After seeing a few vids ...i like it a little more...not enough to abandon my Runner for one, but i do like the attempt. IFS is fine, locking diffs and add ons to make it more personal is great. Will the electronic stuff hold up is a key question...along with the Eco-boost stuff around all the dirt and mud these things are set up to handle.

but then i heard what i had figured was true...the 'Sport' is an Escape with better clothes on. that makes me sad. there isnt anything wrong with an Escape, my daughter had one for a while and it was fine...but she's 18...please dont pee on me and say its raining. There is very little you can do to that vehicle, especially giving it an engine that has less power than my Kawasaki GTR, and then tell me its off road worthy.

but as Tom said on Driven, Ford will probably sell a boat load of them.

so Ford has basically decided to split their market/fans...:
either you want on road (Explorer, Escape) or you want off road (Bronco, Bronco-lite).