We just sold our 1996 Ford Windstar minivan and we are not car shopping again. My wife liked the mini van a lot since she sat up high. I was thinking of buying a car this time around like a Taurus or Sable, but she insist we buy a vehicle that allows here to sit up higher like the mini van.
We have test drove the escape and we both liked it, we also test drove a Jeep Liberty and we both liked it also, but the jeep seem to really suck the gas for a mid size SUV. I thought the Toyota Rav4 was nice, but they are very proud of there vehicles price wise. I can buy and escape here locally for about 7-8k less than the Toyota.

We are leaning on the 2005 or 2006 Escape XLS with the 2.3 FWD. I do like the 3.0 v6 4x4, but this will be my wifes daily driver and she will put 75-80% of her miles on in town picking up and taking the kids somewhere.
We do not need the extra power for the hwy since we live in Nebraska and it is mostly flat land out here on our hwys. Also we have a 1993 Olds Delta 88 with the 3.8 in it that gets 30mpg on the hwy and runs like new if we thought we were going to the mountains on vaca and need the passing power.
And if we need a 4x4 in the winter for a few days, we have our 1998 Ford Lariat 5.4 4x4. This also is our tow vehicle for the camper and car trailer, so again the escape will never need to tow anything.

We are looking mainly for gas mileage since this will be a daily driver and again mostly in town.

The window sticker shows 22 mpg in town and 26 hwy. I am looking for some feedback from others who have the 2.3 FWD. What kind of mpg are you getting in town? and on the hwy running an average of say 65-70 mph.

Thanks for any feedback.
Tom

 

My 05 xls get close to the advertised mpg, and has adequate power for in town driving. I would reccommend it.

 

I do 90% highway miles at 65-70mph and my running total is just over 27.5mpg at 41k miles (05 2.3 auto FWD). Best has been 29.5 and worst was 26. I'd guess around 23 or so if it was mostly in town.

 

I can't give you any info regarding mileage since my wife and I have the V6, but I can tell you that my wife loves her Tribute (Escape clone) for the exact reason your wife liked it - she can easily see out of it both forwards and backwards. It also has a tight turning radius and is great for getting around town. My mother also wants my dad to trade in their car and get an Escape for the exact same reason. The FWD will also do pretty well in the snow.

 

I bought a 2005 XLS fwd 2.3l with the 5 speed for my wife last year. We get the rated MPG on the window and sometimes better, Although last winter the town MPG dropped about 3mpg and has now gone back up with the change to summer gas. Your wife will like the Escape.

 

have a 2005 escape 2.3 fwd 5 speed, and i have gotten as high as 32.59 mpg but average 29.5 to 26 in mixed driving conditions. my foot gets a little heavy sometimes though except that 32+ tank. last was 29.1 mpg with 85 mph mountain driving and some city mixed with highway, i have never been happier!!!!!

some mods given in other threads could increase mileage further if you don't "enjoy them" too much

 

Can't speak for the 2.3L/5spd. We just bought a V6/auto and the first tank of gas was 23.7 mpg. This is mixed driving with no highway miles as of yet. Just easy country roads north of Atlanta. The visibility is exceptional and it is real pleasure to drive, you'll like it hands down. And it's a great change from the Denali @ 12.5 to 13.5 mpg.

 

Tex, just FYI. Your mpgs will vary for the first 5k miles so don't get frustrated if they drop some. My 1st Escape (V6) averaged around 24.5 but mpgs vary depending upon the driver too. A great improvement over my F150 that got 17mpg on a good day and that was before gas went up in price.

 

my wife just got a 05 sape XLS with the 2.3 and a 5speed 4x4 that we had to order to get with a 5 speed. She loves it- it only had 300 miles on it before the first highway trip and it got 26.7 mpg. The window sticker said 22 in town and 26 highway. that being said it only got 20.5 in town last tank, but she drives it like a race car in town. the 4000 rpm shifts all day dont help.

 

That's decent mileage for an engine that's not even broken in.

 

I would consider the 2.3 4x4, your state gets some pretty heavy snow fall. It's worth it's weight in gold in a bad situation. Since it's for the wife, and kids, added peace of mind.

 

correction a 2006 scape

 

I have the 06 xls with the 4 cyl/5 speed and the first trip i took it on i got 29.8 mpg. That was in Aug of '05. Recently checked my mileage for a combination of city and a little highway driving and i still got a little around 28 mpg. With gas prices going up i really like the mileage i am getting. Enjoy your Escape!