Think of the Escape as a Focus on stilts and you're in the ballpark. The best thing about the Escape over the Focus is they have a standard 6 speed auto instead of the Powershift DCT the Focus has which...ugh. I can tell you the horror stories we've had. If you get a newer model with Sync3 you should be good connectivity wise (CarPlay and Android Auto are supported), but the older Sync2 models do not. They're not terrible to work with, but they are slow.

Some of the 1.6 EcoBoost engines have been recalled for a coolant temp sensor which could lead to the head cracking, worst case (need to schedule my appointment for my Fusion soon). I've seen issue with the fuel pressure sensors, high and low pressure, but they aren't terrible to replace.