2020 Ford Escape vs 2021 Toyota Venza

The 2020 Ford Escape was a very attractive compact crossover, sharing its large grille with the outgoing Fiesta and Focus hatchbacks. The headlights were inspired by the Ford GT supercar. The previous Escape had a more upright rear end, but the new curvaceous design came at a cost. Despite this, the Escape remained one of the best-looking small SUVs on the market, perhaps only behind the Mazda CX-5 and Jeep Cherokee. Inside, the Escape featured a modern cabin with a fully digital instrument panel, floating infotainment screen, and an overall smooth design. The SE trim, recommended by CarGurus, included an 8-inch Sync 3 screen, automatic climate control, heated front seats, and a power driver’s seat, making it a tremendous value.

The 2021 Toyota Venza, on the other hand, was five to six inches shorter than the Toyota RAV4 and about one inch closer to the ground, but both models had the same wheelbase. Critics noted that the Venza looked more like a Lexus, blurring the line between the brands. The Venza was available in three trim levels: LE, XLE, and Limited, with a choice of seven paint colors. Standard equipment included a dual chrome-tipped exhaust, LED headlights and taillights, automatic high beams, puddle lights, and 18-inch alloy wheels. The Venza Limited trim featured a digital rearview mirror with Homelink, illuminated footwells, a backup camera washer, and a 12.3-inch infotainment screen. The Star Gaze panoramic roof was an optional feature on the Limited trim.

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, produced 250 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque, providing brisk acceleration. The 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, part of the hybrid drivetrain, made 198 horsepower and was 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 used an 8-speed automatic transmission, while the hybrids used a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The most efficient version of the Escape was the non-Sport hybrid, returning fuel economy of 44 mpg city, 37 highway, and 41 combined.

The 2021 Toyota Venza came standard with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine paired with a lithium-ion battery pack, powering electric motors that assisted the gasoline engine. This hybrid system delivered 219 horsepower combined and 163 pound-feet of torque. The Venza’s acceleration was smooth, though not rapid, and appropriate for its target driver. The Venza’s handling inspired confidence, and it drove like a typical Toyota. The Venza excelled in fuel economy, achieving an EPA-estimated 40 mpg on the highway, 37 mpg in the city, and 39 mpg combined. Toyota backed its hybrid powertrain with a 10-year/150,000-mile hybrid battery warranty and an eight-year/100,000-mile Hybrid System warranty.

The 2020 Ford Escape had a sleeker design than its predecessor, but it lost cargo space as a result. Behind the second row, the Escape had 37.5 cubic feet of cargo space, which dropped to 34.4 cubic feet in hybrid models. With the backseat folded down, the Escape offered 65.4 cubic feet of cargo space or 60.8 cubic feet in upper-level trims. Despite the reduced cargo space, the Escape emphasized passenger space, with plenty of headroom and legroom for second-row passengers. The front seats provided commanding seating positions and good visibility. The Escape also featured multiple storage solutions, including deep water-bottle holders and various trays and compartments.

The 2021 Toyota Venza was known for its practicality, with a unique cabin design featuring premium appointments in the center stack. The deep center console included resizable cup holders, a traditional stick shifter, drive mode buttons, an electronic parking brake button, USB and AUX ports, a wireless charging pad, heated and ventilated seat buttons, and push-button ignition. The driver and passenger seats were accommodating, and the rear seats were comfortable for extended drives. The Venza had more headroom than the RAV4, slightly less legroom up front, and nearly equal shoulder and hip room. The Venza offered 55.1 cubic feet of cargo space with the second-row folded, which was less than some competitors but sufficient for daily driving needs.

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 upgraded to an 8-inch Sync 3 screen, which included Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The Titanium trim featured a head-up display (HUD) with a small flip-up screen, which was less effective for taller drivers. The latest version of Sync allowed for multitasking, enhancing the user experience.

The 2021 Toyota Venza LE and XLE had an 8-inch infotainment system, while the Limited trim had a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen. The Entune infotainment system, though improved, was not the best in the industry. The Venza included Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa as standard features. A nine-speaker JBL premium audio system was available in the XLE and standard on the Limited. The Venza also came with a Wi-Fi hot spot, Safety Connect, Remote Connect, and Service Connect. Dynamic navigation was available on models with the larger infotainment screen.

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, which included forward-collision warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and a driver drowsiness monitor.

The 2021 Toyota Venza included the Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 suite of safety and driver assist technologies. This included eight airbags, a rearview camera, hill start assist, parking distance sensors, tire pressure monitoring system, and adjustable front seatbelt anchors. Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 added a pre-collision warning system with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, lane-departure alert with steering assist, lane-tracing assist, automatic high beams, adaptive cruise control, and road sign assist. Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert was standard, with an upgrade to similar technology with automatic braking available on the XLE and Limited trims. The Venza also had two full sets of LATCH connections on the rear outboard seats.