As well, Escapers can now get a five-speed manual transmission in the base four-cylinder Escape, an option that wasn’t available in 2008; the five-speed manual is no longer available with the V6 engine.
5speed manual was never an option with the V6. As far as I know, the 5speed has always been available in FWD trim but Ford dropped it in AWD/4WD trim in the 2008 make over.