North Georgia Ford Compares 2020 Ford Escape VS 2020 Nissan Rogue Near Jasper, GA

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Nissan Rogue doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

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 Rogue 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’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Rogue doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Escape and the Rogue have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and front and rear parking sensors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Escape the rating of “Top Pick” for 2020, a rating granted to only 30 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Rogue last would have qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2019.

There are almost 3 times as many Ford dealers as there are Nissan dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Escape’s warranty.

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 Rogue doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2019 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Nissan is ranked 7th.

The Escape’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 11 more horsepower (181 vs. 170) and 15 lbs.-ft. more torque (190 vs. 175) than the Rogue’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Escape’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 80 more horsepower (250 vs. 170) and 105 lbs.-ft. more torque (280 vs. 175) than the Rogue’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Escape is faster than the Nissan Rogue:

On the EPA test cycle the Escape FWD gets better fuel mileage than the Rogue FWD (27 city/33 hwy vs. 26 city/33 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 Rogue doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Escape’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) The Rogue doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Escape AWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Rogue (15.7 vs. 14.5 gallons).

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 Rogue doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

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

The Escape stops shorter than the Rogue:

The Escape has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Rogue’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Escape SE handles at .78 G’s, while the Rogue SL AWD pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Escape Titanium AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Rogue SL AWD (27.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Escape is 4 inches shorter than the Rogue, making the Escape easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Escape uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Rogue doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Escape has 1.2 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear headroom, 2.8 inches more rear legroom, 1.2 inches more rear hip room and .1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Rogue.

To help each driver find a more comfortable driving position, the Escape has a telescoping steering wheel. Much better than just a tilt steering wheel or adjustable seat, this allows a short driver to sit further from the steering wheel while maintaining contact with the pedals. The Rogue doesn’t offer a telescoping steering wheel.

The Escape SEL/Titanium’s standard 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 Rogue doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Escape Titanium 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 Rogue doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Escape’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Rogue’s parking brake has to released manually.

The power windows standard on both the Escape and the Rogue 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 Rogue prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Escape SEL/Titanium’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Rogue’s passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Escape SE/SEL/Titanium’s exterior PIN entry system. The Rogue doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Escape SE/SEL/Titanium’s exterior PIN entry system. The Rogue doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

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 Rogue’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Escape Titanium’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The Escape Titanium has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Rogue doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

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

Insurance will cost less for the Escape owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Escape with a number “5” insurance rate while the Rogue is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Escape is less expensive to operate than the Rogue because it costs $300 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Escape than the Rogue, including $33 less for a water pump, $23 less for a starter, $235 less for fuel injection, $130 less for a fuel pump and $455 less for a power steering pump.