The Wife and I are looking at cars and the escape checks all the boxes. We really want the hybrid all wheel drive version but there's some killer deals on the 1.5 eco post right now. What do I need to know about these cars? Will the hybrid battery explode in the first day? Can I safely boost the 1.5 to 30psi and own all the posers? Is the all wheel drive really a super duper big advantage when driving on the snow, or do I just want it because awd is cool?
Just test drive a SE with the 1.5 ecoboost. Not a bad car, a good appliance. I would prefer the 2.0 ecoboost but that's a bit more than we want to spend right now. How is the 1.5?
I'm on my second one as a company vehicle, first was a '14 that I had from new. Put close to 130K on that one, needed tires and they didn't want to spend the money. Got the current one from one of the other guys with about 60K, it's a '16 and just under 80K now. The '14 never needed anything but maintenance, I get the oil changed every 5K and mostly highway. Decent fuel mileage for AWD, the '14 averaged high 20's on the highway the '16 is slightly better at just over 30. More likely do to the '16 never having to sit in traffic due to current conditions than anything else.
The 1.6 EB is adequate with AWD but you won't be winning any drag races. Putting the transmission in sport mode does wake it up quite a bit. They ride and handle pretty well for what they are and are reasonably quiet. I'm not sure if the 6 speed transmission is the same one as the Focus or not, that could be a concern if it is. I've driven in some pretty cruddy conditions, it's OK with the AWD, winter tires would improve that more than likely. I wouldn't want to attempt snow with just the FWD if I had a choice.
Our last two Escapes were 1.5ls- but we don't put much on them as owners. Good, solid vehicles.
In reply to 11GTCS :
New one has a different transmission; an 8 speed automatic. AWD is our preference but with pricing and local availability we might end up with just a front wheel drive version. Not the best for snow but certainly better than my Mustang.
I'm glad to hear positive things about these cars!
Fwd with good snow tires will out perform an AWD with all seasons.
I had a 4wd Jeep Liberty. Thought I was all set with the tires on it . Nope, had to put snow tires on it. Then it was better in 2wd than it was in 4wd and original tires.
Most AWD's are really Fwd with a little help from the rear
I'm also looking at Escapes. But have settled on the 2.0 liter engine with front wheel drive. We don't have to contend with snow and the 2.0 gives some trailer towing capacity up to 3500 pounds. There are some decent deals for Escape Titanium's coming off lease with under 15k miles if you can find someone to buy at auctions.
iceracer said:Fwd with good snow tires will out perform an AWD with all seasons.
I had a 4wd Jeep Liberty. Thought I was all set with the tires on it . Nope, had to put snow tires on it. Then it was better in 2wd than it was in 4wd and original tires.
Most AWD's are really Fwd with a little help from the rear
I agree with iceracer, it’s 85% FWD that only shifts torque to the rear under either hard acceleration or very slippery conditions. The current version has Continental all seasons on it which are a big improvement over the Goodyears that were on my last one. That said I think they’re 235/55 17” so a bit wider than true winter or snow tire would be ideally. I’m in eastern MA so the roads are bare and wet 15 minutes after it stops snowing with the chemicals they use here. I can only remember a couple of times in the last 15 years snow has stuck around long enough to worry. Further north or west, I’d consider it.
Ok we have a 2018 Escape. At 20995 miles, Ford had to replace the short block. Turns out they have an issue with a crack that developers in it and washes the top of the Pistons with anti freeze. :) this happened at the beginning of September. They had it a month because parts were on national back order. Was supposed to keep it for at least two months but my wife called Ford and told them if they have it that long, she felt she should be able to delay car payment for the months they had it. Next thing you know, parts started coming in. The writer at the dealer told us it is becoming a very common problem. Right around 20,000 miles. I have 2000 miles on the new engine but I hope they redesigned the block. It cost the dealer $4500 for the job, it would have cost me $7500 if it was out of warranty. Just make sure you do your homework. We really like it otherwise. It replaced a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder. My wife loved the body on frame of the Nissan but has really learned to love her Escape
In reply to Iusedtobefast :
Which engine do you have in yours? 1.5 or 2.0 Ecoboost?
