2013 Ford Escape

As far as I can tell, these things are basically the greatest mode of transportation on the planet for what you get. My sister is the perfect fit for a "cute-ute", unfortunately, she liked the way the OLD Escape looked (like a truck), but luckily, I convinced her they were garbage (not hard considering one of our relatives owned a V6 model that was just terrible at everything including passing a gas station).

Are there any problems with the new ones I am unaware of? She needs something domestic as she works in northern Alberta (any warranty work/dealerships are basically domestics only up there). She needs awd (we just got 20cm of snow today and it's the middle of April... hasn't been above 0 in a week), and she truly needs the added height of a cute-ute because she's maybe 5' tall on a good day. She's pretty convinced now on buying the top of the line be-all end-all model. I wouldn't have suggested that to her, but hey, it's her money and she wants leather/awd. She also doesn't hop vehicles as they are an appliance to her, and I think the new Escape bodystyle should be timeless enough to survive a decade of looking good (if it lasts that long... shes written off two cars already Luckily they were only worth $2k ish).

Thoughts?

I really liked the old Escapes. I have to imagine the new ones are even better, especially in the looks department.... Has she checked out the Ford Edge yet? Those have been out for a while, seem to be damn near identical to the Escape overall, SHARP lookin', and have been on the market plenty long to identify potential problems.

She's not the most "spacially aware" person around and she recognizes that, so she wants to keep the vehicle as small as reasonable possible. I might have to tell her to cross shop it though as I've road in the Edge's and they are definitely nice vehicles.

the new one looks like a ZX2 on steroids.

How about a C-Max ?

My cousin has one. They're pretty damn nice.

They look appealing to me also. Nice vehicle, with good utility and great gas mileage, at least if they really get what they're rated for. I'm kind of shocked by the price of new vehicles in general, and this one is not an exception in the form I would buy it in, but I might go see what kind of deal I can get.

iceracer wrote: How about a C-Max ?

Not available in Canuckistan (you should know that)! Also, how do them batteries function when it is -50*C out?

bravenrace wrote: I'm kind of shocked by the price of new vehicles in general

You're telling me, she is saying $43k for the absolutely fullest load

I'm like "Can't you buy a luxury vehicle at that price point?!"

I know they have had a bunch of recalls for the ecoboost but I'm not sure how serious. Also it is a ford so she should be able to get like 5k off with rebates and discounts at least that's how it seems to work around me

Interesting timing of your question. I just spent two days and over 400 miles in a '13 SEL
I helped my M-I-L buy one earlier this year, right when the New Escape was introduced. At 79 yrs old, she had just recently backed her '06 Town & Country minivan into a pole. She wanted something smaller and she never really liked the T&C which was chosen by her now deceased husband. The decision was going to be a cute-ute. She liked her daughter's Ford Edge. She especially liked the rear camera and beeping.
We looked at every cute-ute. Price was not the deciding factor. She had the money and could afford to "get what she wanted." The greatest criteria was egress which means seat height and the functions of a lady with an artificial hip. Had to be leather for some easy sliding on the seat. Some cars like CX-5 were eliminated due to higher seat bolsters that you and I may like but not for her entry/exit needs.
She went to Ford for the Edge but having driven the Escape also, she thought the Edge felt just as big as her T&C.
I liked the CRV but that really came down to the fact that her husband had never bought a Honda and she was uneasy with that decision - Ford it was.
I mentioned the desire to get Ford Friends and Family pricing here on the board and amazingly, a PM arrived offering...you may want to try the same. It's good to have friends. This was especially important for me considering that the Old style Escapes were still on the lots and there were no incentives on the new models.

She bought the SEL to get the leather. She passed on the Titanium model due to it's interior color choice of black only. She went with the extra charge Red color and tan leather. She got every SEL option except:
Sunroof (she does not like sun-bright)
Navigation (big price tag)
AWD (if the weather is that bad she will stay home and the part time system does not do that much to benefit the driver (in my opinion not at that price.)

She has the bigger 2.0L engine. At the time, the 1.6L was on recall and we were not even allowed to test drive a 1.6L since they were all still quarantined. The smaller engine would have been enough for her but I also feared being a "first year" engine. The 2.0L has been around a year more as a small engine for the Edge.

In retrospect: Do not get the all-weather mats. This is likely my biggest complaint. They charge you a ton but custom fit sounds nice. Well, I'll be damned, the car has a distinct dead pedal for the driver's left foot. That entire section of tan carpet is in no way at all covered by the mat. Exactly where they expect you to put your wet, muddy, snowy, slushy foot, the carpet is completely dirty in only 4k miles and one winter. The $100-ish mats have been replaced with $20 Sam's Club mats.

God damn, that radio system is just too confusing for an 80 yr old lady! It is even too much for my 45yr old wife-lady. I soooo wish we could have gotten leather and back up camera and beep w/o that damn radio. If you are good with smartphone type screens you will be fine. If not...
Even things like the proximity-style key is a learning curve. For all the years this 80 yr old has driven, there has always been a place to put the key.

I had the car for two days and 400 miles. She had had it since Aug so 8 full months. With 4k miles she is about 500 miles a month (as we expected) all city driving. The dashboard said 22mpg. I played a lot with this. At 65 and cruise control I could get 27 mpg to read. At more like 80, it returned less than 25.

Comfort is okay but egress is good. The center console and dash does not give much in the way of storage other than two cup holders. Of course, there is a big armrest bucket. She especially likes lifting the seat, but...once lifted the arm rest of the center console is no were near her elbow so to her the car feels like it has no arm rests.

It has been in the shop once recently for a driver's electric seat that would not move fore-aft but would move in all other ways.

Personally, I had a 2010 Escape (old style) as a company vehicle in the past. It was fine but egress in those were pretty bad in my opinion with small door openings and high sills.

Pricing is outrageous. I seem to remember like a $38k sticker. $34k final price comes to mind.
As noted, all cars are crazy priced.

Well, it has had its fair share of recalls. Most significantly, there was a recall for the engine coolant line (and later the fuel line as well) because they may disconnect, spray ignitable liquid over the engine bay and ignite the car. I suppose they call it an Escape for a reason? Obviously they've fixed, but it calls the car's quality into question.

Otherwise, I like it. Provided I do like the Mazda CX-5 more, but the Ford definitely has a nicer interior. If she want's a fully loaded one, I would look at a BMW X1. Also, a good set of snow tires (Michelin Xi3) is better than AWD with no-seasons and much cheaper as well. Although she might wan't both up their in Alberta.