This is the review I had previously promised for those that care. This is not my car but my father's. He bought it back in October with 5 miles on it. It has essentially all the options available other than remote start, foot activated lift gate, auto wipers, HIDs and sunroof.
Initial non-driving impressions:
When you first get in, the vehicle has a very striking feel to it. I think if you are a techy, you'd like the feel and look of the interior. It seems very modern but could be a bit busy for many. The finishes all seem top notch. The leather is nice even though I don't like leather. Some of the control buttons can be a bit small to find and use easily (rear wiper button for sure). The main touch screen is plenty big and easy to read.
The specs say there is more interior room than the previous generations but it doesn't feel like it. It doesn't feel cramped but feels more cozy for sure. The cargo area is supposed to be bigger and looks much bigger, but the height of the lift gate is actually smaller than my 2007 Escape. We could haul dad's new 50" plasma in my escape but not his. The rear seat is supposed to be wider but putting our car seat in the middle of both his and our 2007 Escape, the 2007 feels like it has more hip room sitting next to the car seat than the 2013. I think the door panels have something to do with this more than the actual width of the seat. It seems the 2007 has more rear leg room, too, despite the specs saying otherwise.
Under the hood everything is essentially stealth. You can't really see much under there. Everything is either covered or hidden due to the odd layout/opening shape. It took a bit to figure out where the latch was under the hood and get it open. It definitely has a euro design to the hood latch and under the hood.
The overall looks of the vehicle are OK. It is more car like in appearance and doesn't look as truck'ish as our 2007. The shape of the 2013 leaves me feeling "bleh." The inside definitely has a nicer look and feel than the outside.
Initial Controls/Dash usage impressions:
This is where you will either love or hate this car. The amount of menus to navigate between the gauge cluster and the touch screen would rival any German car. If you want detailed information, you can find it somewhere. It has the standard avg & inst MPG calculators as well as two property pages for each tripmeter. The avg MPG measurement is separate for each tripmeter which was a really nice feature, IMO. I wish I had a car with that. Navigating through all the gauge menus isn't a super easy task. There are lots of them and several layers deep for most of them. My dad really likes the AWD screen where it shows how much power each wheel is currently getting.
The standard gauges have a nice, refined look to them. They picked nice coloring for the backlighting. They are easy to read both in day and night. The cruise control, when set, has a place on the cluster where it shows the digital speed of where you set the cruise control. Seems a bit redundant but makes it easier to know for sure where you set it I guess.
The windshield wipers are not the conventional setup. They have that overlapping setup like a Civic where they are on top of each other in the lowest position. I have heard this is nice for snow but I cannot comment on that. Worked fine in rain.
The console touch screen contained controls for the radio, HD radio, satellite radio, navigation, and climate control setting readouts but not controls. The screen wasn't overly responsive and takes some firm touches at times. I didn't particularly like the controls for the stereo. They seemed overly complicated. The stereo is the 1200W, 9 speaker system if I remember right. It sounded great with HD radio and streaming audio from a phone. The sirius sounded a bit tinny but satellite radio is just that way anyway.
The navigation system was great. I really liked how it notified you of upcoming turns and when to turn. Did a great job of preventing you from having to guess which of two closely located streets was the right one to turn on. You can do almost everything through simple voice commands including finding POIs, changing route, setting away point, etc. It walks you through every command very well. It is the nicest navigation system I have used but I'm mainly familiar with Garmin products.
Initial Driving Impressions:
When you first get going in this thing, one thing stands out.... it feels SOLID. Everything from the doors to the driving feel is HEAVY and solid. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or bad thing. While everything feels heavy and solid, the Escape does not move like it. There is very little sway and the 240 HP really gets it up to speed fast. When driving, you just point it and go. It is like cruising in an old crown vic. You don't notice wind, noise, or anything. It just goes and makes no complaints. I drove it 250 miles in one day with some heavy winds and noticed nothing. I never noticed noise from the wind, tires, engine, etc. It was a very calm ride. From all this I would have guessed the suspension was very soft but it wasn't. It wasn't super tight, but it had a nice firm ride somehow despite not feeling the small bumps in the road. They did something very right with the suspension.
