2014 Ford Escape Review For Moms. This post is sponsored by Ford. All opinions are my own.
2014 Ford Escape Review for Moms
Ford cars have always been in the family. In fact, the Ford Explorer was one of the first cars I ever got to drive. Now as an adult with 2 kids, my family is growing…and I’ve been toying with the thought of upgrading to an SUV. I was so grateful that Ford was able to lend my family the 2014 Ford Escape for an extended test drive for my Type-A Conference this past weekend.
Check out my full 2014 Ford Escape Video Review
Let me start off this review by saying that I am in NO way a car expert. I am a lover of little luxuries and safety when it comes to my vehicle, so I want to make sure that everyone knows that this review will be from a mom perspective. I did a test drive of the Ford Escape to see if the upgrade from a mid size car to an SUV would be a good switch for our family of four. So here are 6 mom features that I love about the new 2014 Ford Escape:
1. The safety
My #1 priority when purchasing a vehicle is the safety. I want to be sure that my family is as safe as possible, to give myself that peace of mind. While I certainly hope to never have to use these features, it’s wonderful to knw that Ford cares about safety as much as I do. Here are the latest safety features for the 2014 Ford Escape:
- AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control (RSC) – This was one of my biggest concerns about SUVs in general. You hear about the dangerous roll-over rates but I know there’s been lots of new technology out there to help stabilize. Ford has integrated their innovative AdvanceTrac with RSC into their vehicles. with over 100 patents to monitor roll motions at least 100 times per second. This technology keeps the wheels firmly planted to ground and adjusts engine power and individual brakes as necessary to prevent rollover. I had no idea how intensive this safety feature was!
- Safety Canopy side air curtain technology – Not only are their the standard front airbags, but a curtain of protection for all seating rows in the Ford Escape. That’s really an amazing feature that I don’t have currently with my midsize car.
- SOS Post-Crash Alert System – in the event of the airbag deployment, the car horn and flashing lights will automatically signal for help. Really neat feature!
- Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with cross traffic alert – Blind spots in SUVs. The bigger the car, the bigger the blind spots. With the help of Ford’s BLIS technology, you are easily alerted to an potential dangers. An alert will be activated in your side mirror when a vehicle enters your blind spot. Don’t worry. This is not a distracting feature. When you’re backing out of a parking spot, another alert will go off if there’s cars coming from either side (not something I had encountered during my test drive, but still a neat feature)
I was very impressed with all of the great safety features Ford has incorporated into their 2014 Ford Escape. I seriously felt much safer while driving my two kiddos around town.
6. The LiftGate
No hands, no problem! The hand-free liftgate option allows you to easily open the trunk with your foot when your hands are full. Can you imagine how often my hands are full? Kids, groceries, diaper bags, purses….I would use this all the time! With keys on you (somewhere) just place your foot under the rear bumper and the sensor will activate and auto lift your trunk. This feature had me sold awhile ago at the Ford Girls Day Out!
3. The interactive steering wheel and dashboard
Yeah, this was my favorite feature. Everything I need to touch right at my fingertips. I can make calls, change the radio, give voice commands and adjust my electronic menus right from my steering wheel. And we know how distracting it can be driving with kids. Just having everything a little bit more accessible means the world to me. I don’t have to go searching or reaching for anything while I drive.
The SYNC systems allows me to easily sync up my phone to the car with a few button pushes. Then I can easily call home, my parents or friends from the car hands-free. The huge Sync system screen is great too. No squinting to find a button, easy GPS navigation controls and big radio control area too. I love that for safety, some of the buttons will get disabled while you are driving. Safety first!
The rearview camera is something I could definitely get used to. Everything gets put onto the big SYNC screen so you can see where you are going with rear parking assist guides.
4. The handling
I was surprised how quiet the Ford Escape was during out drives. My little girl is very sensitive to noise, especially in our car rides. But I promise that she was able to fall asleep quickly and comfortably in our Ford Escape. The quiet drive meant that we could focus more on our music and movies instead. The Ford Escape turns like my car does too. I was impressed how the Escape had an equal if not better turning radius than my midsize, and we make u-turns everyday to get to our house. With Curve Control technology, the Escape will automatically slow if you’re taking the corner too sharp. Seriously, wow!
5. The room and storage
If you’re looking for more storage, you have come to the right place. The Ford Escape has plenty of room for everything I need. Groceries, stroller, diaper changes and with at least 3x the space of my car trunk. I found that the second row of seating had plenty or leg room for my kids too. Need even more storage? The backseat folds down too. So in those rare cases when I don’t have the kids, I can have a little bit of a “truck” feel to my SUV = more bang for my buck!
6. The look. I admit that I’m a little vain when it comes to the look of my car. You won’t find any stickers on our bumpers, or crazy items hanging from my rearview. I want something that says sleek, modern and FUN. The Ford Escape definitely has all of that. I loved the cool gray color too.
7. The little luxuries
I’m a simple mom with simple needs. I want the best gas mileage, easy controls and a fun time! The Ford Escape definitely has all of that and a few more little luxuries!
If the BLIS system wasn’t enough, you have the added blindside mirrors onto your sideview mirrors for comfort and safety. Large rearview mirror allows me to easily view the full back window. This is something I definitely look for in my vehicle. The MyKey is such an upgrade. No extra key rings or buttons, everything is right on the key itself. I can lock, unlock, and hold into my key easily in my pocket. I worried that I would be engulfed in the SUV since I am a small driver. But I had no problems with vision or reaching the pedals. I actually enjoyed seeing the world from up high for a change 🙂 I love being able to get up to 32 MPG gas mileage too with the EcoBoost engine. That’s the same as my car now!
And hey, the new car smell was lovely.
Overall, I really love the 2014 Ford Escape. A great car for mommies that don’t want the big minivan, this is a great option for those wanting few little luxuries while they drive and get the most for your money. While I don’t recommend for large families, the Escape is a great transition from car to a SUV. With a starting price of only $22,700, the 2014 Ford Escape is definitely a vehicle to at least give a test drive. I feel so fortunate to be able to cruise around town in the Ford Escape for a few days. A definite SUV I’m considering for my next family vehicle!
Check out my full 2014 Ford Escape Video Review to sit behind the driver’s seat and get a peek of what’s inside.
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Disclosure ~ I received a FUN test drive experience of the new 2014 Ford Escape for free in exchange for this review. No other compensation received. Though the experience was amazing, the opinions are 100% my own. Be sure to follow Saving Said Simply for more fun reviews, giveaways and more!
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