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2020 Ford Escape, Lincoln Corsair ace crash tests, earn Top Safety Pick from IIHS

The redesigned 2020 Ford Escape and its platform-mate, the 2020 Lincoln Corsair, have both just completed their bout of crash tests at the hands of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and while they did not emerge unscathed, they did come away with the agency's Top Safety Pick Award. One caveat: The rating only applies to the Escape equipped with the available LED headlights, which were deemed Acceptable. Similarly, the Corsair needs the available curve-adaptive LED headlights, also rated Acceptable, in order to achieve Top Safety Pick. The Escape's standard halogen headlights scored only a Marginal rating, while the Corsair's base LED headlights were deemed Poor due to glare. Those low headlight ratings knock the vehicles out of contention for Top Safety Pick. Had either vehicle offered headlights able to achieve a Good rating, that would have been enough to get them the agency's Top Safety Pick+ rating. Outside of their headlights, the 2020 Escape and Corsair acquitted themselves well. The Escape saw a big improvement in the difficult small-overlap front crash test, going from a Poor result in the previous generation to Good with the new one. The Corsair performed identically, and both achieved Good ratings in all six crash tests. The IIHS also tests automatic emergency-braking systems, and the standard and optional systems in the Escape and the Corsair both earned Superior ratings.

2020 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid range, fuel economy revealed

The range-topping 2020 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid luxury crossover finally has official fuel economy ratings. The electric range is 21 miles, and when the battery is exhausted, gas-only combined fuel economy is 23 mpg. The EPA's combined electric and gas test loop yielded 56 mpg-e. These numbers make the Aviator Grand Touring the most frugal version of the three-row luxury crossover, with the next most efficient one being the rear-drive non-hybrid model at 21 mpg combined. When going by gas-only fuel economy, though, the Aviator Grand Touring's non-plug-in cousin, the Ford Explorer Hybrid, returns up to 28 mpg combined with rear-wheel drive, and 25 mpg with all-wheel drive. It has much less power at 318 horsepower and 322 pound-feet of torque, compared to the Aviator Grand Touring's 494 horsepower and 630 pound-feet of torque. The luxury plug-in hybrid crossover segment is quite small right now. The closest competitor to the Aviator Grand Touring is probably the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid. It has a shorter electric range of 13 miles, and its gas-only fuel economy is a slightly worse at 22 mpg. The Porsche is less powerful with 455 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, and its base price of $82,450 exceeds the Lincoln's $69,895 price. The Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e splits the difference on efficiency with a worse 10-mile electric range, but a better gasoline fuel economy of 25 mpg combined. This could improve for 2020, as the updated model will have a larger battery. It's cheaper, too, at $51,645, but it's also a full size smaller than the Lincoln.

2021 Ford Escape PHEV finally reaches dealers

Last October – which feels like both five minutes and five years ago – Ford had to push the Escape PHEV sales date back to this year. The holdup arose because Ford had to recall the Escape's European twin, the Kuga PHEV, over a fire risk thought to center on the high-voltage battery. At the time, a Ford spokesperson said, "We are moving full scale production of Escape PHEV to the 2021 model year. The first Escape PHEVs will be sold next year." With just three months left in 2021, a Ford spokesperson confirmed to Ford Authority that the Escape PHEV has finally made it to dealer lots. The end of the Escape PHEV's long and winding road comes about a week after the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring reached dealers. The compact luxury plug-in hybrid debuted at the 2019 LA Auto Show and was intended to go on sale in the summer of last year. But because it uses the same powertain as in the Escape, Ford had to delay the Lincoln as well.  Now that you can finally buy them, here's the quick recap. Both start with a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter inline-4 and an electric motor powering the front wheels, and a 14.4-kWh battery providing juice. The Escape makes 200 horsepower, can go 37 miles on all-electric driving, is EPA-rated at 105 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe), and returns a combined 40 mpg if the battery's dead. It starts at $34,320 before incentives. The Lincoln adds an electric motor with a single-speed transmission to power the rear wheels, as Toyota has done with the all-wheel-drive Prius, RAV4 Hybrid and Lexus UX250h. Output in the Lincoln is 266 ponies, it manages 28 miles on pure electric driving, is EPA rated at 78 MPGe, and returns a combined 33 mpg on gasoline alone. It starts at $51,485 before incentives. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.