We sold an 04 tribute for a more economical car..........man we really miss it, so in a couple more years were going to sell our truck and get another suv, so i will be buying a used 08-09 model (keep in mind wont be buying until 2-3 years from now). What would you guys buy and why ? I've "built" each of these online and it seems like the best bang for the buck is the Mariner. But dont really like the idea of owning a "mercury" ha! Anyway what would you guys chose and why..............Thanks!

I know this is a "FORD" forum so i expect alot of Escape answers but i figured most of you had to make a decision when you bought yours as compared to the other brands........thanks again

 

I had an 08 escape, it was the best suv we ever had. So we just bought an 08 4x4 mariner and we like it better than the 01 escape we had. It has the V-6 with the 4 speed auto and we get 20.6 mpg around home so far and we got 25 mpg on the one trip we've taken in it. The merc has all the bells and whitsles and is a strudy little rig. We went with an 08 because it had 5,000.00$ worth of rebates. We wanted an 09 escape, but the rebates were to strong. When going used I would get an 09 bacause of the 6 speed automatic and the new 2.5 4 cylinder has 170 hp and the 3.0 now has 240 hp. So it would do a little better on gas. Our 08 merc gets better mpg than our 01 escape did and it isn't even broke in yet. I like the escapes, but I really like the merc, it's very comfortable, fancy, looks good and is tough as nails. I've allready had it up in the mountains of W,Va. The mariner, escape and ribute are all the same with just a little different look and the mercs tend to be a little better equiped and fancier.

 

I like the looks of the tributes a little better, but that's an opinion. We have owned a Tribute and an Escape of the same year.
As far as I can tell, here are the differences:
Styling obviously
Dash gauges white (escape) black (tribute)
4x4 **** (escape) versus switch (tribute)
Escape has a lock/unlock button on passenger's side door. Tribute does not
Tribute column shifter is in the way of the defroster light when in drive (very anoying)...escape has a different shifter that does not cover up the light. Irrelevent in later models with floor shifter.
Double check the warranties as they are different.
All three are obviously built together in Kansas City and with the same options, they are virtually indistinguishable. Buy the one that looks the best and gets you the best deal.

Here is one of the most important things though. The escape is for some reason over $30 cheaper per month for full coverage insurance, so be sure to check with your company. My experience in the insurance industry says that this is due to the cost of parts and the cost to repair them from collision damage. There are more escapes in boneyards and cheaper aftermarket parts. Escapes are more common.

 

I made a mistake in my first post, my escape was an 01, not an 08, I corrected it later in the post. I didn't want anyone to get the wrong impression that there was that much difference between an 08 escape and an 08 mariner, "sorry".

 

We bought an Escape , as the wife wanted to "sit-up" as to see traffic better. The Escape handles better than the big SUV's, not too much body roll when you take a corner too fast.. drives well and is comfortable for longer trips..we like it-and its a Ford...

 

This thread didn't get too far..what's up????

 

We went with the Escape because we like the looks of it over the Tribute and Merc.

Also, the Ford Dealer we've been dealing with for the past 10 years (and 5 new vehicle purchases) has given us very good service

 

Isnt the six speed trans. on the 09 defective? thats what ive read in previous posts

 

I am having problems with mine, the Techs. in Dearborn said they would have a fix for it by the "2nd. quarter of 2009"

Am I pissed? Yes.

Would I buy another? Yes, I would. I just happend to be one of the "lucky" ones to get a bad tranny, (actually they have concluded it is the PCM that needs reprogramming) apparently some other 6f35's are reporting a shift problem too.