2020 Ford Escape vs 2021 Chevrolet Traverse

The 2020 Ford Escape was a very attractive compact crossover, sharing its large grille with the outgoing Fiesta and Focus hatchbacks. The headlights were undoubtedly inspired by the Ford GT supercar. The previous Escape had a more upright rear end, and the more curvaceous design of the new Escape came at a cost. Yet, the Escape remained one of the best-looking small SUVs on the market, perhaps behind the Mazda CX-5 and Jeep Cherokee.

Inside, the Escape revealed a fantastic, modern cabin that was not too futuristic for its own good. The design was forward-looking, but it kept the basic controls where they belonged. The test model came with a fully digital instrument panel, floating infotainment screen, and an overall smooth, modern design.

The 2021 Chevrolet Traverse was a throwback in a sense. Instead of relying solely on basic exterior styling, Chevy used styling details to give individual trim levels their own identities. The exterior itself was a generic SUV—tall roof, chunky wheel arches, big grille. This made for a cleaner, more handsome design than the Toyota Highlander or Hyundai Palisade. However, the Ford Explorer and Kia Telluride pulled off the stereotypical SUV look with a bit more personality, while the Mazda CX-9 had a more streamlined appearance.

The Traverse's restrained styling emphasized the cosmetic elements keyed to different trim levels. The RS model had blacked-out trim, while the High Country model got a splash of chrome. Redline, Sport, and Midnight appearance packages were also available for lower trim levels. The base Traverse L got 18-inch wheels, but 20-inch wheels were available on higher trim levels.

The 2020 Ford Escape offered four engine options, including a new 3-cylinder engine that made 180 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque, standard in the S, SE, and SEL trims. The 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, available on the SEL and standard on the Titanium, made 250 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque, providing brisk acceleration. The 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine was part of the hybrid drivetrain, making 198 horsepower, standard on the SE Sport and available on the Titanium. A plug-in hybrid variant was optional on the SE, SEL, and Titanium. The conventional engines sent power through an 8-speed automatic, while the hybrids used a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The 3-cylinder engine and the non-plug-in hybrid setup were available with either front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD), while the turbo engine and the plug-in came standard with AWD.

The 2021 Chevrolet Traverse was only available with one engine: a 3.6-liter V6 that made 310 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque. The only transmission choice was a nine-speed automatic. The Traverse didn’t feel as powerful as the specs suggested, but the power was there when needed. The V6 powertrain didn’t feel particularly strong off the line, but plenty of grunt could be summoned for highway merging or overtaking. The nine-speed automatic transmission performed well overall, but with occasional rough shifts. The Traverse impressed with its highway road manners, combining a quiet cabin and bump-absorbing suspension with good body control and precise steering. On twistier roads, the Traverse lacked the agility of some other three-row crossovers, partly due to a somewhat puzzling AWD system. The system could send up to 50% of torque to either front wheel or 85% to either rear wheel, but the capability wasn’t felt from behind the wheel. The Traverse had off-road and tow/haul drive modes, with a 5,000-pound maximum towing capacity.

The 2020 Ford Escape had a sleeker design than its predecessor, but it lost cargo space. Behind the second row, the Escape had 37.5 cubic feet of cargo space, dropping to 34.4 cubic feet in hybrid models. With the backseat down, it offered 65.4 cubic feet or just 60.8 cubic feet in upper-level trims. The outgoing 2019 Escape had 68 cubic feet, and rivals like the Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, and Volkswagen Tiguan offered about 75 cubic feet. Ford seemed to be settling into its niche, emphasizing passenger space over cargo capacity. Second-row passengers had plenty of headroom and decent legroom, while the front passenger and driver had commanding seating positions with good visibility. There were also plenty of spots for gear, including deep water-bottle holders and multiple trays and compartments.

The 2021 Chevrolet Traverse was available with seating for seven or eight, depending on whether you opted for a second-row bench seat or captain’s chairs. Headroom and legroom in all three rows were above average. Heated front seats were standard on the Traverse RS tester, while ventilated front seats and heated outboard rear seats were available on higher trim levels. The Traverse had a big advantage in cargo space, with 23.0 cubic feet with all three rows in place, 57.8 cubic feet with the third row stowed, and 98.2 cubic feet with all rear seats folded. A power liftgate was optional on the LT Cloth trim level and standard on higher trims, while the Premier and High Country models got a gesture-activated liftgate. A power 60/40 split-folding third row was standard on RS and higher trims. For such a large vehicle, the Traverse was fairly stingy on interior storage options, typical of midsize three-row crossovers.

The 2020 Ford Escape’s base trim came with a small 4.2-inch audio control screen, which stood out as an eyesore due to the floating screen design. The SE trim moved up to the 8-inch Sync screen, which was fantastic and came with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The latest version of Sync allowed for multi-tasking, letting the passenger operate the phone while it projected on the car’s display. The Titanium trim had a head-up display (HUD) with a small flip-up screen, which limited the experience for taller drivers.

The 2021 Chevrolet Traverse’s standard infotainment system included a 7-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and Bluetooth. An 8-inch touchscreen, navigation, 4G-LTE WiFi hotspot, and a Bose 10-speaker audio system were available on higher trims. The 8-inch screen in the Traverse RS test car was easy to use, with large smartphone-like icons for most functions. Chevy retained analog controls for audio volume and climate control. The Traverse was also available with a rearview camera mirror, which eliminated blind spots and came in handy due to suboptimal rear visibility. An optional HD surround-view camera system made maneuvering out of parking spaces a breeze. Chevy provided 2 USB ports for each row as standard equipment on all trims, but wireless phone charging was only standard on the Premier and High Country models.

The 2020 Ford Escape came with a full array of front- and side-impact airbags, a reversing camera, traction control, and a tire-pressure-monitoring system (TPMS). It earned the best overall score of Good from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) in all phases of testing. The Escape also came standard with Ford Co-Pilot360, a suite of advanced safety systems including forward-collision warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams. It also included features that were often optional, such as blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and a driver drowsiness monitor.

The 2021 Chevrolet Traverse received top “Good” scores in all crash tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), as well as the top “Superior” rating for front-crash prevention tech. However, it received “Acceptable” and “Poor” headlight ratings, and an “Acceptable” rating for LATCH child-seat anchor ease of use. The National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) gave the Traverse a five-star overall safety rating, with four stars in frontal and rollover crash tests, and five stars in side-impact crash tests. Chevy offered less standard driver-assist tech than competitors, with adaptive cruise control only available on the top High Country trim level. Automatic emergency braking, forward-collision warning, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, automatic high beams, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert were also optional extras.