[tbudjobs]

The 1.6 in the Escape is not even tuned to anything considered close to its full potential. I know it might seem odd to have such a small engine powering such a heavy vehicle, but when you combine all of the technologies combined (such as twin turbo, direct injection, etc), the engine is inherently quite capable and powerful.

Case in point: the 1.6 in the Fiesta is tuned to 197hp and 202 lb ft torque.
the 1.5 in the Fusion puts out 181hp and 185 lb ft torque.

Our Escape's 1.6 is tuned to 178hp and 184 lb ft torque.

These engines are capable of much more, but for mass production they are going to keep things well below ever pushing it to the extremes.

And just a thought: Since the torque comes on at such low RPMs, that hints to me that the engine is not having to strain very much while providing that spirited acceleration we feel anywhere between 0-50 mph.