Ford Escape vs Nissan Rogue?

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Ok so I feel the need to get rid of my current suv....its a 2003 Yukon full time AWD so I am getting 13mpg. So with the possibility of $5 per gallon gas around the corner I am feeling the pressure to get rid of this vehicle now. SO I have test driven a few smaller cars and I just dont feel comfortable in them. Feels too small and I feel like I am too close to the passenger seat. Anyways..I recently test drove a 2012 Ford escape xls with a 5spd manual.. It was nice and still felt like a SUV, it had enough room for what I need a vehicle to do. ( I have 2 Large Dogs) it felt truck like to me. Not a fun suv to drive but it was comfortable and Im sure it will last a be very durable and dependable. Then I test drove a 2009 Nissan Rogue AWD with a CVT transmission....I was surprised at how well the CVT performed and the little Rogue felt sporty and was more fun to drive than the Escape. However I do not know anything really about the Rogue. I want to buy an American vehicle! But the Rogue was a lot of fun to drive IMO. Does anybody have experience with the Rogue? Anybody have any advice? TIA!
 
I'm biased, but the Escape all the way, IMO.

Drive an older 2003 Tribute, and I love it.

This is the last year for this body-style of the Escape, so you should be able to get a good deal on one. Also, with buying an Escape, you are getting a brand-new vehicle, not a used one.
 
I would go Rogue. I have driven both and I liked the Rogue a lot more than I thought I would. I just think the Escape is dated, and the 3.0L V6 feels like it delivers less punch than the 2.5 in the Rogue. Looks are also subjective but I was never a fan of the 2nd gen Escape based on looks. A Rogue SV or SL on the other hand looks great (of course subjective)
 
My MIL has a Escape V6, its 1 year old now, bought new.
Im not a fan for a variety of reasons. The V6 engine is shockingly loud and very raspy sounding, gun the engine and it sounds like its going to have a heart-attack!
Road noise is pronounced, especially in the rear seats. The ride quality is also on the slightly uncomfortable side. Fuel economy is good however, my MIL gets 24MPG combined. Dash and interior are a hard plastic (rugged yet not all that nice to look at or touch). Roomy back seat and cargo area. No quality issues in 1 year of ownership as per MIL.

Never sat/tested the rogue so cant say. Good luck with the hunt!
 
Either should serve you well as it all depends on what you want, like and how the SUV will be used. You have to drive'em both, which it seem that you already have.

I would suspect that the Rogue would get better MPG but, not by much if at all. And if buying domestic is important to you, the Escape may be the one. You may be surprised where they both are made...Meaning that the Rogue may be made here in the U.S.A. and the Escape may be made outside our boarders, IDK!

If you'll be carting the 2 LARGE DOGS along often, you may want to get an SUV that cleans up well(Honda Element) which may also be made here...IDK!

Don't limit you choices to only 2 SUV's unless you have finaly narrowed down your choices to these 2 SUS's.

Is fun to drive(Rogue) more important to you than utility(Escape)?

Do you want even better MPG(RAV4 4 cyl)

How about standard AWD(Subaru)?

Do you want the most reliable small SUV(Hon/Yota)?

Be careful about where there made; it could surprise you! I think of it this way:

I like buying the better/more reliable vehicles from either domestic or forign companies, made right here in the U.S., that are assembled by my American Brother & Sisters!

I getting to the point where I don't care which name in on the vehicle if it's made here in North America from our U.S/Canadian Brothers & Sisters.

Many of my Honda, Toyota, Nissan cars were assembled here in the U.S.A. using a quite high domestic content, even if not the required 75% domestic content to be considered a domestic vehicle. Our Brother & Sisters are working!
 
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the Rogue is a Nissan Sentra/Renault Meganne chassis. Since it has the 2.5 you can think of it as a truckified Sentra SE-R wagon with a CVT.

The Escape/Tribute/Mariner is a Mazda 626 chassis. (also truckified) It's an older design but served well underpinning the Ford Probe. I don't know if there are actually any chassis tuning differences between the Tribute and Escape. If there is, the Mazda will have the more sport tuned suspension. Since the CX-5 has already been released you might be able to swing a really good deal on a leftover Tribute. And it's made in Missouri, same factory as the Ford.
 
