Yeah, I saw that article about Wayne Gerdes and a couple Ford engineers taking a drive to DC and getting 80MPG.

We use a couple of Wayne's techniques like those mentioned in the article to get good fuel economy

Anticipating traffic conditions and patterns.
Slowing down and maintaining even throttle pressure.
Gradually acceleration (but not driving like a Granny. lol )
Buiding up speed before hitting the bottom of a hill and coasting down the other side.
Coasting up to red lights and stop signs.

These and other methods can be found at www.greenhybrid.com and www.cleanmpg.com Most of the fuel saving driving methods for hybrids work great on conventional vehicles as well.

M

 

I did not see any mention of the four cyl engine, how is it doing for durability, I know it does not provivr the power of the six cyl. This one is an 06 with 60k?

 

I did buy another escape..I had 2006 xlt and was in a car accident.. flipped and rolled in the car 3 times and I'm here to talk about it. So I definelty bought another escape.. I'm now the proud owner of a 2009 limited..

 

I only buy used, and definitely would buy another low mileage used Escape. There are few models years that I wouldn't buy because of specific problems these model years encountered. No sense in buying new and get hit with that big depreciation factor as soon as you drive it off the lot. You can save a whole lot by buying a late model Escape with low mileage. Look for lease turn ins, they seem to make the best buys.

 

We have a 2010 Escape Limited. 4WD. We went from an Eddie Bauer Explorer to the Escape and were not sure if we were doing the right thing. Now, 8000 miles later, we love it and never regret our decision. MPG is 22-24 depending on how and where we drive. Have not driven it in the snow yet, and am curious as to how it will perform. Not used to having a 4WD vehicle that we cannot put in and out of 4WD, but everyone who has one says the Escape is great in bad weather. Would we buy another? You bet!

 

I have an 01 with 145,000 and it still looks and runs great. Only problem that was perplexing was a lower intake manifold leak at 127,000 miles. I would buy another one in a heart beat. I also have 07 Fusion, but I almost like driving the Escape better, and the Fusion is GREAT! In fact I'm looking for one (Escape) for my daughter, hard to find one with lower mileage with out paying an arm and a leg, at least in the DFW area. I read recently the average days on a sales lot at Ford for the Escape is only 7 days..... That's really low! Way to go Ford!!!

Also Buck1, We don't get a lot of bad weather in Texas, but last year we did, and I have only FWD, in snow and ice it drives great. In 9 years of driving I have never been in a situation that I didn't feel totally confident in my Escape to get me through whatever mother nature threw at us!

 

Only thing that would keep me from buying another would be the growth of my family. I may need to purchase a bigger vehicle next time. Probably an explorer. For now the Escape is just the right size for me, my wife, and my 1 year old daughter.

 

Just an example of how much you lose when buying any vehicle new. A friend of mine bought at 2007 KIA Sorento he paid approximately $25K for it. He had nothing but problems with it and traded it in on a 2010 Ford Escape. After much negotiating about the price of the trade in an the price of the new Escape, Ford only gave him $11000 on the trade in. The vehicle lost more than half of what he paid for it in 2 1/2 years! Yes KIAs don't hold their value, but that is ridiculous.

Now someone probably bought that 3 year old KIA for about $13000, a savings of $12000 if he bought a new KIA. Not a bad deal if all the problems have been fixed on it. The KIA warranty is very poor, as my friend found out.

 

They bought a three year old Kia with xx,000 miles on it with a checkered history that will probably continue to be nothing but problems. And, if they tried to trade it in in three years they would be lucky to get half what THEY paid for it. New or used, everything depreciates. Buy a used car from a dealership and you pay a salemans commission plus various other overhead that it is impossible to ever recover.

I will stick with new...I will know the history, how it was broken in, maintained and how it was driven from day one. Just my point of view.

 

Yes, everything depreciates, but nothing depreciates more than buying a new vehicle. The minute you drive it off the dealerships lot, you will lose between $5000 and $8000, depending on the vehicle. Normally you will lose 20% of what you paid for the vehicle immediately. Depreciation slows after the first year of ownership.

Yes it is nice to buy a car new if you can afford it, and afford the loss in value. Normally, no bank will finance the full amount of the cost of a new vehicle or any vehicle for that matter. Most banks require a 10% down payment to offset the depreciation.

I saved at least $9000 by buying my 2003 Escape used with only
30K miles on it, didn't even break in yet. It was a leased vehicle. I bought it in 2005 and paid $14,000 for it, even though they wanted $15,999 for it. If I had bought a comparable 2005 Escape new, the cost would of been close to $23,000.

I always had bought new cars also, but when trade in time came or selling it privately, I was losing too much money.

Low mileage,lease turn ins, seem to work for me. Remember leased vehicles have to be turned in in good condition. Just my view point.

 

checking this out because i'm looking at an '02 with 4 cyl/manual. low mileage. anything to look for?

 

biggest issue with Escapes are wheel bearings,tone rings and on V6 the I.A.C. Valve and lower intake gaskets.All are easy fixs

 

I love my Escape Hybrid. What's not to like: great fuel economy, handles nice, low maintenace, AWD is awsome even in 2-3 feet of snow, and tight frame. I plan on getting another Escape Hybrid when this one retires.

 

'05 Escape Limited 4x4. 130K miles. very economical. Absolutely love it on or offroad. Great in all conditions of surface or weather. Handling is almost as good as medium price sports cars. Amazingly, the shocks are still in very good condition and they are the originals. Will change the plugs next month, although the engine runs fine and the gas mileage around town is a consistent 17mpg.

 

Snow at 2-3 feet, puts it well over your bumper, so you were pushing through snow that deep??