What do you know about the Ford Escape? | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

What do you know about the Ford Escape?

Escape tranny

I think for 2005 the Escape 4WD XLS is being offered with a manual trans. They also replaced the 2.0L engine with a 2.3. The 2.3 with the stick might offer both good gas mileage and decent performance. It used to be that an automatic trans in anything less than a 3.0 liter engine meant that gas mileage and performance were compromised, but maybe the automatics are better since I was a boy...


Bob
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Escape shootout

Has anyone done a "shootout" between the Escape and the Honda CRV? In a straight spec comparison, the Honda seems better (though I hate those dinky 205 tires).

For that matter, how does a Honda Pilot compare with an Explorer? Yes, I know that the Ex is built on a real truck frame and almost every other SUV is unibody these days, but that seems to be what people want.


Bob
 






Bwana Bob said:
Has anyone done a "shootout" between the Escape and the Honda CRV? In a straight spec comparison, the Honda seems better (though I hate those dinky 205 tires).

For that matter, how does a Honda Pilot compare with an Explorer? Yes, I know that the Ex is built on a real truck frame and almost every other SUV is unibody these days, but that seems to be what people want.


Bob

I think it really depends on what you want. If you want the ability to do some light 4x4'ing the Escape will eat the CRV up. The Escape is also quicker and can tow 3500lbs.
 






Escape vs. "others"

Good point, Bill.


I only do light 'wheeling with my Explorer: an occasional dirt road or open field. However, in winter it gets a good workout. Snow conditions vary from deep snow on unplowed roads to slush, to packed down rutted ice. Getting over the smalest hills on a snowy day is almost impossible for the FWD cars, but my Ex will do ot easily, especially if I put it in 4Low. Then there's the ever-present potholes and road debris on the interstate. Hence, although you won't see me rock crawling or mud bogging, I believe that a solid 4X4 is a big advantage here in the "Garden State". The Escape would probebly do the job for me. It seems to have enough ground clearance. The underside of the Hondas looks really vulnerable. On my Ex, I really like those heavy skid plates protecting the fuel tank and the fact that the exhaust and drivetrain components are safely tucked up between the frame rails. The optional skid plates on the Escape are labelled "appearance", so I guess they are just cosmetic.

Bob
 






Sounds like you need to upgrade to a newer Explorer Bob :p
 






A worthy replacement?

Well, Mr. Todd, that's a good point. I don't really like the new Explorer since they made it bigger and styled it to look like the Expedition. The Explorer design has evolved from utility vehicle to 4X4 family car. This isn't bad, its just different to the extent that I couldn't buy an Explorer similar to the one I have: manual transmission, skid plates standard equip, etc.

Then there's the aftermarket gear I added: brush guard, heavy duty (Yakima) roof racks, Borla exhaust, wiring and antenna mounts for ham radio gear. It would be a lot of work to add all this to a new vehicle, though I obviously didn't put it all on at once.

I love the old Ex but I'm thinking of getting something smaller as a daily ride that would eventually replace the X when it finally bites the dust. However, the Ex has spoiled me and anything new would have to have 4WD, a high seating position, lots of cargo room. So what would be a worthy companion or replacement for the X? ( The Escape, Toyota Highlander, Subaru Forester, there's lots out there, but these 3 are theonly ones that impress me at all.


Bob
 






Bob- im sure everyone knows what you mean by "family car with 4x4"... i mean, what other than jeeps are there going to be in the future that are good 4x4's out of the factory (I mean, what other than jeeps will continue to push independent suspention to the side) Id love to get a newer X and not have to worry about having 250000Km on my 92 but nothing past 94 intrists me in explorers. too rounded and that suspention ERRRGHH

Im done ;)
 






I would go with the escape out of those choices.

The Highlander is definately a chick car. It screams luxury minivan in a smaller size. It is also (in the configurations my father had looked at in the Toyo dealership) much more expensive than either the escape or forester.

I don't like the Forester because it is essentially a station wagon and it looks ugle.

A choice you may not have thought about that might be perfect for someone who likes the first gen explorers is the Nissan Xterra, its high, has pretty good 4x4, comes in manual, gets better gas mileage than the Ex, and looks pretty tough.
 






