Ford does not build many cars like the Ford Escort: a 4-door sedan with 1.5 L Ti-VCT I4, built from 2015 to 2020 as electrification stopped being an experiment and the crossover took every market. Its designer of record is Andrew Collinson (Exterior Design Manager) / Kartik Ramanathan (Vehicle Engineering Manager) / Emily Lai (Color + Materials Design Manager).
Where it came from
The Ford Escort (Chinese: 福特福睿斯; pinyin: Fútè Fúruìsī) is a compact car sold on the Chinese, Taiwanese and Middle Eastern market by the Ford Motor Company. Following its announcement in mid-2013 that they intended reviving the "Escort" name for a car based on an older version of the Ford Focus, Ford launched the new Escort in January 2015.
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 1.5 L Ti-VCT I4. Kerb weight is 1255 -. The gearbox is a 5 speed manual / 6 speed automatic. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2687 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Ford's history is not in doubt: the Ford Focus Classic (China) / Ford Fiesta (sedan, Taiwan) came before it; it was built at Chongqing. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Ferrari 488, the Chevrolet Camaro, the Chevrolet Bolt. Nearby in the Ford catalogue sit the Ford 021C and the Ford Comète.