Ford is a classic American automaker that has a lot of good cars in its lineups, but like any other automaker, Ford is not perfect. There are a lot of issues affecting various Ford models, and the Escape has its own share of problems too. Here’s a look at the biggest flaw with the Ford Escape according to people who actually own the compact SUV.

An overview of JD Power’s owner survey

One of the best ways to get info about how a car performs in the real world is by simply asking owners themselves. This is exactly what J.D. Power did. The researchers surveyed over 110,000 verified owners of Escape. The owners had owned their car for at least 90 days before they were surveyed by researchers. 

The survey asked owners a variety of questions, and one of the main parts of the survey involved owners ranking what they liked about their car. The survey had some other interesting findings.

For example, about 57% of owners of a brand-new Escape were men, and that’s compared to 50% in the segment. The median age of someone who bought a brand-new Escape was 67 years old, which is much higher than the segment’s median age of 60 years. 

As for what owners liked about their Escape, there are 10 categories for owners to rank. The category that scored the highest was exterior styling, and that seems to be something car critics agree with. The feeling of safety was in second place, followed by the Ford SUV’s driving feel. 

The Ford Escape’s infotainment system is its biggest flaw

The bottom five categories are the areas where the Escape is the weakest. Setting up and starting was in sixth place, followed by getting in and getting out. Then it’s the Ford’s driving comfort, followed by its interior design. Finally, the Escape’s infotainment system was in last place, which makes it the area that owners liked the least. The survey doesn’t say why owners disliked the Ford SUV’s infotainment system, but J.D. Power has some ideas.

The 2022 Escape doesn’t come with a touchscreen, and it has a 4.2-inch digital screen and a 4.2-inch digital gauge cluster display. Drivers can upgrade their Ford to get the automaker’s Sync 3 infotainment suite, but that’s not the company’s latest version of the suite.

Overall, Sync 3 is showing its age, and while the option gives owners an 8-inch touchscreen, it can be slow to use. 

How Ford can fix the Escape’s infotainment issues

A car’s infotainment system is an area of the car that is relatively easy to upgrade. As such, Ford can fix the Escape’s biggest flaw without redesigning the car. In fact, for the 2023 model year, the automaker gave the Escape some infotainment upgrades that should address some of the flaws that critics pointed out.

The Ford SUV now starts with an 8-inch touchscreen and an 8-inch digital gauge cluster display, which is a big improvement from the prior model years. Plus, Sync 4 is available with the latest model year, and this should address some of the complaints about the suite.

Additionally, Ford now offers a 13.2-inch touchscreen as an option for the SUV.