The 2022 Ford Escape ST-Line is a practical, five-seater SUV for families. whether you have one or three children to transport and their belongings you can fit them all in!
In the back of the 2022 Ford Escape, there are ISOFix points in the two outer seats and top tether anchorages on the back of all three rear seats.
The Ford Escape can easily accommodate one or two Infasecure child seats and I found I could just fit three Infasecure child seats across the back seats too. I installed two Infasecure Attain More and one Achieve More seats. It is much more comfortable for everyday use with two child seats but if you do need to you can just fit these three Infasecure child seats. You will need to be very careful when you choose our child seats if you do need to fit three across as it is a tight fit in the Ford Escape.
With rear-facing child seats installed we could fit a 180cm driver in front of them and a 186cm passenger in the front.
You can read more detailed information on the Infasecure child seats used in this review here.
Storage in the back of the Ford Escape is quite minimal, with small door bins, no cup holders and two map pockets.
In the front, the storage is more generous. With central console cup holders, phone and storage trays and a net for the front passenger phone too.
The glovebox is large enough for a wallet and iPad with the manual and the door bins are more generous fitting a large water bottle.
The Ford Escape does have aircon vents in the back of the central console box, which are great for keeping the rear passengers comfortable.
The boot door of the Ford Escape ST-Line tested here opens electronically and quietly, which is great for parents.
The boot of the 2022 Ford Escape is a good size and will hold 12 shopping bags from empty, which is the same as a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and comparable to the Mazda CX-5, Haval H6 or Honda CR-V that all hold 13 bags.
Twin and double prams will fit in the boot with a good amount of shopping bags beside them too. Or you could fit your medium size dog in the boot!
The Ford Escape is a surprisingly nice car to drive. I found visibility is very good, even out of the back when you have three child seats installed. The steering is nice and light which makes it easy to park and manoeuvre. And it is FAST!
The media system in the Ford Escape has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which I love to be able to access my phone's navigation, communication and listening apps while driving.
The media system is quite basic in the Ford Escape so it is easy to navigate and use, although its white background can be distracting (luckily you can turn it off completely).
There are a lot of driver assistance settings you can customise and adjust which is handy.
The reversing camera image is clear and fills the whole screen.
There is a great seatbelt removal visual in the driver's display screen to warn you if anyone removes their seatbelt in the back. You can also see your distance to empty displayed on here too.
During our week with the Ford Escape with our family and found it pretty practical and enjoyable to drive for a family of four.
The 2022 Ford Escape scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2019 and has six airbags as standard including dual frontal, side chest and side head.
BabyDrive Indepth
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
How big is the boot of the 2022 Ford Escape?
The boot of the 2022 Ford Escape is a good size and will hold 12 shopping bags from empty, which is the same as a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and comparable to the Mazda CX-5, Haval H6 or Honda CR-V that all hold 13 bags.
It's really practical when fitting prams in the boot. A twin side-by-side stroller easily fits in the boot of the Ford Escape with a couple of shopping bags and there is plenty of room on top of it too.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as the kids lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
A tandem stroller will also fit in the boot of the Ford Escape with five shopping bags.
A single pram fits with six shopping bags beside it.
The compact stroller fits in the boot with ten shopping bags around it.
How good is the storage throughout the 2022 Ford Escape for families?
Storage in the cabin of the Ford Escape is good. In the front there are two cup holders in the central console, they will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup.
In front of them is a phone charging tray with USB, USBC and 12V sockets beside it.
There is a glasses case in the ceiling…
…and the central console box in the Ford Escape is small and has a little tray in the top. There is also a little spot in front of it good for storing the passengers' phones.
The glove box is a generous size in the 2022 Ford Escape and my wallet and iPad would fit easily in the glove box with the manual.
The front door bins will hold a large refillable water bottle.
Door bins in the back are smaller and they will only hold a small water bottle.
There are map pockets on the back of both the Ford Escape's front seats, they will hold and conceal an iPad. There is also a USB and USB-C socket in the back of the central console for charging them.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the 2022 Ford Escape?
