The 2025 Ford Escape is a capable contender in the small SUV segment. It’s not going to win any awards or rank in any best-of lists for 2025, but that’s never been what the Escape is about.

The Ford Escape compact SUV joined the Ford lineup — alongside the bigger Explorer, Expedition and now-defunct Excursion — in 2001, as the 1990s SUV craze spilled into the new millennium.

2023 Ford Escape ST-Line. Sam Abuelsamid. In making the changes, Ford has also installed its networked vehicle electrical/electronic architecture that debuted on the Mustang Mach-E and F-150.

The 2023 Ford Escape ST-Line Elite AWD we tested starts at $39,955 before adding $4,195 in options that includes $495 Rapid Red Metallic premium exterior paint and $195 painted 19-inch wheels.