Some of your mentioned a stick. Recently I saw on the for sale forum a '02 FOUR DOOR Explorer, and 4x4! That's wicked! My god I wish I had one. :bounce: :burnout: :cool: :thumbsup:
 






general x said:
Bob- im sure everyone knows what you mean by "family car with 4x4"... i mean, what other than jeeps are there going to be in the future that are good 4x4's out of the factory (I mean, what other than jeeps will continue to push independent suspention to the side) Id love to get a newer X and not have to worry about having 250000Km on my 92 but nothing past 94 intrists me in explorers. too rounded and that suspention ERRRGHH

Im done ;)

The '05 Grand Cherokee comes with IFS, so that theory is out the window too...
 






Boooooo :thumbdwn:
 






funnyperson1 said:
I would go with the escape out of those choices.

The Highlander is definately a chick car. It screams luxury minivan in a smaller size. It is also (in the configurations my father had looked at in the Toyo dealership) much more expensive than either the escape or forester.

I don't like the Forester because it is essentially a station wagon and it looks ugle.

A choice you may not have thought about that might be perfect for someone who likes the first gen explorers is the Nissan Xterra, its high, has pretty good 4x4, comes in manual, gets better gas mileage than the Ex, and looks pretty tough.


Yikes, NO CHICK CAR FOR ME! But many vehicle designs are now aimed at women, because women have a much bigger input into the family car buying decision these days plus all the single women who have definite ideas about what they want in a vehicle. A few weeks ago I saw a massive F350 being piloted by a couple of granny-types, so the lines between chick car and macho truck are rapidly disappearing!

I don't really mind the station wagon look. Before I got the EX, I had a 1984 Cavalier wagon and it was a real workhorse. An AWD "sport wagon" would be OK. I want to see the the Ford Freestyle. I just hate the mini-SUV's that look like stylized running shoes!

Yes, the Xterra migh be a choice. I saw a guy's new Nissan Pathfinder and I was really nice, but it scared me because I couldn't find the spark plugs under the hood!

The Escape: Well, I like the looks 'cause it looks like an Explorer Junior, but I don't trust the auto trans, and it seems to use exotic oil and coolant. If they made the Escape with the V6 and a manual trans, it would be killer! Maybe I'll wait a cople of years for Ford to perfect the Escape. Look how many changes, fixes and evolutions the Explorer went through!


Bob
 






Something else to think about

We were looking at getting a Escape for our daily driver but as most of you know I have to buy it wrecked so at the sale they had a 2003 Kia Sorento a few cars ahead of a Escape that I was going to have a friend bid on for us. When it got to the Sorento our friend bid and ended up getting it but he said he would have bought the Escape if the price was right. I wasn't sure but I did find a web site for the Sorento and everyone loves them that has one. This weekend was the first time we got to drive it and I am really empressed with this SUV. Sure they are small but ours is the EX and it has everything. Heated seats, 6 disc CD changer, automatic headlights, stereo buttons on the steering wheel, leather, etc. etc. We will know more after this weekend because Teri is taking it on a 1400 mile trip.
Check out the thread I started under "all other makes and models"
 






A worthy replacement?

funnyperson1 said:
I would go with the escape out of those choices.

The Highlander is definately a chick car. It screams luxury minivan in a smaller size. It is also (in the configurations my father had looked at in the Toyo dealership) much more expensive than either the escape or forester.

I don't like the Forester because it is essentially a station wagon and it looks ugle.

A choice you may not have thought about that might be perfect for someone who likes the first gen explorers is the Nissan Xterra, its high, has pretty good 4x4, comes in manual, gets better gas mileage than the Ex, and looks pretty tough.

Good point, funnyperson.

I poked around the web site and looked at the Xterra specs and iked what I saw. It has a real frame and just the engine and transmission combination I would want (4X4, 5 sp manual, 3.2 L). This kind of setup is not available in either the Explorer or the Escape. Why can't Ford make a vehicle like this? They seem to have forgotten that SUV means SPORT and UTILITY. Well, they've taken all of the sportiness out of the Explorer and the Escape lacks the utility of a "real" truck. They seem to be ignoring the "enthusiast" market.

I'm loyal to my EX and to this great user community, but the Explorer we all know and love seems to be a thing of the past. Well, maybe if I keep my Ex for another 10 or 15 years it will become a classic like the 1948 Dodge Power Wagon!

(BTW, I looked at the Pilot on the Honda web site. I think its a minivan with an SUV body. And, does anybody believe in a100,000 mile maintenance interval?)

