Tboneguy Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I was able to snatch a 2013 Escape from Avis yesterday for a day trip to Raleigh and back. It was a 2.0 AWD SEL, leather, Sync, etc.. I drove more than 450 miles and was very impressed with the quality of the vehicle. We have a 2008 Edge Limited and everything you can see and touch is higher quality in the Escape. Ride was taut, but certainly not rough with great brakes. It handled well for a CUV and I was VERY surprised to get a measured 29.2 MPG from an AWD vehicle with less than 500 miles on it running 72 MPH most of the time. Our Edge has never gotten over 22 MPG... Very quiet even at high speeds although there's some tire noise on certain road surfaces. The seats are a bit firm, but at 6'5" and 260 I was never uncomfortable and had ENORMOUS leg room. It definitely feels narrower than the Edge around the shoulders and knees, but again, still comfortable. It can't touch the rear seat room of the Edge, but it wasn't cramped. I had no problems at all with Sync and experienced no delays or slow response to commands. Congratulations Ford, this is a class leading vehicle! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Thanks for the review. How long did you drive for and what type of roads were you on? The next time I'm in the market, I'm definitely renting one for the weekend. You get so much out of a car opposed to the test drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tboneguy Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 I drove from Charlotte to Raleigh and back on I-85/40 with a couple of side trips. There are a lot of hills on that route which didn't phase it at all. Went through a couple of a major construction zones which had their requisite holes, bumps and zigzag lanes, and side tripped with my wife on a couple of windy roads. The vehicle was solid as a rock and 2.0 Ecoboost in that vehicle is stellar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transitman Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Thanks for your impressions, it sounds like a nice solid vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transitman Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 (edited) Well, I just took a test drive with ex Twins pitcher Juan Berenguer. It was only about 5 miles, mostly surface streets and 2 miles or so on the freeway. I was pleasantly impressed with everything about the car. The ride was a little stiff, but handling was quick and responsive, pick up on the entrance ramp was excellent and cruising at 60 the passing power was equally excellent. I didn't expect the nice low engine growl, but liked it, and surprisingly I didn't notice any turbo whine when I punched the gas. The seats are much wider and roomier for my derriere and the front seat area has a similar layout as my Focus, but with much more room. The rear seat folding was effortless and there is a lot of room behind the rear seats. I think I'll be able to fit my clubs and cart in the back without even folding the seats. The Escape I drove had the Panoramic roof and I kind of wish I had ordered mine with one. Any second guessing I had regarding trading my 2012 Focus has now vanished. I forgot to mention it was a 2.0L Titanium, 4WD Edited June 16, 2012 by transitman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Well, I just took a test drive with ex Twins pitcher Juan Berenguer. It was only about 5 miles, mostly surface streets and 2 miles or so on the freeway. I was pleasantly impressed with everything about the car. The ride was a little stiff, but handling was quick and responsive, pick up on the entrance ramp was excellent and cruising at 60 the passing power was equally excellent. I didn't expect the nice low engine growl, but liked it, and surprisingly I didn't notice any turbo whine when I punched the gas. The seats are much wider and roomier for my derriere and the front seat area has a similar layout as my Focus, but with much more room. The rear seat folding was effortless and there is a lot of room behind the rear seats. I think I'll be able to fit my clubs and cart in the back without even folding the seats. The Escape I drove had the Panoramic roof and I kind of wish I had ordered mine with one. Any second guessing I had regarding trading my 2012 Focus has now vanished. Juan Berenger, how cool! I remember watching him pitch when the Twins won the World Series. I have his autograph along with Hrbek, Gaetti, Gladden and the whole team on an unassembled Wheaties box and a homer hankie. It's probably my most prized possessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizuce Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 transitman....why u trading in the focus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transitman Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Juan Berenger, how cool! I remember watching him pitch when the Twins won the World Series. I have his autograph along with Hrbek, Gaetti, Gladden and the whole team on an unassembled Wheaties box and a homer hankie. It's probably my most prized possessions. I thought it was him when I was walking into the dealership and when we got in the car I kept looking at him and he said "do you know who I am, I'm Juan Berenguer" I told him I thought he looked familiar, of course I didn't want to sound like an ass. I asked him about the Twins current pitching woes and last nights game and he said his wife wanted to watch another show so he didn't see it. Come on Juan, even I have two TV's. It was cool though. I didn't tell him I had already ordered a car from another dealership and was only there to test drive it. transitman....why u trading in the focus? More space, power and size. For here at home, and I also own a home in Sun City, AZ that I drive to for a month in January and February. I need more space to haul stuff from here to there, for home improvement supplies, golf equipment and my brother comes to visit for a week, so I take his suit case and clubs with me. I also do some light off roading, nothing to drastic, just dirt trails to secluded spots in the desert and mountains. The Focus is too small and close to the ground for many of the trails. Also, driving through the mountains is a little hard on the Focus, and the 2.0L was revving pretty high. As great as the Focus is, I've never felt comfortable driving that low compared to most other vehicles, I want to sit up higher to get the big picture. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papilgee4evaeva Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Wow, Juan Berenguer. That's not a name I hear frequently anymore. Of course, I remember him more as one of the Braves' closers in '91. Good review, btw. I need to try one out sooner or later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transitman Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Wow, Juan Berenguer. That's not a name I hear frequently anymore. Of course, I remember him more as one of the Braves' closers in '91. Good review, btw. I need to try one out sooner or later. He came to the Braves the year we beat them to win the World Series. I'm not a huge baseball fan, mostly fair weather, so this isn't rubbing it in. 87 and 91 were exciting times, I'll never forget going downtown after the win in 87, I think I'm still hung over from that night of partying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papilgee4evaeva Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 He came to the Braves the year we beat them to win the World Series. I'm not a huge baseball fan, mostly fair weather, so this isn't rubbing it in. 87 and 91 were exciting times, I'll never forget going downtown after the win in 87, I think I'm still hung over from that night of partying. I didn't even start watching baseball (or sports in general) until '91, and destiny would have me to be a Braves' fan. Most analysts say that the '91 series was one of the best of all time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 He came to the Braves the year we beat them to win the World Series. I'm not a huge baseball fan, mostly fair weather, so this isn't rubbing it in. 87 and 91 were exciting times, I'll never forget going downtown after the win in 87, I think I'm still hung over from that night of partying. The '87 World Series was a very bad series! Let us never mention it again! