Compare the2023 Ford EscapeVS 2023 Subaru Outback

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages

Safety

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The Escape has standard Post-Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Outback doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The Escape (except Base) offers an optional 360-Degree Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Outback only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The Escape has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Outback’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Escape has standard Cross Traffic Alert to warn the driver of approaching traffic and automatically engage the brakes to help avoid a collision. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Outback and its not available on the Base and the Outback’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

Both the Escape and the Outback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford Escape is safer than the Subaru Outback:

	Escape	Outback
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	143	158
Neck Injury Risk	22.5%	26%
Neck Stress	185 lbs.	281 lbs.
Neck Compression	23 lbs.	57 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	102	241
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	36.3%	43%

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Escape is safer than the Subaru Outback:

	Escape	Outback
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	240 lbs.	247 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	97	116
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	51 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	11 inches	14 inches
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	43 G’s
Hip Force	462 lbs.	674 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Escape is 1.1% to 1.6% less likely to roll over than the Outback.

Warranty

There are almost 5 times as many Ford dealers as there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Escape’s warranty.

Reliability

The Escape has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Outback doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the car’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in long-term dependability. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Subaru is rated below average.

Engine

The Escape’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 14 lbs.-ft. more torque (190 vs. 176) than the Outback 2.5i’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Escape turbo 3 cyl. is faster than the Outback 2.5i 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder:

	Escape	Outback
Zero to 60 MPH	8.4 sec	8.7 sec

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Escape gets better mileage than the Outback:

			MPG
Escape
	FWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	27 city/34 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	26 city/32 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/31 hwy
Outback
	AWD	XT 2.4 turbo flat-4	22 city/29 hwy
		Wilderness 2.4 turbo flat-4	21 city/26 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Escape 1.5 Turbo’s fuel efficiency. The Outback doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Escape has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Outback doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Ford Escape higher (7 out of 10) than the Subaru Outback (6 to 7). This means the Escape produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Outback every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Escape’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Outback:

	Escape	Outback
Front Rotors	13 inches	12.4 inches
Rear Rotors	11.9 inches	11.8 inches

The Escape stops much shorter than the Outback:

	Escape	Outback
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	191 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	123 feet	132 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Escape’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Outback Onyx/Limited/Touring’s 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Escape offers optional 19-inch wheels. The Outback’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The Escape has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Outback doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Escape AWD handles at .87 G’s, while the Outback Wilderness pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Escape AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Outback Limited (27.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Chassis

The Ford Escape may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 400 pounds less than the Subaru Outback.

The Escape is 11.2 inches shorter than the Outback Wilderness, making the Escape easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Escape has .2 inches more rear headroom and 1.2 inches more rear legroom than the Outback.

Cargo Capacity

The Escape has a much larger cargo volume than the Outback with its rear seat up (37.5 vs. 32.6 cubic feet).

Towing

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Escape uses the AdvanceTrac® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Outback doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Ergonomics

The Escape offers a remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Outback doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Escape (except Base)’s optional easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Outback doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Escape Elite/Platinum offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Outback doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Escape and the Outback have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Escape is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Outback prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Escape’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Outback’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Escape Elite/Platinum’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

Both the Escape and the Outback offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Escape offers optional rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Outback doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Escape Elite/Platinum’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Outback doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Model Availability

The Escape is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Outback doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Escape is less expensive to operate than the Outback because it costs $436 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost less on the Escape than the Outback, including $66 less for a water pump, $34 less for a starter, $31 less for fuel injection, $68 less for a fuel pump and $129 less for front struts.