Thanks for letting me vent!

Bob
 






Bwana Bob said:
Well, they've taken all of the sportiness out of the Explorer and the Escape lacks the utility of a "real" truck. They seem to be ignoring the "enthusiast" market.

I disagree, my 03 with the V8 is much sportier than my '01 Sport was. It's faster and has a much smoother drivetrain and handles light years ahead of the Sport.
 






Well I have gotten a chance to drive the escape, my dad broke the hatch glass on the back of his 02 Limited and Ford gave us an Escape as a loaner car.

It is very powerful (of course, compared to my OHV V6 a civic dx is powerful) and the overall build feels very tight and sturdy. The tirm and features are very basic (obviously Ford doesn't give you a tricked out loaner car). It feels a bit like a truck but handling is very good.

I really like the Escape, and I like the way it looks, the other small SUVs are built to appeal to women, whereas the Escape looks like a small Explorer. The space isn't there though, the backseat is plenty spacey, but to get as much cargo space as an Expo you would need to put the seat down.


I also loved the Xterra when my dad was looking for a new truck, but I knew he wouldn't go for it due to lack of luxury features for the price. I liked them because they were rugged, still built on a truck frame, and Nissan makes some darn reliable cars.

As far as comfort, features and price go the Explorer is the best choice I have seen. My dad went everywhere, from Mercedes and Cadillac to Ford, Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi. For the price the only company that competed was Mitsu, and that ended when we found out the Montero (not sport) had a tendency to tip over.

The sad truth is that SUV's have become luxury vehicles, people want a smooth ride and refinement, not the ability to go off road. People who need Minivans, but don't want minivans start to drive SUV's.

Imho, go for the Xterra, its a truck that (if made in Detroit) would make Tim Taylor grunt.
 






NaplesBill said:
I disagree, my 03 with the V8 is much sportier than my '01 Sport was. It's faster and has a much smoother drivetrain and handles light years ahead of the Sport.
He wasn't talking of speed and performance, Bwana bob was talking about offroad capabilities and ruggedness.

The 3rd gen Explorer is designed for comfort and style. Yes it is faster, and handles better, but it just doesn't feel as solid as my 96' Explorer. We have already had to take the truck back to Ford 3 times, twice when the stupid plastic molding came off and once when the defective glass hatch exploded in my dad's face.

It is a lot less a truck and more a big luxury car.

The 3rd gen does do it very well though for the price. I love the look and style, comfort and ride, but it is definately designed for a different crowd than the original Explorer.
 






funnyperson1 said:
He wasn't talking of speed and performance, Bwana bob was talking about offroad capabilities and ruggedness.

The 3rd gen Explorer is designed for comfort and style. Yes it is faster, and handles better, but it just doesn't feel as solid as my 96' Explorer. We have already had to take the truck back to Ford 3 times, twice when the stupid plastic molding came off and once when the defective glass hatch exploded in my dad's face.

It is a lot less a truck and more a big luxury car.

The 3rd gen does do it very well though for the price. I love the look and style, comfort and ride, but it is definately designed for a different crowd than the original Explorer.

That may be true but have you seen this:

DouglasParker
 






funnyperson is right. I didn't cringe at the idea of putting 500 pounds worth of cement bags in the back of my XL today, or using my Limited to pull a corn picker with water halfway up the wheel.

Is the 3rd gen Explorer going to hold up well with 100k miles? 200k? 300k? Maybe 400k?

Is it going to still prevail when the engine gets water logged?

Or the transmission gets filled with water from a murky hole and you have to drop the pan and flush it out several times? (no wait, it won't since it's sealed)

Is a 3rd gen going tp be able to drop into low range and assist in getting my dad's old stick shift F250 going? Will it be able to pull that with a 22' deck over trailer, on a semi frozen dirt driveway, uphill?

Will the running lights still be on after being thrown from a cliff, landing upside down, due to a mad momma T rex? (ok, fiction...)

Will it be able to limp home with only power to the front axle when it breaks a driveshaft?

I think the 3rd gen Explorer is still a decent vehicle, but does not live up to the name it holds when you look around this message board and ask others what hell their truck has been through. The thing is is that they're still going.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Why do you think it won't be able to do most of those things? As far as pulling the 3rd gen is actually stronger. The tow rating went up because of the IRS.
 






Back
Top