Ford Readies Escape-Based Off-Roader

The new SUV/crossover Ford Motor Co. is developing will debut about six months after the 2020 Escape compact crossover upon which it is based, says product development chief Hau Thai-Tang.

He tells The Detroit Bureau that the yet-to-be-named model will be taller, more rugged and boxier—with an upright windshield—than the redesigned Escape coming this autumn. Ford unveiled the 2020 Escape, which is more car-like than its predecessor, earlier this month.

It isn’t clear if the new SUV/crossover is the so-called Baby Bronco (pictured) that Ford has previously teased. That vehicle also will be based on the front-wheel-drive Escape platform and has been described as an “incremental utility” with “off-road positioning and imagery” that will support a premium price.

Due in 2020, the Bronco SUV will ride on a rear-wheel-drive body-on-frame platform. Ford launched the architecture last October with the all-new Ranger pickup truck.