We have a 2014 Escape that has been good mostly. Ran into a stalling issue that I eventually found was the fuel pressure sensor. Other then that it has been solid. A bit of a boring appliance. Our is a 1.6 though.
Honestly if all things were equal I would have rather gone with the CX5 but the local dealership wouldn't make nearly as good a deal as on the Escape and the CX5 wasn't that much nicer to justify the price difference.
Recently helped my son find a 2017 with the base 2.5l non ecoboost engine. Not as quick as the EB's but if he want's to keep it until 200k miles I like his odds of the engine being up to the task with minimal issues. He loves the way it drives and fuel mileage is doing 2-3 mpg better than the rating.
We have an appointment on Thursday with the local dealership to go start the paperwork on a 2020 Escape in dark persian green metallic.
In reply to 11GTCS :
1.5
Had one as a very disappointing rental. Super uncomfy for 6 footers and tiny for the bad MPG it returned. I would encourage just about any other cute ute, especially a CRV or a RAV-4, especially if you are buying new the resale on the Toyota or Honda offering will stomp a mudhole in an Escape.
I still haven't gotten over the "wet timing belt" and it's needed service. Maybe not as stupid as it sounds.....but it sounds really wrong to me.
I agree with the above, if buying new and not planning to drive until its in the scrapper, great go for it. Otherwise, getting the high resale of the Honda or Toyota is worth the additional cost.
93gsxturbo said:Had one as a very disappointing rental. Super uncomfy for 6 footers and tiny for the bad MPG it returned. I would encourage just about any other cute ute, especially a CRV or a RAV-4,
None of this has been my experience at all. I have been plenty comfortable at 6'2" in ours and it gets pretty good gas milage imo about 27mpg mixed driving (probably ~60-65% city rest highway). IMO all the cute utes drive about the same. The CX5 was the only one that I found that drove better then the others.
Another tall guy (6'2") who finds the current generation rather uncomfortable; I couldn't push the seat far back enough to get enough leg room. It looks larger than a Focus but feels a lot smaller inside. I also didn't care for how the A/C shut off when the engine stopped; that didn't work well for Atlanta heat. This was just a short drive in a fairly recent one my mother in law bought - I'm not sure the exact year (possibly 2018 or 2019) or engine.
New ones don't look half bad I think CX-5 is a better bet.
TGMF said:I still haven't gotten over the "wet timing belt" and it's needed service. Maybe not as stupid as it sounds.....but it sounds really wrong to me.
I agree with the above, if buying new and not planning to drive until its in the scrapper, great go for it. Otherwise, getting the high resale of the Honda or Toyota is worth the additional cost.
You do realize that the materials used in the belt changed, right? The service part is odd, sure. But the belts are not likley going to slip and break like old belts did when they got oil on them. Tech does change.
I'm dating a woman with a '17 ecoboost version. It drives decent and is nice inside. No issues at all at 60k miles. Actually I'm pretty impressed with it given what it cost and what you get.
The reviews on the new generation Escape are pretty universally terrible. I looked at them at the car show last year and the materials quality of the interior is 2 steps down from the CX5 that my mother has, or the CRV and RAV4 that we also looked at.
Most of the other choices in the category seem to be a better choice than the escape. Too bad as the last generation was pretty decent and class competitive.
My knees hit the dash, same issue I ran into with a Fusion. For a car of that size it should have done better than low 20s in my opinion.
In reply to alfadriver (Forum Supporter) :
Its Ford. Like a water pump that dumps coolant in the oil pan, or a dual clutch trans in an econo-box, they will berkeley it up.
It appears I was wrong....there's actually two wet belts. One drives the oil pump.
In reply to TGMF :
Good thing you don't provide my paycheck,then. I don't have a lot of confidence in our current leadership, but I generally have confidence in our engineers.
The berkeleing up part is due to marketing people crushing the cost, not the engineers. Just like every company.
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