Ford Escape vs Hyundai Tucson Hybrid

The 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid arrived with a bold new design, featuring sharp, angular cues across its fascia and sides. It was longer and wider than its predecessor, making it impossible to mistake for the 2021 model. The Tucson's grille, shared with the Santa Cruz, blended seamlessly with the LED headlights, running lights, and turn signals, creating a dramatic, futuristic look. The interior was spacious and airy, with a bulky center console but an unobstructed view at eye level. The Limited trim added luxurious touches like a 64-color ambient lighting kit, heated and ventilated front seats, and a memory function for the driver's seat.

In contrast, the 2023 Ford Escape adopted a more European design language, moving away from the rugged, boxy aesthetic of its predecessors. The refreshed model featured a traditional front end with the Ford blue oval logo and a stylish LED light bar. The ST-Line Elite trim sported 19-inch wheels and body-color mirror caps, giving it an upscale appearance. Inside, the Escape boasted diamond-stitched leather upholstery, although it felt hard and plasticky. The seats were comfortable and supportive, with a 10-way power-adjustable driver's seat. However, the interior was dominated by plastic, some of which felt scratchy and poorly reinforced.

The 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid impressed with its 1.6-liter turbo-four engine and electric motor, delivering a combined 226 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The six-speed automatic transmission managed the power well, and the responsive steering made for an engaging drive. The suspension soaked up road imperfections without feeling bouncy, keeping the Tucson Hybrid balanced through corners. Fuel economy was good, with the EPA rating it at 37 mpg city, 36 highway, and 37 combined. The upcoming plug-in hybrid version promised even better efficiency with an 80 MPGe rating and 33 miles of all-electric range.

The 2023 Ford Escape offered multiple powertrain options, including a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine with 180 horsepower and 199 lb-ft of torque. The ST-Line Select, Platinum, and ST-Line Elite trims featured a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, producing 250 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque. The eight-speed automatic transmission was smooth, but the Escape's suspension remained soft and compliant, rather than firm and precise. The brakes provided predictable stopping power, and the steering was well-weighted, avoiding the twitchiness of some competitors' electric steering systems.

The 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid offered impressive cargo space, with 38.8 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 74.5 cubic feet with the seats folded down. This was more than the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4. The Tucson also provided excellent front and rear legroom, with over 41 inches each, and the rear seats reclined for added comfort. The cargo floor had a dual-level system, and the doors featured angled bottle holders. The Limited trim's ambient lighting system added a touch of flair to the cabin.

The 2023 Ford Escape, while comfortable with supportive seats and excellent ergonomics, fell short in cargo space compared to its segment leaders. It offered 37.5 cubic feet of storage behind the second row and 65.4 cubic feet with the seats folded, similar to the Chevrolet Equinox and Mazda CX-5 but less than the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Nissan Rogue, and Toyota RAV4. Passenger space was also slightly less than competitors, though the back seat's headroom and the front-seat backs' padding helped maximize space for tall passengers.

The 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid featured a 10.25-inch touchscreen in the Limited trim, but it only utilized about 8 inches when running Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, which required a wired connection. The smaller 8-inch screen in the Blue and SEL Convenience trims offered wireless connectivity. The touch-capacitive buttons for the infotainment and HVAC controls were frustrating, but the steering-wheel controls helped mitigate this issue. The Tucson also provided plenty of USB ports and a Bose premium stereo in the test vehicle.

The 2023 Ford Escape impressed with its Sync 4 system, featuring an 8-inch touchscreen on lower trims and a 13.2-inch screen on higher trims like the ST-Line Elite and Platinum. The larger screen upgraded the cabin's look and was well-organized, with individual tiles for navigation, music, and Bluetooth pairing. The static "Home" button made it easy to navigate between applications. However, Sync 4 was occasionally slow to respond, and the volume knob's placement on the far-right side of the stack was inconvenient.

The 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid came standard with a comprehensive suite of safety features, including automatic emergency braking, pedestrian and cyclist detection, blind-spot collision avoidance, rear cross-traffic alert, and more. The Limited trim added a surround-view monitor, highway-driving assist with adaptive cruise control, and unique features like the blind-spot view monitor and remote smart park assist. The Tucson received a Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS.

The 2023 Ford Escape earned a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA, with five stars in frontal- and side-crash tests and four stars in the rollover test. However, it did not receive a Top Safety Pick designation from the IIHS due to a Marginal score in the updated side-impact test. The Escape came standard with Ford's Co-Pilot360 suite of advanced driver assistance systems, including forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, and more. The optional Co-Pilot360 2.0 added adaptive cruise control, road sign recognition, and lane-centering technology.