A full load or hilly terrain might be enough to disqualify it from consideration.Īlong with the standard stability system comes antilock brakes and traction control. Its suitability today depends on your acceleration expectations and where and how you intend to use it. When it first came out, replacing a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, the 2.3-liter made the base Escape much more viable - not quick, but competent, especially with the five-speed manual. I haven’t driven the four-cylinder in this generation. Though the Ford Escape’s fuel economy is competitive, another gear or two in the automatic transmission would almost certainly make it better, or the acceleration faster, or both. *With CVT and Freedom Drive I 4WD with Freedom Drive II 4WD: 20/22 mpg On the upside, its gas mileage is decent, thanks in part to the electric steering assist, which doesn’t tax the engine the way conventional hydraulic power steering does. Its braking wasn’t as strong as it should be, either. Being a Limited with all-wheel drive, my test car was the heaviest possible, and its V6 took a leisurely 10 seconds to get it up to 60 mph. None of this would matter on its own, but the Escape’s acceleration and braking do have weaknesses. The Jeep Patriot has rear drums only on its lowest front-wheel-drive trim level. Likewise, it has rear drum and front disc brakes, where competitors like the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson and Toyota RAV4 have four-wheel discs. The market is moving toward five- and six-speed automatic transmissions (or CVTs), and the Escape’s automatic remains a four-speed. I don’t let specs alone influence me, but theFord Escape’s performance reinforces the disadvantages seen when comparing its numbers to those from other models. The drivetrains, unchanged from the previous generation, include a standard 2.3-liter four-cylinder and a 3.0-liter V-6, both driving a four-speed automatic transmission coupled to your choice of front- or all-wheel drive. The Escape’s age shows in the going and stopping arenas. An electronic stability system is standard on both front- and all-wheel-drive models, and that lends confidence. The rollover rating detailed in the Safety section below supports this notion. It feels a bit more top-heavy than many car-based compacts, and body roll adds to the sensation. The Escape is maneuverable and handles reasonably well, though steering feedback is absent from the new electric power-steering system. The Escape is livable, but it’s definitely a road-feeler if the roads in your life are better left unfelt, pay close attention when test-driving this model. However, its ride is firmer than that of recent models like the Ford Edge and Taurus X, whose ride quality is among their best attributes. Like most unibody SUVs, the Escape isn’t bouncy like the truck-based, body-on-frame type used to be. Seventeen-inchers are optional on all Escapes except the XLS, which can upgrade to aluminum, but only with a 16-inch diameter. Fog lights are standard on the two higher trims.Īll models come with 16-inch wheels they’re steel on the XLS and varying styles of aluminum alloy on the higher trims levels. If you like the shiny stuff, you can get it on a Limited, too, with the optional Chrome Appearance Package, which my Escape Limited had. The top trim level, the Limited, is all body-colored, with standard black roof rails. The lower two of three trim levels, the XLS and XLT, have the full chrome treatment, including the grille, the roof rails ( standard on the XLT) and the trim above the rear license plate. With the exception of the Jeep Patriot, compact SUVs seem to be going in a more refined, less tough styling direction - while still trying not to be too cute - with some success. If you like the effect on those cars, you’ll probably like it here. The Ford Escape was the most traditionally SUV-looking compact SUV when it first came out, and with its 2008 restyling it takes another step away from cute and toward ute it looks more like a Ford Explorer now, but with a plunging chrome grille in some trim levels that would be equally at home on a Volkswagen or Audi. I remain fond of it, but age and minimal updating are taking their toll (see a side-by-side comparison with the 2007 model). The Escape, which is the third-best-selling compact SUV behind the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, is consistently … passable. Still, it does what’s asked of it with nary a complaint and with decent - but not topnotch - crash-test ratings and average overall reliability. With its drivetrain and some other features unchanged, however, it falls behind some of its competitors - and not just on paper. For this its eighth model year, the 2008 Ford Escape received some welcome upgrades, including new, more aggressive styling and treatments to reduce cabin noise.
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