Ford Escape Review

2008 Ford Escape Limited SUV Shown

Since its introduction, the Ford Escape has been one of America's best-selling small SUVs. Considering how many other vehicles are available in this segment (many of them well established before the Escape's debut), this may come as a bit of a surprise. But Ford has a keen knack for designing SUVs that appeal to a wide range of buyers.

With the Escape, Ford successfully combined the styling and four-wheel-drive capability of a traditional SUV with the size, practicality and driving characteristics of a midsize car. For the urban dweller in need of something comfortable, versatile, fun to drive and capable of doing some light-duty off-roading or towing, it fit the bill perfectly. Of course, the Escape's low price certainly boosted its appeal as well.

Though these attributes still hold true today, there's no denying that the Ford Escape's basic design is getting a bit old, even with a significant freshening for 2008. The interior in particular has received significant improvements, with much better materials and a more attractive design. Regardless, the Escape is at a disadvantage against newer compact sport-utilities, which are more refined and offer more rewarding driving experiences.

Current Ford Escape

The Ford Escape is a compact four-door SUV. Due to its light-duty four-wheel-drive system, fully independent suspension and unibody construction, it's more suited for on-road driving than off-roading. Its underlying structure was developed with input from Mazda, whose Tribute is very similar to the Escape. The Mercury Mariner is also nearly identical to the Escape and differs mainly by having a few more features and different interior and exterior design details.

The Escape is available in one four-door body style with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Three trim levels are offered: XLS, XLT and Limited. As with other Ford products, moving up the list provides additional standard features. The majority of shoppers will likely be satisfied with the XLT.

All trim levels can be had with either front- or all-wheel drive. All but the Limited come standard with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 171 horsepower. A five-speed manual transmission (XLS only) or a six-speed automatic are available. Standard on the Limited and optional on the XLT is a 240-hp 3.0-liter V6. The six-speed auto is the lone transmission with the V6. A special version of the Escape, the Escape Hybrid, has a gasoline/electric powertrain that provides the best fuel efficiency of any SUV.

The current crop of engines handily addresses previous complaints of merely adequate acceleration and mediocre fuel economy. Despite a supbar braking performance, Ford's latest Escape is worth a look.

Used Ford Escape Models

The Ford Escape was introduced in 2001, and its basic exterior and interior design remained unchanged until a major refresh for 2008. It was available in XLS, XLT, XLT Sport and Limited trim levels. For five years in a row starting with its debut year, this Escape was either a winner or a runner-up in our Editors' Most Wanted _SM awards for either a compact SUV or an SUV under $25,000.

Considering how many of these Escapes were sold, shoppers should have plenty of opportunities to be choosy and find a used model that suits them. First-year Escapes were tarnished by numerous recall notices. Though likely resolved at this point, going with a 2002 or newer model might be a good idea. The Limited trim, with its leather-appointed interior, first appeared for the 2003 model year. Potential buyers of this first generation of Escape should note that its interior materials were of poor quality, with cheap, hard plastics everywhere.

From 2001-'04, Ford Escapes were equipped with a rather anemic base engine. This 2.0-liter four-cylinder made 130 hp and is generally considered underpowered. It was replaced by a 2.3-liter inline four-cylinder engine that made 153 hp. Ford offered this engine from 2005-'08. From 2001-'07, the optional V6 produced only 200 hp and was coupled to a four-speed automatic.

SELECT A SPECIFIC FORD ESCAPE MODEL YEAR*

* Edmunds.com maintains vehicle data as far back as 1990.