My wife has decided she wants to trade for an Escape. I have been reading a few posts here and it seems there may be a few issues. What I would like to know is would any present owners buy a new one? Pros and cons please. She is also talking about the Edge which is little more expensive. I just want an idea about what to confront the dealer with concerning the Escapes when we find one. Thanks.

 

The Escape is a great Veh. Some tranny problems.
If it where me I would get the TaurusX{ues to be the FreeStyle} Same power train as the Escape.But more seats and room for the groceries.JMO.

 

we bought a 2008 escape xlt.2.3 litre, and its a great little suv (its for my wife). i drive a 2001 ranger supercab 4x4, 4 litre v-6 5 speed auto.its my comuter/work truck. its not my favorite ford ive owned. i would recommend the escape if you want a good little suv,its not a true 4x4 in the old school sense,but its a good front wheel drive or all wheel drive vehicle in my opinion. i dont regret buying ours. its pretty good on fuel considering it is an suv. it rides like a small truck,my wife likes the way she sits up higher than in a car. the options we have are nice. the limited is the top of the line,ours is an xlt, with extra options.

 

I have owned three so far (an '04 XLT, '05 and '06 Hybrids) and drive an '08 hybrid at work. I'd recommend them in a second. Either conventional gas only or the hybrid version, depending on your needs and preferences.

The transmission issues have been resolved and the interiors and the features have really been refined in the later models. They are very good small SUV's.

 

Nitramjr. what kind of mpg do you get w/ your '05,'06 and '08 Escape hybrids and are they 4wd?

GaDawg, i just bought my wife an '05 hybrid Escape w/ 33,000 on it in june, have 35,547 on it now, averaging 32.5 mpg on the hwy at 60-65 mph w/out a/c on just cruising the Parkway in Jersey. The original owner ordered it w/ ford nav. sys./ 7 spkr. am/fm/cd, sounds great, leather seats, 110 volt pwr. pt., 4wd, not sure what model you would call it w/ the options. She came from driving a '96 Tahoe w/ 209,000 miles, awesome condition and ride, just got not so good mpg, around 17mpg. She test drove used Escape and drove it home, seems alot of people want to drive hers because they want 1 now. My nbr. has the v-6 Escape and he wants to trade his in to get the hybrid. The only issue I had w/ the vehicle is a l/f cracked abs tone ring and there is the slightest and I mean the slightest hum from the rear diff, which I tune my ears to after having so many cars and 4x4's, that the dealer said that a bearing was showing some wear so they replaced the rear diff. under the factory warranty. All in all I am very satisfied w/ it and my wife must be more satisfied that I could ever imagine because she actually said for me to work on AND finish my '77 crew cab 4x4. Got to say 1 last thing...., a Toyota Prius driver dissed her my bragging about getting 50 mpg w/ his car, I already prepped her w/ a proper response, ask him how many people he can carry comfortably, w/ cargo and how fwr he gets on the beach or the snow?!!
Good luck w/ the decision...I did not regret getting mine!

 

I'd recommend one because they are so versatile and efficient.

 

Both of mine are FWD only and I get around 38 mpg this time of year and around 32-34 in the colder weather. My 24 commute is near perfect for these cars with a mix of 50 mph highway and parkway type roads.

I have no idea what the company vehicles get since there are many drivers and I usually don't fuel it.

 

I have a 2004 Escape and I'm pretty happy with it.

I noticed the post referring to transmission problems. What were those problems and how have they been fixed? Is the 2004 model involved in that at all? Any recalls?

Thanks,

Ed

 

If you use your Escape for towing you need to make sure you have your tranny serviced every 30,000 miles with the proper tranny fluid. Overall, the Escape auto is more reliable than the industry as a whole (according to Consumer Reports). I have 149,000 miles on mine and I tow a 2000 lb. boat - a lot.