The 6spd transmission never shifted down while at cruising speeds despite some hills that have required it in every other automatic car I have ever driven on this same route. This is the DCT automated gearbox that some people hate. This version drove fantastic. I have said before I really liked the 6spd DCT in my mom's Fiesta but it doesn't compare to the Escape's. The Escape's DCT is much more refined and smooth. You never notice it, even slowing down or coasting. I haven't had any issues of hunting for a gear and I love the solid connecting feel of the DCT.
Towing with the Escape has been great. I think the towing capacity is 3500 lbs. The addition of the hitch is why this Escape does not have the foot activated lift gate. The towing was one reason Dad opted for the Escape over the Forester. He has a little trailer he uses all the time when moving one of us kids. We had it loaded up with about 1,200 lbs and it cruised with zero issues. It was hardly noticeable you were towing other than the gas mileage. Be warned the hitch installation is a rather rigorous ordeal in this car. It took the dealer a couple of appointments to get all the wiring installed and the job completed. Not sure why Ford made it so difficult.
The AWD system seems great so far. Took it on some gravel roads and pastures. Mashing the gas on gravel was no problem. It just got up and went with little wheel spin and lots of grip. It will probably get some snow testing this week. From viewing the Escape forums, it seems the AWD does superb in snow so I expect no issues with it.
Fuel Mileage:
Dad originally ran some 87 octane for the first couple of tanks. I told him the HP ratings were based on 93 and when he towed, he should probably run premium. He started running premium since then. I think he was getting around 24 MPG on the 87 octane. He gets about 26 MPG with 91 octane. When I drove it, I had no issues getting 28 MPG in normal driving. When you get above 70 MPH, the MPGs take a serious hit as you would expect. Cruising at 80 MPH will net you around 26 MPGs with no wind effects.
Sorry this was so long but I wanted to cover all of my thoughts. Feel free to ask about what I missed in this write-up.
Initial non-driving impressions:
When you first get in, the vehicle has a very striking feel to it. I think if you are a techy, you'd like the feel and look of the interior. It seems very modern but could be a bit busy for many. The finishes all seem top notch. The leather is nice even though I don't like leather. Some of the control buttons can be a bit small to find and use easily (rear wiper button for sure). The main touch screen is plenty big and easy to read.
The specs say there is more interior room than the previous generations but it doesn't feel like it. It doesn't feel cramped but feels more cozy for sure. The cargo area is supposed to be bigger and looks much bigger, but the height of the lift gate is actually smaller than my 2007 Escape. We could haul dad's new 50" plasma in my escape but not his. The rear seat is supposed to be wider but putting our car seat in the middle of both his and our 2007 Escape, the 2007 feels like it has more hip room sitting next to the car seat than the 2013. I think the door panels have something to do with this more than the actual width of the seat. It seems the 2007 has more rear leg room, too, despite the specs saying otherwise.
Under the hood everything is essentially stealth. You can't really see much under there. Everything is either covered or hidden due to the odd layout/opening shape. It took a bit to figure out where the latch was under the hood and get it open. It definitely has a euro design to the hood latch and under the hood.
The overall looks of the vehicle are OK. It is more car like in appearance and doesn't look as truck'ish as our 2007. The shape of the 2013 leaves me feeling "bleh." The inside definitely has a nicer look and feel than the outside.
Initial Controls/Dash usage impressions:
This is where you will either love or hate this car. The amount of menus to navigate between the gauge cluster and the touch screen would rival any German car. If you want detailed information, you can find it somewhere. It has the standard avg & inst MPG calculators as well as two property pages for each tripmeter. The avg MPG measurement is separate for each tripmeter which was a really nice feature, IMO. I wish I had a car with that. Navigating through all the gauge menus isn't a super easy task. There are lots of them and several layers deep for most of them. My dad really likes the AWD screen where it shows how much power each wheel is currently getting.