The Escape is made in Claycomo, Missouri, United States.
The Rogue is made in Kyushu, Japan.

As stated above, it is really going to depend on whether the features you liked about the Rogue are more important than the features you liked about the Escape. The Escape is more of a "utility" vehicle than the Rogue, which is more like a car.
 
Originally Posted By: FirstNissan
My MIL has a Escape V6, its 1 year old now, bought new.
Im not a fan for a variety of reasons. The V6 engine is shockingly loud and very raspy sounding, gun the engine and it sounds like its going to have a heart-attack!
Road noise is pronounced, especially in the rear seats. The ride quality is also on the slightly uncomfortable side. Fuel economy is good however, my MIL gets 24MPG combined. Dash and interior are a hard plastic (rugged yet not all that nice to look at or touch). Roomy back seat and cargo area. No quality issues in 1 year of ownership as per MIL.

Never sat/tested the rogue so cant say. Good luck with the hunt!


I'd go with the escape between the two, but honestly I agree with this post. My grandfather has one, and I thought hte same thing about the 3.0L Duratec. I much prefer the smooth, rev happy growl of the 3.0L HFV6 in the nox.

that said, the Nissan rogue is really a nice car if you don't mind the styling.
 
My parents have had a Rogue for about a year and love it (fun to drive, good AWD, good handling), and we were looking at it in summer 2009 before buying our 2010 Equinox.

If you have large dogs (how big?) I'd suggest not going with the Rogue. It has a low roof. I also have a hard time being comfortable while driving it (as a passenger is fine) because although I'm just a little under six foot, I have a torso length of most people who are six foot two. So if you are tall the Rogue isn't a good vehicle for you.

I'd go with a GMC Terrain or Chevy Equinox before an Escape. The Escape is dated, smaller (remember the dogs), I think more expensive if buying new, and gets worse mileage (though "real world" is probably about equal). You can get the V6 in the GM if you want more power.
 
Hi and thank you all so far! Just so everyone knows the Escape I am considering is the 2.5 4 cyl. My dogs are 80 to 100lbs. I look at the tow like this....I would enjoy driving the Rogue more and would probably look forward to driving it more. However I think the Escape would be the best tool. If you know what I mean. But both I feel would do what I need them to do.
 
Originally Posted By: mcrn
Hi and thank you all so far! Just so everyone knows the Escape I am considering is the 2.5 4 cyl. My dogs are 80 to 100lbs. I look at the tow like this....I would enjoy driving the Rogue more and would probably look forward to driving it more. However I think the Escape would be the best tool. If you know what I mean. But both I feel would do what I need them to do.


With two dogs of that size the Rogue will be too small. I'd go with an Equinox or Terrain (in a V6 if you want to tow anything).
 
Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
Originally Posted By: mcrn
Hi and thank you all so far! Just so everyone knows the Escape I am considering is the 2.5 4 cyl. My dogs are 80 to 100lbs. I look at the tow like this....I would enjoy driving the Rogue more and would probably look forward to driving it more. However I think the Escape would be the best tool. If you know what I mean. But both I feel would do what I need them to do.


With two dogs of that size the Rogue will be too small. I'd go with an Equinox or Terrain (in a V6 if you want to tow anything).


I agree. The equinox/terrain is overall much nicer than the escape, and similar to the rogue. I also agree, if you want to tow, get the V6, maximum 3,500lb official towing limit.
 
Originally Posted By: FirstNissan
My MIL has a Escape V6, its 1 year old now, bought new.
Im not a fan for a variety of reasons. The V6 engine is shockingly loud and very raspy sounding, gun the engine and it sounds like its going to have a heart-attack!
... !


Really?

The primary difference between my Mazda's MZI and the Escape's Duratec 30 is VVT.

I can assure you, I have no problems with acceleration compared to a 2.5 Altima SL. It wasn't loud at all until I changed the intake. It's still relatively quiet.
 
Yeah, I don't really 'understandand' these complaints about Duratecs being noisy - this engine isn't any noisier than any other V-6 of this size....they have a growl under hard throttle, but so does ANY V-6.

At idle, this engine is VERY quiet - much quieter than most, for sure.
 
