2021 Ford Escape vs Toyota Rav4

Ford’s sporty Escape features sleek lines on its exterior and adds style and sophistication, while offering buyers seating for five with a roomy interior and enough head- and legroom for most adults to sit comfortably. A sliding 60/40 split-fold down seat capability in the rear seats gives you more options for space in seating and cargo. A sport Appearance package adds 19-inch painted wheels and black exterior styling elements, and a Convenience package adds upgraded headlights, power liftgate, power driver’s seats, and rear armrest. These trims are available on the SE and above trims. Cloth upholstery is standard, and synthetic or genuine leather upholstery, heated and power adjustable front seats, and a heated steering wheel are available. The Escape has between 33.5 and 37.5 cubic feet of space behind the second row, depending on how the sliding rear seats are positioned. A total of 65.4 cubic feet of space behind the first row meets its maximum cargo capacity. The Escape is available in four trims: S, SE, SEL, and Titanium, with pricing starting at $26,550 for the S trim and ranging to $36,695 for the Titanium.

The Toyota RAV4 seats up to five people with comfortable seating and ample front- and rear legroom even for tall passengers. It offers quality cabin materials with a modern design, cloth upholstery, a six-way manually adjustable driver’s seat, and a four-way manually adjustable passenger seat. You can upgrade to additional features, including an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, synthetic leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. The RAV4 gets 37.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seat and 69.8 cubic feet with its back seats folded down. It comes in six trims: LE, XLE, XLE Premium, Adventure, Limited, and new TRD Off-Road model. Pricing starts at $26,150 for the LE trim and ranges to $35,880 for the TRD Off-Road trim.

There are plenty of standard advanced driver’s aids that are included with Ford’s CoPilot360 to keep you safe on the road. Standard features include forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, rearview camera, and lane keep assist. Available options include adaptive cruise control, lane centering assist, traffic jam assist, parallel and perpendicular park assist, remote start, head-up display, and traffic sign recognition. The technology list is relatively short on the base Escape, but the Titanium trim adds some nice touches. It features a 4.2-inch display, Bluetooth, six-speaker stereo, and a USB port. An 8-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Wi-Fi hotspot, navigation, 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo, and satellite radio are available options. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and wireless device charging is standard on the Titanium trim; as well as some of the available options.

Standard safety features on all RAV4 models feature a rearview camera and Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 bundle of technologies. Included in this bundle are pre-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, and lane departure warning. Additional standard advanced safety features include adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beam headlights, and road sign recognition. Available advanced safety features include surround-view parking camera system, front and rear parking sensors, blind spot monitoring, rain-sensing windshield wipers and rear cross traffic alert. An easy-to-use 7-inch touch-screen infotainment system comes standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Amazon Alexa integration, a Wi-Fi hotspot, Satellite radio, a USB port, Bluetooth and voice recognition are also standard. You can upgrade to an 8-inch screen, four additional USB ports, an 11-speaker JBL premium stereo, and navigation. Other available features include a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, proximity keyless entry, and push-button start.

The Escape is powered by two different powertrain options, with improved power and acceleration to move your vehicle well. Its sporty performance and handling make it drive more like a smaller car. A 180-horsepower three-cylinder EcoBoost turbocharged engine is standard on all trims except the Titanium trim. A 250-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 280 pound-feet is standard on the Titanium and available on the SEL trim. Both engines are paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. When properly equipped with the turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the Escape can tow up to 3,500 pounds. It earns a respectable rating of 28/34 mpg in the city and on the highway.

The Toyota RAV4 comes standard with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 203 hp and 184 pound-feet of torque and comes with an eight-speed automatic transmission. This transmission delivers well-balanced handling with smooth and timely shifts; and the engine supplies plenty of power and gets up to highway speeds with little effort. Front-wheel drive is standard, with two optional all-wheel-drive systems. Its base engine provides the RAV4 with the ability to tow 1,500 lbs. Its estimated fuel economy is 28/35 mpg in the city and on the highway.