The 2022 Ford Escape is not a noisy car. The media touch screen is quite simple and easy to use but the bright coloured background can be distracting, especially as the screen sits so high on the dash.
There is a good screen within there where you can customise your driver assist settings.
It has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which is great for connecting and using your phone's communication, navigation and listening apps easily.
The reversing camera image in the Ford Escape fills the whole screen and makes reversing easy.
The cruise control is on the left of the steering wheel and I found it easy to use while driving.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
The doors and windows of the Ford Escape are not loud to open and close and they don't disturb my sleeping baby. You can lock the doors and windows separately from the front driver's door panel. Or there is a child lock combined rear window and door lock there too.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit in the 2022 Ford Escape?
The 2022 Ford Escape is a five-seater family SUV, it has three top tether anchorages in the back of the second-row seat backrests, which are easily accessible through the boot.
There are ISOFix anchorages in the two outer rear seats and they are within plastic guides and clearly labelled and easy to connect to.
I found you could just squeeze three Infasecure Attain More and Achieve More child seats in but you need to double-check the seats you have will fit. You can read more detailed information on the Infasecure child seats used in this review here.
With rear-facing child seats installed we could fit a 180cm driver and a 186cm passenger in the front.
Posting Bub into their child seat from inside and outside the car is comfortable in the Ford Escape. The door openings are wide enough and there is good interior headroom too.
Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
There is room to feed Bub in the second row if you only have one child seat installed. The back seats in the Ford Escape are comfortable, with woven fabric upholstery and contrast red stitching.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the 2022 Ford Escape? And how good is the 2022 Ford Escape to drive?
The Ford Escape has a tidy and modern interior, the front seats are more comfortable for shorter people than those who are tall but do look good with the textured fabric and contrast stitching detail.
I found I can't have a ponytail in the front seat which was a shame!
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
For a mum travelling in the back with Bub, the rear seats are comfortable. There is no fold-down cup holder in the central seatback so the middle position is more comfortable than in most SUVs but I think a lot of people would miss not having those middle cup holders or an armrest when carrying two rear passengers.
For the first year of our Bub's life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Bub so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel in the Ford Escape is fully adjustable in/out and up/down.
The cruise control is on the left of the steering wheel and is easy to use, I found the cruise control quite accurate.
There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard of the Escape; two central ones below the media screen and one at each end of the dash.
They are controlled easily using the control panel on the dash.
There are air vents in the back of the central console for keeping the rear passengers comfortable.
There are handles in the ceiling in the back of the Ford Escape above both rear doors so we could hang a child's toy from them.
Visibility out of the Ford Escape is good, especially out of the back even with child seats installed.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Bub has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Ford Escape was simple to park.
I found the Ford Escape a surprisingly nice SUV to drive. It is FAST, great around town and easy to park in school and supermarket carparks and then to work.
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
How safe is the 2022 Ford Escape?
Six airbags come as standard; there are dual frontal airbags and front side airbags and curtain head airbags for both rows of passengers of the Ford Escape.
In the frontal offset test, protection of the 6 year and 10 year dummies was GOOD for all critical body areas.
In the side impact test, protection of the head of the 10 year dummy was ADEQUATE. Otherwise, protection of both dummies was GOOD.
The Ford Escape is fitted with lower ISOFix anchorages on the rear outboard seats and top tether anchorages for all rear seating positions. Installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed most child restraints could be accommodated in most rear seating positions, though one of the selected booster seats could not be correctly installed in the centre rear seating position.
As standard, all models of the Ford Escape come with adaptive cruise control (ACC), adaptive headlights (optional), anti-lock braking system (ABS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – City/Interurban/VRU, automatic emergency call (eCall), automatic headlights, blind spot monitoring (BSM), child presence alert, daytime running lights, electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), emergency brake assist (EBA), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency stop signal (ESS), fatigue reminder, fatigue detection, forward collision warning (FCW), hill launch assist,  lane departure warning (LDW), active lane keeping assistance (LKA), rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA), reversing collision avoidance (RCA), secondary multi-collision brake and tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub’s asleep!
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