Now, to be honest, the 2011 Honda CR-V Concept wasn’t fascinating, but it did have presence. Did anybody actually believe those wheels would be on the production 2012 CR-V? Of course not.
The 2011 Ford Vertrek Concept, a preview of the 2013 Ford Escape, was indeed a stunner. It wasn’t just the wheels, it was the well-defined character lines, aggressive front end, and squat stance. Make no mistake, the 2013 Escape is rather handsome for a small crossover, but notice how the two bulging lines on the hood are perched rather closely together? On the Vertrek Concept, those two lines formed the edges of a freaking hood bulge. Did anybody think the bulge would make production?
No, but it was part of what made the Vertrek an eye-catcher, and now that it’s gone, the production Escape is without a design feature that made its inspiration so visually arresting. Same goes for the line near the door handles – it’s there on the production vehicle, but not nearly as there as it was on the Vertrek. Strangely, the Escape’s front end lost little of the Vertrek’s OTT nature, lending an air of cartoonishness to the production vehicle, an accusation that couldn’t be leveled at the cohesive Vertrek Concept.
Again, the production Escape didn’t stand a chance of looking exactly like the Vertrek, and we’ve all come to understand the nature of these preview concept vehicles. We’re not talking about pie in the sky stuff that never makes it to production.
But if you call something the Jaguar C-XF and we end up with the XF, well, we’re disappointed, handsome though the XF may be. We thought there’d be a little more C in the production Jag. In the case of the new 2012 Honda CR-V and 2013 Ford Escape, the disappointment is not so keenly felt, but it still seems like an odd strategy to release an impressive concept so soon before releasing the less impressive production vehicle. These images prove it.
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The CRV seems to have kept most of its concepts design cues, just missing a few chrome trims here and there..
I have been following escape designs especially after seeing it on the
road in italy…so so disappointed
Can Automakers Please start giving us these sleek headlights I am so tiered of these giant bulky ugly lights that ruin a nice design and still incorporate minuscule projector lenses. If nobody said it, I will, We never change headlights and when we do we wont do it again for 12 more years so please start sacrificing body shop convenience for style. If you want to improve repairs work on water pumps and timing, belts, and clutches we burn through those more frequently than headlight housings.
Ford NA has missed a great opportunity again! Their EU division developed a cute and efficient Kuga and the NA HQ that has been on the road for 3 years, or so, and now they have decided to bring to the US a cannibalized version, as they always do. The looks are not the same great, some detail is gone, only gas engine options are available, and the prices just do not make any sense. Kuga offers two Diesel versions in EU, with actual mpg >50, both quiet and clean. America, no $avings on fuel for you! If you keep cars for long time your new Escape will be considered inefficient a few short years when new mpg standards will kick on.
Compare it with a larger Honda CRV; yes, it does not offer a Diesel opion on any market, but is much cheaper, offers better engineering and quality, gets the same mpg as Escape'13 and is great looking too. But, why would one spend close to $30k on a smaller Escape while a comparable Honda model runs for ~ $8k less? I guess soon we shall see Ford slashing pricess and pushing incentives to
get the sells moving….crazy