Hi everyone, I am looking to replace my aging and well too expensive to fix 04 Grand Cherokee with 4.7L V8. I want something with about the same cargo area and off road capabilities but better fuel economy. Now I don't go mud bogging with my Jeep or anything, but I do go to remote lakes and camp sites, some which require atv trails to get to. I also sleep in the back of my Jeep while I'm out there. At 6'2 I can sleep fine in it with the seats down. I have found a 09 Escape XLT with a V6, its rated at 12L/100km, whereas my Jeep is lucky to get 17L/100km......big gain there. The Escape looks nice inside, about as roomy as my Jeep, at least the drivers area, but anybody know how it is off road? 1 thing I do quite often is to get to a shooting range here you have to cross a small creek, though maybe 3 inches deep, it's got a soft rock bottom, was built to keep people out after a mine closed in the 30s or so. A good 4x4 is pretty essential, I've seen trucks without 4x4 get stuck back there........maybe they just didn't know how to drive. Google hasn't turned up much in terms of off roading with this Escape. Anybody have experience with this vehicle in low level water, light gravel roads, and atv trails as well as sleeping in one while camping?

I got a little bored this afternoon and went off for a bit of easy offroad given my radiator only has a colggant in there to block a pressure leak, and my front diff and a cv joint need replacing. This creek here I cross constantly to go hunting and target shooting. I pretty much need to know if the Escape I'm looking at will do this and more.