Rubber trim around doors has come off, used super glue to put it back on.
Plastic trim on the floor inside the door is loose.
Seats are hard around the edges resulting in premature wear.
I love this lttle SUV. It is a perfect SUV for a small family. The V6 has enough power. The 4WD works well. The cargo area is versatile.
The V6 has enough power to satisfy me. It can tow a small to medium trailer. On several occasions, I have packed it full to go camping and I can feel the weight of the load. The engine struggles a little going up hills when I have packed it full. Granted, it was packed to the brim and I had a rooftop cargo pack on it, it still should not have been straining as hard as it was. I could not imagine how hard the 4 cyl. would have handled that load. on that note, I would not recommend getting the 4 cyl. if hauling anything more than groceries. Ford should have put a little bit bigger of a V6 in there, like a 3.5 or something.
The 4WD does great for what is was intended for. this SUV is not built on a truck frame, nor does it have exceptional ground clearance. it was not intended to tackle the Rubicon Trail. My Escape has definitely surprised me and some of my friends with its capabilities. I have definitely had fun with the Escape. it lacks the low gearing, ground clearance, and strong frame of a true off road vehicle, but it does do very well for the average person's needs. unless you are planning on doing some serious off roading, this should do everything you need it to. it also does great in the snow and ice.
The Escape is an awesome SUV. it does well in every aspect. but it is not great in any one thing. it only seats five, good for a small family, but not much more. it has a V6, but it is not a big strong V6. It can tow, but only up to 3500 pounds. it can go off road, but lacks ground clearance, low gearing, and a rigid frame. it is a good all around suv and it's price tag is not too bad either, but if you want more space, towing capacity, and off road capability, go with something else.
Yes, the Escape is a great little SUV. The 3.0 V-6 is not a tremendously powerful engine, but it is all steel, has no rubber timing belt to wear out in 60,000 miles, and has the absolute bullet-proof reliability and build quality you'd expect from the company that turned Jaguar from an unreliable joke to a world-class luxury car. We drove a couple of Escapes before we bought my wife's GMC Envoy, and it would have been our second choice. We also drove the Saturn Vue (boring), the Ford Explorer (ugly), the Highlander (a poor handling, underpowered joke) and the Dodge Durango (fast, but rough riding). In the crossover market we drove the Matrix (slow, cheap) and the Vibe (a Matrix sold by a better dealership network). I would probably have opted for the Escape V-6 myself, but my wife liked the tremendous smoothness and unmatched performance of the Envoy.
<< and has the absolute bullet-proof reliability and build quality you'd expect from the company that turned Jaguar from an unreliable joke to a world-class luxury car.>>
Which company is that? Jaguar has lost money every single year Ford has owned it. Its X-Type is the most unreliable car out there, followed by the S-Type and the new XJ. One auto magazine, who had the XJ for like a week, had the car have a "stroke" as its air suspension go haywire and made the car undriveable.
Suggest you do a little more research before posting untruths.
Looks like you are both mis-informed. As a Jaguar owner I know Jaguar is extremely reliable in Europe because people know how to work on the cars and have had proper training. (Funny how European brands are only 'deemed' unreliable in the US and no where else in the world)
The proper Jaguar 6 cylinder engine (pre Ford) from the 1990's found in the XJ6 and later XJS models is the most reliable unit Jaguar has ever made and can take 100,000 plus miles with no problems at all if the car is properly maintained, far more reliable than the 'Ford' 6 cylinder unit found in X type or S type.
<<Looks like you are both mis-informed. As a Jaguar owner I know Jaguar is extremely reliable in Europe because people know how to work on the cars and have had proper training. (Funny how European brands are only 'deemed' unreliable in the US and no where else in the world) >.
Sorry, but even if the auto writers had detailed the car every day it STILL would have had an air suspension problem that made the car UNDRIVEABLE.
But you do make a good point otherwise. Americans expect their cars to be floating living rooms with no interaction required other than filling the tank.
You call very little maintenance at 100k good? They should all be that way at the very least. Save yourself a lot of agony and buy a Honda or Toyota.
Hah to that last comment, Honda is certainly no better. I sold my rusty pampered odyssey and bought a ford escape 4 cylinder 5 speed and it is great. The 5 speed manual helps it a lot. It is great on gas and is well geared. I have 100,000 miles in mine and have only had 1 little thing, so boo-hoo I'm so much happier with my Ford over my Honda... and who would have thought I would be saying that!!
I agree, although don't understand why it's such a surprise that someone would discover that a Ford is more reliable than a Honda. My 2002 Ford has 98,600 miles on it and has never needed any repair of any kind. It seems like it would be hard to beat the reliability of a car that has never needed a repair. Why buy Honda or Toyota when they are no better, or not even as good?
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