its driver has to concentrate on keeping a safe stopping distance between it and the vehicle ahead. That’s something that drivers should do anyway. But in the new Escape, maintaining a safe stopping distance is mandatory.2009 Ford Escape

Complaints: Those rear drum brakes have to go. Nuts!

Ride, acceleration and handling: The Escape’s ride and handling are very good, with both enhanced by rigid body construction. Highway acceleration is competent, meaning that normal drivers should have no problems entering freeways and changing lanes.

Head-turning quotient: Very attractive, inside and out.

Body style/layout: The Escape is a front-engine, compact SUV with four side doors and a rear liftgate. It is available with front-wheel or all-wheel drive. There are three trim/equipment levels — XLS, XLT and Limited.

Engines/transmissions: The all-wheel-drive Escape XLT driven for this column came with a three-liter, 24-valve V-6 engine that develops 240 horsepower at 6,550 revolutions per minute and 223 foot-pounds of torque at 4,300 rpm. It was mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. A 175-horsepower inline, four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission are available.

Capacities: There are seats for five people. With rear seats up, luggage capacity is 29.2 cubic feet. It expands to 66 cubic feet with rear seats down. The V-6 model can be equipped to tow up to 3,500 pounds. Fuel capacity is 16.5 gallons of recommended regular unleaded gasoline.

Mileage: The V-6 gets close to the federal estimate of 17 miles per gallon in the city and 24 miles per gallon on the highway. The inline four-cylinder model affords slightly better mileage, also using regular unleaded gasoline.

Safety: Standard equipment includes four-wheel antilock brakes (in a less-than-optimum front disc/rear drum setup), front and head air bags, electronic stability and traction control.

Price: The 2009 Escape XLT with all-wheel drive starts at $25,875. Dealer’s invoice price on the base model is $23,991. Price as tested is $30,720, including $3,670 in options (Microsoft/Ford Sync onboard navigation and telecommunications system, premium sound system, power glass roof, trailer towing equipment, aluminum wheels) and a $725 destination charge. Dealer’s price as tested is $27,836. At this writing, a $1,500 consumer rebate is available. Prices are sourced from Ford, Edmunds.com and Cars.com, an affiliate of The Washington Post.

Purse-strings note: The Escape is an “A” student trying hard to fit in with the “C” crowd. It has much going for it. But its rear drum brakes are less than acceptable.