Just bought a compact SUV this past Tuesday. Vehicle replaced was a FWD V6 2006 Mazda Tribute (Ford Escape) with over 100k NYC/Metro miles. (Only repair except maintenance over the past 10 years was a new alternator/location on bottom of engine is not ideal)
I shopped and drove the Rav4, CRV, CX-5 and Escape. Didn't like the Rav4, interior and seats felt cheap, car felt sluggish and not too responsive, more appliance like. CRV was okay, liked the interior room and seats, but handling was so-so and not a big fan of CVT's in general.
So concentrating on my two finalists, the mid-range CX-5 Touring and Escape SE. The CX-5 handled very nice, good driving dynamics, okay acceleration. Nice interior but seats/fabrics seemed a bit cheap and the big 3-dial manual HVAC control was okay but a bit dated. Interior was very straight-forward/almost bland)
I ended up getting a 2017 Ford Escape 4WD SE 2.0l Ecoboost. No tech, only option was the cold-weather package. The engine sold me. Great low-end torque, smooth and fast with a pretty decent 6-speed transaxle. Seats are quite firm, but comfortable, interior looks upscale, firm ride and good handling paint quality is great. Car seems well screwed together (I have to give the nod to the CX-5 for better on-center steering feel though).
With $3500 of rebates and near invoice pricing, I got a very good deal. Personally, I don't like all the touch screen nonsense on many new cars. The Escape can get pretty pricey if you aren't careful with the options. The middle SE trim has everything I need with regular Sync for phone connectivity etc. Probably would have gotten a FWD, but the dealers around here do not stock any FWD except for the base S trim. The Ford Intelligent AWD seems to be a pretty decent system from what I read.
Shop the brands and decide for yourself, The major players all have strong contenders so it boils down to what you value.
I shopped and drove the Rav4, CRV, CX-5 and Escape. Didn't like the Rav4, interior and seats felt cheap, car felt sluggish and not too responsive, more appliance like. CRV was okay, liked the interior room and seats, but handling was so-so and not a big fan of CVT's in general.
So concentrating on my two finalists, the mid-range CX-5 Touring and Escape SE. The CX-5 handled very nice, good driving dynamics, okay acceleration. Nice interior but seats/fabrics seemed a bit cheap and the big 3-dial manual HVAC control was okay but a bit dated. Interior was very straight-forward/almost bland)
I ended up getting a 2017 Ford Escape 4WD SE 2.0l Ecoboost. No tech, only option was the cold-weather package. The engine sold me. Great low-end torque, smooth and fast with a pretty decent 6-speed transaxle. Seats are quite firm, but comfortable, interior looks upscale, firm ride and good handling paint quality is great. Car seems well screwed together (I have to give the nod to the CX-5 for better on-center steering feel though).
With $3500 of rebates and near invoice pricing, I got a very good deal. Personally, I don't like all the touch screen nonsense on many new cars. The Escape can get pretty pricey if you aren't careful with the options. The middle SE trim has everything I need with regular Sync for phone connectivity etc. Probably would have gotten a FWD, but the dealers around here do not stock any FWD except for the base S trim. The Ford Intelligent AWD seems to be a pretty decent system from what I read.
Shop the brands and decide for yourself, The major players all have strong contenders so it boils down to what you value.
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