Used 2005 Ford Escape Consumer Reviews
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Great all around dependable vehicle
Paul Danielewicz , 12/17/2019
2005 Ford Escape Hybrid AWD 4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)
12 of 15 people found this review helpful
I bought my 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid with all wheel drive in 2010. It has been positive in almost every respect with a few minor negatives. The original owner took good care of it for the first 75K miles. And I have put on an additional 140K miles in almost 10 years as my daily driver and weekend adventurer. Outside of following the normal maintenance schedules recommended by Ford, I have had zero mechanical issues. The only disappointment has been body rust: the spare wheel carrier seized up and was removed and the rear passenger wheel well rusted out, casualties of the snow belt. The engine, electric motor, transmission, and all wheel drive have worked flawlessly. I am always concerned about the 330 volt hybrid battery wearing out after the first 100K, but so far so good. “Dusty” has done everything I asked of it, whether on road or light off roading. I have never gotten stuck or stranded in mud or snow the woods, except one time when I stupidly parked in a dirt turnoff with over a foot deep of powdery snow (easily shoveled out by myself and was on my way). She has been especially good during snowy and cold New England winters. I will never forget foolishly driving through the heart of a major blizzard in February of 2013. While other cars and trucks were getting stranded I made the 35 mile drive home safely. It is fun to drive with spirited acceleration and agile handling. With the AWD and relatively low center of gravity (for a truck), cornering is superb with little body lean. Gas mileage is excellent, getting in the low 30s mpg overall and a little less in the winter, due to the hybrid battery output (like most batteries) being lower in the cold. Turning radius is relatively small and parking is easy with a relatively short length for an SUV. Braking in dry conditions is average, and great in the wet due to the all wheel drive. Visibility and driving position is excellent. The suspension is firm but comfortable. Highway cruising is very good and seating comfortable and supportive enough for 10 hour drives (I haven’t gone longer). Three passengers in the rear seat is a bit of tight squeeze and more suitable for two average sized adults. I wish it was a little longer with a bigger trunk, as I am an outdoor enthusiast often carrying a lot of gear and three passengers. But traveling solo the fold down rear seats provide adequate storage space. With the front seat fully reclined I can fit a 9 foot whitewater kayak inside! Or two smaller kayaks. 8 foot 2x4s fit easily. The roof is long enough and strong enough for a rack to carry four kayaks or two canoes and a kayak. Or large pieces of furniture. It was very handy during my last move carrying a lot of stuff. I am currently looking for a new vehicle because I want to drive a stick shift again (this has been my only automatic in 35 years of owning vehicles), and living in the city a compact car is preferable. But I think I could get at least another 100K out of her. The electric motor really saves the engine from wear and tear caused by idling (engine shuts off), and the stress of stop and go driving (when the electric motor does all the work). It runs in hybrid mode about 90% of the time, and pure electric or gas 5% each. The navigation system works OK but the supplied CD discs are outdated. And the screen is old and fades in and out. But these are minor issues for me. The stereo and 5 disc CD changer work well. If I was in the market for a hybrid or SUV I would not hesitate to get another Escape.
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I love it
Tom, 05/05/2009
2005 Ford Escape XLS Fwd 4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl 5M)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I drive my escape every day and I just love to get into it. The 5 speed transmission makes it more fun to drive and helps me control my gas mileage more. I drove from NY to Arizone and I was averaging 32 mpg.
2005 Ford Escape for sale near you
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Escape is tops.
Don Ogle, 11/03/2005
2005 Ford Escape XLT Fwd 4dr SUV (3.0L 6cyl 4A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
The 2004 Escape has plenty of power, plenty of room and good gas mileage. I have had, knock on wood, absolutely no problems with the SUV.
Overall a nice little SUV
Gpowers, 11/25/2010
2005 Ford Escape Limited AWD 4dr SUV (3.0L 6cyl 4A)
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
This is the wife's car, not mine. We had it since new. Dislikes, no power passenger seat, no compass or outside temp display, Uncomfortable seats everywhere except driver. Bad design on heated seats switch placement and function (can't see light, no temperature control, turns on accidentally) , poor placement of cruise on switch(on steering wheel, accidentally gets turned off), noisy tires at road speed. V6 gets buzzy when in second and delivers less than stellar mileage (19 City, 21 Hwy). Great vehicle in snow and reliable as a rock. Wife loves it. I'm not as impressed. I hope Ford addressed these issues in future versions. Only problem was front brakes at 39K which is maintenance.
110k miles, 6 years, and Several US States
CH303, 12/14/2016
2005 Ford Escape XLT AWD 4dr SUV (3.0L 6cyl 4A)
8 of 10 people found this review helpful
I've had this car for over 6 years (second owner, received from sweet Grandmother during college at 40k miles), 110k+ miles, it's seen Drifting in Death Valley, New York City traffic jams, San Francisco hills, mountain roads of Aspen, Colorado. Here's my experience in short: Given the car is now 10+ years old I recommend purchasing one only if you have mechanical experience that will allow replacing of coils/reaching the engine to make minor repairs typical to this model at home, it's guaranteed to be one of the first major things to happen and the biggest cost is labor. On the up side there's a lot of information available in forums about this model courtesy of dudes who like to work on their Fords and share it on the web, thanks guys! Here's the full details of repairs I've had, Reliability has been pretty low, I'm not talking about normal wear like breaks, tires, shocks, oil. About once a year something major goes wrong, first it was a tubing system that was permanently out of stock 4 years after the car was released (we made another tube work with some ingenuity), this has happened every few years - part never comes back into stock...what's up with that? Next the computer went out, then it went out again 20k miles later, now I am having trouble with Cylinder misfires in Cylinder 1 & checking the forums it looks like this is a really common problem for the 2003-2005, sometimes resulting in multiple cylinders going in a 'domino' like fashion over the course of 3-6 months, quite pricey if you can't work on it yourself as the labor to reach some of the cylinders can reach 600.00 US Dollars each go. Currently trying to decide if I'll keep the car and go around with the Cylinder issues, many other users on forms around the web have spent the money to replace all cylinder coils, the spark plugs, and then find out the PCM is bad after the 1000-2000 US Dollar replacements have been made, costing even more and triggering a chain of break downs in the process while the issue develops over time.
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- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability