2008 Ford Escape Photos, engines & full specs

The second generation of the Escape was unveiled at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show when the dark clouds of the world financial crisis were already in sight.

Ford already knew that a crisis was coming, but it launched the vehicle instead of waiting to see what would happen. Fortunately for the American automaker, it built the Escape's second generation on top of the same CD2 platform as its predecessor, thus lowering development costs. In addition, that was jointly developed with Mazda, which led to lower production costs. Moreover, customers had already switched their focus towards SUVs instead of station wagons and MPVs.

With a similar shape as its predecessor, the 2008 Escape featured a front fascia with large headlights that resembled those installed on the successful F-150, with a deeper inner side and smaller, corner-mounted blinkers. Moreover, the chromed grill with three vertical plus one horizontal bars tried to induce the idea of a serious off-roader, even though it wasn't a hard-core, go-anywhere truck. Despite having shaved corners, the Escape didn't look like it was meant to live only on asphalt. Finally, at the back, the taillights cut a small portion from the tailgate's mid-section, thus allowing it to provide a wide opening.

Inside, the truck-like dashboard was almost vertical, while the instrument cluster looked more car-related. Furthermore, on the center stack, Ford offered a sat-nav system. All trim levels received power windows and locks, electrically adjustable mirrors, and, for the driver's comfort, speed-sensitive electronic power-assisted steering, which was a first for the blue-oval brand.

Under the hood, Ford installed a range of gasoline engines paired with either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. In addition, the carmaker offered a hybrid version as well.