BY STEVE SILER

Before you buy that new Escape, more power and more gears are coming in 2009 for Ford’s compact SUVs.

In the face of increasingly refined, stylish, and younger competition in the compact-SUV class, Ford’s aging Escape and its Mercury twin, the Mariner, received major updates for 2008 involving pretty much everything you can see or touch, inside and out. But that “covered the gray,” so to speak, and a lack of mechanical improvements, such as additional horsepower, left the ’08 Escape feeling pretty much like the seven-year-old vehicle it is. Now just a year later, the Escape and the Mariner are getting another shot of youth serum, and this time, the changes are possibly even more significant.

More Power and Standard Six-Speed Automatics Across the Range

Compact SUVs are seldom bought on account of their performance, but with the optional V-6 in the Toyota RAV4 serving up 270 horsepower, and the fact that Honda’s 166-hp four-cylinder CR-V could outperform an Escape V-6, Ford knew something had to be done. Thus, the Ford’s base four-cylinder now displaces 2.5 liters, up from 2.3, and can generate 17 more horsepower, for a total of 170, as well as 14 additional pound-feet of torque, at 166.

The optional 3.0-liter V-6 also received a hearty boost to 230 horsepower, up from 200. Changes in torque for the V-6 weren’t announced.

Both engines also feature new tuned exhaust systems supposedly designed to make the sound more pleasing to the ear. Penny pinchers should be just as happy about an anticipated 1-mpg fuel-economy improvement for both engines, thanks primarily to the new standard six-speed automatic transmission in place of the four-speed, a change that allowed Ford to utilize a taller final-drive ratio for fuel economy. As with the six-speed autobox in the Ford Taurus and Mercury Milan, however, there remains no manual shift mode.

Hybrids Got In on It, Too

Hybrid models also get a bit more juice, thanks to the new 2.5-liter engine, which replaces the 133-hp, 2.3-liter four-cylinder found under the hoods of every Escape and Mariner hybrid since 2004. Ford didn’t share projected fuel-economy or performance changes with us, but it did highlight refinements such as recalibrated electronics to smooth out transitions between electric and gasoline engine operation, as well as between traditional and regenerative braking. Pedal feel is also said to have been improved.

The hybrids join the other Escape/Mariner models in offering standard rollover protection incorporated into the stability control. Other minor changes across the lineup include a slightly different lower air dam, as well as new low-rolling-resistance tires, a new rear anti-roll bar, and revised suspension tuning.

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