IT WOULD be fair to say the previous generation Escape didn’t live up to Ford’s sales hopes in the all-important mid-sized SUV segment, being outsold more than nine times over by the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4 in 2019.

Now however with the arrival of the latest version, the local arm of the Blue Oval is hoping steal itself a bigger slice of Australia’s most popular segment and be among the thick of the action.

Sporting a more modern look, completely new interior and riding on an all-new platform, the new Escape is offered Down Under across three trim levels and with the option of either front- or all-wheel drive.

To see if the new model could hope to hold its own against the established class favourites, we spent some time in the base ‘Escape’ variant which retails from $35,990 plus on-road costs.