Looking at a 2009 Escape. I put a lot of miles on per year.(40,000) A lot of it is on dirt roads. Currently using a Ranger with just shy of 300,000 miles. What are everyones thoughts on an Escape holding up? I don't beat my vehicles but the roads I travel are sometimes very rough. I know the Escape is built on a car platform opposed to the Ranger is a truck platform.

docgj

 

Not sure if you would want a Escape for the roads you travel. In my honest opinion for what it's worth, I would get something with more of robust suspension system. I am not 100% sure, but I think the Explorer is built on the Ford F series truck platform. That is also an option a Ford F series truck. I would look around for a low mileage Ford F-250, they are around, not many, but you can find them. I just think an Escape wouldn't be able to handle that kind of terrain day in and day out without something breaking.

 

Thanks! That was my concern because the Escape is on a car platform vs the full frame of a truck. I also have the option to purchase a 2011 Ranger with only 4,000 miles on it. Remainder of the factory warranty will transfer.

Any other opinions?

 

For your rather severe use, I would not go with an Escape. Not that they're tinker-toy or anything, but they are built on what was once a modified Mazda 626 platform that has evolved. I would be concerned about the pounding/bending of the suspension and its mounts to the unibody structure.

There are unibody vehicles that are beefed-up enough to take it, like the old Jeep Cherokee and the Grand Cherokee, both are unibody. But they were designed with off-road pounding in mind. And unless you are going to be jumping, I doubt you would bend any unibody attachment area on those.

So outside of a more specially-designed unibody vehicle like that, I would tend to stay with a body on frame vehicle.

Tony, the Expedition shares some rough chassis design with the F-150. The original body on frame Explorers were based on a modified Ranger chassis, IIRC. They are narrower than the F-series. The latest generation of Explorers went to unibody.

 

I have a 2009 Escape with 125,000 miles that has held up very well but I agree with the others in that I would look for one of the newer F-150's with the 3.7 V6 or a very late model Ranger if you need a 4-cyl for economy. That being said, I bought my daughter a 2002 Ranger and it didnt seem all that durable in highway use as the ball joints needed to be replaced after 75,000 miles. I really depends on how rough your roads are. I grew up on gravel roads in Iowa and I wouldn't consider them to be very hard on a vehicle - except for the dust.