An X-Cal is by far the most bang for your buck, and you can set up both economy and performance tunes, depending on what you need at the time and what gas you have in it. Much more versatile than a chip. You can PM
Torrie, who is pretty much our "official" tuner.
Other than that, there isn't much if you don't want to go with a supercharger. Lighter tires will help, and so will shorter tires if you don't mind the look. The older base-model Escapes came with 27.5" tall tires, but I don't know how small you can go with the newer style without it looking odd.