The standard gauges have a nice, refined look to them. They picked nice coloring for the backlighting. They are easy to read both in day and night. The cruise control, when set, has a place on the cluster where it shows the digital speed of where you set the cruise control. Seems a bit redundant but makes it easier to know for sure where you set it I guess.
The windshield wipers are not the conventional setup. They have that overlapping setup like a Civic where they are on top of each other in the lowest position. I have heard this is nice for snow but I cannot comment on that. Worked fine in rain.
The console touch screen contained controls for the radio, HD radio, satellite radio, navigation, and climate control setting readouts but not controls. The screen wasn't overly responsive and takes some firm touches at times. I didn't particularly like the controls for the stereo. They seemed overly complicated. The stereo is the 1200W, 9 speaker system if I remember right. It sounded great with HD radio and streaming audio from a phone. The sirius sounded a bit tinny but satellite radio is just that way anyway.
The navigation system was great. I really liked how it notified you of upcoming turns and when to turn. Did a great job of preventing you from having to guess which of two closely located streets was the right one to turn on. You can do almost everything through simple voice commands including finding POIs, changing route, setting away point, etc. It walks you through every command very well. It is the nicest navigation system I have used but I'm mainly familiar with Garmin products.
Initial Driving Impressions:
When you first get going in this thing, one thing stands out.... it feels SOLID. Everything from the doors to the driving feel is HEAVY and solid. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or bad thing. While everything feels heavy and solid, the Escape does not move like it. There is very little sway and the 240 HP really gets it up to speed fast. When driving, you just point it and go. It is like cruising in an old crown vic. You don't notice wind, noise, or anything. It just goes and makes no complaints. I drove it 250 miles in one day with some heavy winds and noticed nothing. I never noticed noise from the wind, tires, engine, etc. It was a very calm ride. From all this I would have guessed the suspension was very soft but it wasn't. It wasn't super tight, but it had a nice firm ride somehow despite not feeling the small bumps in the road. They did something very right with the suspension.
The 6spd transmission never shifted down while at cruising speeds despite some hills that have required it in every other automatic car I have ever driven on this same route. This is the DCT automated gearbox that some people hate. This version drove fantastic. I have said before I really liked the 6spd DCT in my mom's Fiesta but it doesn't compare to the Escape's. The Escape's DCT is much more refined and smooth. You never notice it, even slowing down or coasting. I haven't had any issues of hunting for a gear and I love the solid connecting feel of the DCT.
Towing with the Escape has been great. I think the towing capacity is 3500 lbs. The addition of the hitch is why this Escape does not have the foot activated lift gate. The towing was one reason Dad opted for the Escape over the Forester. He has a little trailer he uses all the time when moving one of us kids. We had it loaded up with about 1,200 lbs and it cruised with zero issues. It was hardly noticeable you were towing other than the gas mileage. Be warned the hitch installation is a rather rigorous ordeal in this car. It took the dealer a couple of appointments to get all the wiring installed and the job completed. Not sure why Ford made it so difficult.
The AWD system seems great so far. Took it on some gravel roads and pastures. Mashing the gas on gravel was no problem. It just got up and went with little wheel spin and lots of grip. It will probably get some snow testing this week. From viewing the Escape forums, it seems the AWD does superb in snow so I expect no issues with it.
Fuel Mileage:
Dad originally ran some 87 octane for the first couple of tanks. I told him the HP ratings were based on 93 and when he towed, he should probably run premium. He started running premium since then. I think he was getting around 24 MPG on the 87 octane. He gets about 26 MPG with 91 octane. When I drove it, I had no issues getting 28 MPG in normal driving. When you get above 70 MPH, the MPGs take a serious hit as you would expect. Cruising at 80 MPH will net you around 26 MPGs with no wind effects.
Sorry this was so long but I wanted to cover all of my thoughts. Feel free to ask about what I missed in this write-up.
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