General Comments:
Our fourth Ford, hopefully we'll be as fortunate with this one as we have with past Fords, all of which we ran well into 200k miles.
We just purchased this mini-SUV from Carmax. Our second purchase from these folks and we got a great deal (as always). This Escape is the Limited model with all the options; monochromatic paint, automatic, leather, AWD, killer stereo system, etc..
This website was really helpful as we researched vehicles so we'll keep posting updates as time goes on and we put more miles on this vehicle. We'll try to be accurate and complete with the information so it can be of benefit to folks. We'll try to minimize the stupid remarks that some folks seem to feel obligated to make and instead we'll stick to the facts.
So far we've put only a couple of hundred miles on it, but the ride and handling is solid and stable. Road noise is a little elevated at highway speeds, but it is a mini-SUV, so no complaints. It certainly looks sharp, both inside and out. The controls are nicely laid out, but it goes a little heavy on column mounted controls. The seats are firm and have good range of adjustment. Again, it's a mini-SUV, so there was no expectation that it should ride like a Caddy.
It also has a lot of little details that we like. The headlights have an optional automatic setting that allows the driver to decide on the setting, keyless entry, panic alarm, ample storage and the vehicles computer provides nice summaries on gas mileage, distance to empty, oil condition, etc.
We also like the ground clearance and short body overhang beyond the wheels. While we don't plan to do any aggressive off-roading, it's nice to know it has some basic capabilities. We don't expect it to do what a Wrangler might do, so Jeep owner's may refrain from pointing this obvious difference out to us... we know.
Mileage isn't great at an average of 18 MPG, but it is full time AWD. Not as good as a Subaru, but awesome compared to the full size SUVs out there. Visibility is very good all around after I removed the back seat center headrest which really annoyed me.
Well, that covers it for now. Overall we think we have a nice vehicle for the price. It seems be a well designed vehicle that we hope to drive for years to come. We'll keep you posted.
28th Sep 2010, 15:01
Sounds like a dealer issue more than a car issue. I would never use a dealer twice if they ripped me off once. The whole computer thing was definitely not the truck's faulty design or anything, but more a lazy tech that misdiagnosed the problem. Too bad. I have had similar experiences with a Nissan dealer and never bought another one. Dealers really can make or break a brand for the customer.