The Escape has a spacious interior. Its front seats are nearly as roomy as the Explorers. Getting in or out of the front seats is made easier by low door sills and wide door openings.
XLS has manually adjustable seats trimmed with cloth. XLT gets premium cloth trim.
White-faced instruments are set in a straightforward instrument panel. The audio system and heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls in the center stack are angled slightly toward the driver to ease reach while driving. Ford upgraded Escape's interior for 2003 with improved interior materials. Power window and lock switches are illuminated to make them easier to find.
Side-impact airbags are standard on Limited, optional ($345) on XLS and XLT. standard. Pretensioners combined with load-limiting retractors are standard on front-seat belts. In a crash, these pretensioners automatically tighten the belts, while the load limiters are designed to reduce the risk of chest injuries in severe collisions.
The rear seats offer good knee room. The rear cargo area offers 69.2 cubic feet of space with the rear seats folded down, 33 cubic feet with the seats in place. The rear seats are split 60/40. The rear-seat cushion can be removed for more load-carrying capacity. The flip-up rear glass offers easy access to the rear cargo area for small items.
