2005 Ford Escape XLT from North America - Comments

There has been nothing wrong with this car. I just did my first oil change. I use 87 octane gas and it seems to be just fine.

The redesigned front end of the car is awesome.

The Interior has a new sleek design with the shifter on the floor.

The redesigned dashboard is awesome.

The rims are a nice touch on the Escape and look similar to the ones on its big brother the Explorer.

This car looks very expensive and I feel like a million dollars when I drive it.

The 2005 Escape does not have a low range for its 4WD which is a problem for us in winter conditions going down our long, steep driveway which has an "S" turn. The vehicle gains speed going down whereas with a 2002 Escape, a Ranger, and an Expedition we would start at the top in low range, and low gear, and the vehicles would descend slowly. On our mountain driveway this lack of low range could be dangerous and so we have to garage the '05 when snow is on the ground. We were unaware the vehicle lacked this feature when we bought in July. Nor did we even think about it then. It was a 4WD! Otherwise, there are no complaints with the 2005. It is peppy, handles well, and is a great second car.

I have had my '05 Escape since Aug '04. It now has 6,800 miles on it and I love everytime I need to utilize its functionality. I have the XLT, moonroof, V6, AWD, with tow package. It pulls my two quads with enough power to "almost" not notice they are coming along for the ride.

The seats are comfy and supportive, I drove it from Omaha to Chicago at 75 MPH and had no problems. I get 18 MPG in town and 21 in the highway - and that's with AWD...

Certainly not a sportier car though. I had a 5 speed manual Contour before this that I use to drive like a Vette. I thought I was going to have a faster accelerating vehicle in this smaller SUV, but that wasn't the case... but now after owning this "truck" I almost dread driving my wife's 01 Accord EX V6.

I would certainly recommend it so far... I considered an Equinox, Rav4, Liberty, Vibe and they all came up short to the Escape. The decidin factor for me (besides the awesome deal I got) was the FLAT folding second row. I put my 6' Christmas tree inside my Escape no problem.

To comment on the last guy's comment. This is not a "true" 4WD it is however an AWD - so of course there isn't a low range. And I absolutely cannot believe that you didn't "think" of your particular vehicle needs when shopping. How can you not think about a slopping, mountainous, sometimes snow covered, S-shaped driveway when shopping for a vehicle. Suppose you won't make that mistake again.