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLPRacing Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Wow, Juan Berenguer. That's not a name I hear frequently anymore. Of course, I remember him more as one of the Braves' closers in '91. Good review, btw. I need to try one out sooner or later. I didn't even start watching baseball (or sports in general) until '91, and destiny would have me to be a Braves' fan. Most analysts say that the '91 series was one of the best of all time. I thought it and the 1987 series were the best World Series. The '87 World Series was a very bad series! Let us never mention it again! Your Cardinals may have beat my Rangers last year, but at least they lost to my Twins in 87. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I thought it and the 1987 series were the best World Series. I was only 11, but I remember them dam homer hankies and the Metrodome like it was yesterday. Still remember the depressing next day at school! Your Cardinals may have beat my Rangers last year, but at least they lost to my Twins in 87. Funny story about last year's series. My neighbors were at game 6 last year, and they just went to a game this past weekend. When asked about the game last weekend, the response was "boring!" You can't expect every game to be as exciting as game 6 last year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 (edited) Have to say I'm surprised to see new Escapes already making it to rental agencies so quickly, they were still making the old Escape last month. I know the new Focus is a rental darling now, my frequented agencies are filled with them. Wish Ford wasn't doing this all over again. Edited June 18, 2012 by BORG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Have to say I'm surprised to see new Escapes already making it to rental agencies so quickly, they were still making the old Escape last month. I know the new Focus is a rental darling now, my frequented agencies are filled with them. Wish Ford wasn't doing this all over again. Doing what over again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Have to say I'm surprised to see new Escapes already making it to rental agencies so quickly, they were still making the old Escape last month. I know the new Focus is a rental darling now, my frequented agencies are filled with them. Wish Ford wasn't doing this all over again. Ford's NAFLRO is the best fleet and remarketing business unit at any automaker operating in the U.S., IMO. Under the current leadership of Kevin Koswick, operations management at NAFLRO is top notch. Ford's OTD times for fleet customers are generally competitive, even taking into account production startup constraints on its newest models. As Noah Harbinger mentioned, I'm not sure what you mean by the phrase "doing this all over again." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Juan Berenger, how cool! I remember watching him pitch when the Twins won the World Series. I have his autograph along with Hrbek, Gaetti, Gladden and the whole team on an unassembled Wheaties box and a homer hankie. It's probably my most prized possessions. He used to pitch for the Tigers too. Don't remember the years, and it seems to me Gladden played for the Tigers also. Lots of rent a players out there for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timf Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Have to say I'm surprised to see new Escapes already making it to rental agencies so quickly, they were still making the old Escape last month. I know the new Focus is a rental darling now, my frequented agencies are filled with them. Wish Ford wasn't doing this all over again. It wouldn't surprise me if this was one of the hail-damaged Escapes. I doubt fleet customers would normally order SEL models for rental use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Have to say I'm surprised to see new Escapes already making it to rental agencies so quickly, they were still making the old Escape last month. I know the new Focus is a rental darling now, my frequented agencies are filled with them. Wish Ford wasn't doing this all over again. Don't worry Borg....the new Escape is no fleet queen. It's a very desirable small SUV/CUV and will do just fine retail wise getting much higher transaction prices than previous generation could in its dreams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 It wouldn't surprise me if this was one of the hail-damaged Escapes. I doubt fleet customers would normally order SEL models for rental use. Hey, just take it to one of those ding proof places and they will have no trouble pulling out the minor dents with their tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Hey, just take it to one of those ding proof places and they will have no trouble pulling out the minor dents with their tools. The quality of their work can vary widely. I'd rather pay more and have an undamaged vehicle, but some people may feel differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 It wouldn't surprise me if this was one of the hail-damaged Escapes. I doubt fleet customers would normally order SEL models for rental use. Ford has been pushing rental companies to buy more expesive models as not to depress or flood the used car market with el cheapo products Have to say I'm surprised to see new Escapes already making it to rental agencies so quickly, they were still making the old Escape last month. I know the new Focus is a rental darling now, my frequented agencies are filled with them. Wish Ford wasn't doing this all over again. WTF are you talking about? This is standard operating procedure for Ford...They did it with the Focus back in 2010 and they are doing it with the Escape now...its smart...it lets new product get used and abused, and Ford can start looking for things to improve upon or fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSchicago Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 The hail damaged Escapes were sold to the rental companies.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Ford has been pushing rental companies to buy more expesive models as not to depress or flood the used car market with el cheapo products WTF are you talking about? This is standard operating procedure for Ford...They did it with the Focus back in 2010 and they are doing it with the Escape now...its smart...it lets new product get used and abused, and Ford can start looking for things to improve upon or fix. I can understand that with the initial launch certainly, or the other explanation is that they are hail damaged/repaired models. The Focus recently went through a massive fleet dumping episode for a few months which is what I'm primarily referring to as the bad habits coming to the rescue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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