Any of you Escape owners have any likes or dislikes you can share? The wife wants to get one, and I want to know what we are getting into before we buy. Thanks!

 

Awsome little truck! I traded my yellow one in for the explorer for the 3rd row seat but I had the 2001 and had no problems at all. I put 35000 miles on it and drove it hard. For a small suv the Escape rocks!

 

Take one for a good, LONG test drive and make sure you're comfortable with the seats. I get a lot of customers at my dealership that don't buy an Escape because they just can't seem to get comfortable with them. You'll only discover this after a good 20-30 minutes of driving. Other than that, they really are a great little vehicle. Amazing how much room there is in one, especially compared to a RAV4 or the Liberty.

 

I love my 2003. Peppy little v- 6 and handles good in all weather. thumbs up here.

 

Our 2002 is great too.
Only compliant is that the 4 flat plug for the trailer hookup is so far away from the receiver. Most trailers I have hooked up either wouldn't reach, or would unlplug themselves at every sharp right turn. Maybe Ford has an extension piece available now, but I already had to make one. Just stinks that I had to on a new vehicle.

 

You may want to look at the Mazda Tribute also. We love ours. Only complaint is loud road noise and wind noise. It's an 02. The advantage over the Escape is it comes with a 3yr/50k mile warranty.

 

The wife just bought a 2003 Tribute. We looked at the Escapes but for a little less money and more warranty we got almost the same exact vehicle. Although I read the 2004 Escapes are coming down in price by almost $1,000. The wife likes it- which is why she bought it.

Actually surprised me quite a bit since her 6 year old Camry has only 129,000 miles and she had planned on keeping it 10 years. She is relatively frugal- Okay so she's really cheap. So for her to spend $23,400 on a vehicle that gets 4-5 mpg less than the current car is just amazing. Her reasoning is that she likes the looks and the performance, both v6 power and 4x4 capacity, as well as the fact you sit up higher. Her commute takes her across the Golden Gate Bridge and now she just loves the view she didn't get in the Camry. Also she didn't want to purchase another boring car just because it is fuel efficient, safe and dependable. She is looking for fun and I think the Tribute covers the fun part while still being a functional daily driver w/o being a gas guzzler. Not great mpg's but certainly way better than my F-150.

I think the 0% financing for 5 years probably sealed the deal. Now maybe I stand a chance of replacing my stolen mnt bike- Santa Cruz Superlight w/ full on XTR and disc brakes.

One note: Think thoroughly about the tow hitch option. The class II rcvr is, for lack of a better description, integrated into the frame and bumper. Buying aftermaket, the rcvr will be mounted below the bumper and as for taking off the stock one it looks to be a major PITA.

My wife wants to carry bikes on a hitch mounted rack and we'll probably go with a class III aftermarket hitch because there appear to be so many more choices available for the 2" over the 1.25"


Tim

 

We just got an 03 Limited . I love it I can't say anything bad about this truck . It has plenty pep , smoothe ride , and a great sound system . The limited has every option they have , heated leather seats , heated mirrors , 6 disc cd w/ 7 speakers , backing alarm , side impact airbags , ect .. I have put 3,000 miles on it so far . I got a really good deal on it from a good friend at a local dealer , I would definatly shop around you never know what other dealers will offer .

 

I had a 2002 XLT Premium and my wife and I really liked it. It seemed to actually have more "useable" room than the Explorer. It had 200 hp, leather, moon roof, 6 disc CD, etc! I avg'd about 24mpg w/automatic & 2wd. As I was about 300#s at the time, it is really saying something to say I was comfortable in it. I have since sold it and purchaced the 2002 S'crew. I wouldn't trade the S'crew for the Escape, but there was nothing wrong with it.

 

Only gripe is the hard seats.

 

I love my 01 my only regrets were I did not purchase with factory fog lights as ford does not sell stock parts. As far as I could see. In 01 there were some hidden switches but they were moved in 02. We are thinking of getting another!

 

Thanks everyone for the comments. Most everyone seemed to be happy with the Escape, so we bought a 2003 XLT. Went on a vacation with it and got 24-25 mpg. Seemed fairly comfortable, though I wish it had arm rests in the middle of the seats, as the top of the console is too far away. Seems to have a fair amount of get up and go, and a decent ride. Thanks again!

 

I bought an 01 in november of 2000. It was one of the first Escapes on the road. I love the power and space. Unfortunately, I think it's cheaply made. Lots of wind and road noise ....creeks and cracking. I've had numerous problems too. It spends an incredible amount of time in the shop. I've had 3 alternators replaced, the coolant sending unit, cracked master cylinder cover, screwed up window tracking, a broken cd player laser lens, and a broken back window washer line that sprayed water all over the passenger side floor. I've got got 45,000 miles on it and at about 35000 the trans was slipping. It was found that they never put enough trans fluid in it. They didn't replace the trans just filled it and it was fine but I'm nervous as far as what damage was done. Also recently my radio display just disappeared. The dealer says it's not covered cause I am now in the extended waranty milage. . I don't know what to do but live with it cause it's a Mach 7 system and I hate to replace it cause I don't know what will mesh with the speakers and don't want to have to buy all new ones.

It's been a real nightmare owning this car. I wish I leased it so the lease would just expire. It's almost paid off now and I really don't want to buy something else and ad another payment, but the thought of what is next on this thing scares me. You other guys seem not to have these problems. I may be bad luck. I had an f-150 new in 98 that qualified as a lemon before the year was up and nobody else I new seemed to have problems with it.

 

Advice for your next purchase:
Don't buy a vehicle made on either Mondays or Fridays or Saturdays.

 

lol....I don't believe it was made on either. I'd have to recheck to make sure