Originally Posted By: mcrn
.. Does anybody have experience with the Rogue? Anybody have any advice? TIA!


My in-laws are on their second. They started with a 2008 base model AWD, then traded-up in 2010 for one with more options. Both with AWD/CVT.

They are very comfortable, roomy and nice to drive. Better yet, they get way better fuel economy than an Escape will.

I do like the idea of buying a Ford/Domestic and the Escape is a better looking vehicle IMO, but compared to the Escapes I've been in, I find the Rogue a more comfortable vehicle, especially behind the wheel.

Joel
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Yeah, I don't really 'understandand' these complaints about Duratecs being noisy - this engine isn't any noisier than any other V-6 of this size....they have a growl under hard throttle, but so does ANY V-6.

At idle, this engine is VERY quiet - much quieter than most, for sure.


I agree with this..My friend has 2002 V6 Escape..The growl is definitely not any noisier then any other V6.
 
Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Yeah, I don't really 'understandand' these complaints about Duratecs being noisy - this engine isn't any noisier than any other V-6 of this size....they have a growl under hard throttle, but so does ANY V-6.

At idle, this engine is VERY quiet - much quieter than most, for sure.


I agree with this..My friend has 2002 V6 Escape..The growl is definitely not any noisier then any other V6.


Had a argument with guy on another forum about this.The Escape defiantly is on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to noise. I'd much rather have a small growl or a little noise compared to the Sienna's at work.. dead quiet. Now I do have a few holes drilled in our Escape's airbox so the growl is a bit louder than stock. Parts for All aside from Rogue and Escape the Escape will probably be cheaper and easier to find in junkyard if one was to keep said Escape for a long period of time. Our 04 hasn't need any parts except regular maintenance except the brake line last week. Pick n Pull's had one for 4.30. The new wheel cylinder was $15. Alot of Escape's on the road.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Yeah, I don't really 'understandand' these complaints about Duratecs being noisy - this engine isn't any noisier than any other V-6 of this size....they have a growl under hard throttle, but so does ANY V-6.


It's not the noise level, but the sound quality. A co-worker has a 2009 Escape, and our neighbor had a '10 Escape for about a year. The engine noise is not all that "refined". I can tell you from personal experience that other V-6 engines are far more "refined" sounding, to me. This is very subjective, though, which is why you'll get a million answers to the question, "what does a 'good ride' mean to you?"

I wonder if it's intake manifold noise/resonance. Do they have a sound-deadening cover on top of the engine? If I remove the sound-deadening cover from our Acura's engine, the engine sounds noisier and grainier. Still not as loud in a Duratec in an Escape, but at that point, vehicle insulation is probably the difference. I think most Duratecs use plastic upper intakes...if there's no sound-deadening material on top of the upper intake, I'll bet that's where the noise is coming from.

The Duratec isn't the only modern V-6 that sounds noisy to me. Toyota's 3.5L GR-series engines (at least in the Sienna and Venza I've driven) sound like they're lubricated with marbles. I also don't care for the sound quality of Chrysler's new Pentastar engine. It sounds pretty grainy. There's no comparing these engines to a Honda V-6 or an older Toyota MZ-series V-6 like the former 3.3L in the Sienna. This co-worker of mine with the '08 Escape, he just traded an '04 Sienna for a '12 CR-V. That Sienna's engine was a model of V-6 refinement. Another sweet-sounding V-6, to me, is GM's HF V-6 engines, like the 3.6L in the CTS. Super-smooth, super-refined.
 
Ok so I spent almost all day yesterday at Ford and Nissan dealers.... after test driving both I realize the rogue will keep me interested in driving where the Escape just felt like an appliance. The Rogue seemed more refined in every way. The 4cyl escape in 3 that I drove with an automatic and a very rough idle where the rogues that I drove were smoother than my Yukon with a V8 and felt like a sports car compared to the Escape. There were also several interior features of the Rogue I liked better. The escapes light colored steering wheel was a turn off. I like the black/dark look of the Rogue much better. The seats fit me better and the driving position was superior. So I had both dealers talked down to the same out the door price. So this AM I am waiting to contact my insurance company and I will probably pull the trigger on the Rogue as long as the insurance cost is not much more than im paying now. With the Escape I know the payment would only increase 2 dollars a year.
 
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