Pros: Lots of power, front wheel drive standard, great handling!
Cons: Side curtain airbags should be standard, but aren't.
The Bottom Line: I believe anyone shopping for a small SUV should skip the overpriced Japanese vehicles and drive this. Rent one from budget for a week. You will be impressed.
I have been driving a 1993 GMC Jimmy for quite some time. It finally gave out and I needed a new vehicle. I wanted to get another SUV, but did not want a full size version. This summer, we rented a 2003 Ford Escape and drove it from Cincinnati to Clearwater Beach, FLA. We very much enjoyed this vehicle. It was equipped with the V6 and had lots of power, but despite this still averaged over 30mpg on the highway with me cruising at 80. Since we had a great experience with this rental we visited the local Ford dealer as well as Jeep, Mitsubishi and Hyundai, to compare.
After 2 weeks of shopping and test driving, we came back to the Ford and bought a 2004 Ford Escape XLS. It came equipped with 200 HP V6, power doors/windows, In dash CD, ABS braking and much more. The model we bought has dark grey interior in two shades. The center console contains two cup holders and a removable ashtray if you don't need. The center console box has considerable room and under the lid has a holder specifically for CD's. The center dash compartment has three compartments, one big enough for my cell, PDA, ipod and more!
Driving this vehicle my wife and I are continually impressed with its ride quality and handling characteristics. It does not exhibit the side to side roll in hard cornering that I felt in the other cars I test drove. (Santa Fe, Montero, Liberty). We did not opt for the 4wd because the Escape comes standard with Front wheel drive. The Liberty in our price range would have been rear wheel drive only. We did not want that. Our driving does not warrant having a 4 wheel drive vehicle. I think we switched our Jimmy into 4wd drive 3 times since 1995! The Hyundai had alot to offer but ultimately I was not impressed with the finish of the vehicle. It did not feel solid like the Escape or the Liberty.
Well, we finalized our purchase 2 weeks ago and we love this vehicle. Easy to drive, good gas mileage, not too big, not too small. We paid $18,800 for an XLS which stickered at 21,600. We are very happy with this vehicle!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 18800
Condition: New Model Year: 2003 Model and Options: XLS automatic
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