8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Awesome, but...watch for ice.
Date of Review: Jan 15, 2006
The Bottom Line: Definitely recommended. Resale value has gone up. SUV-like Handling is an issue, and it's loose in snow. Use snow tires!
We love our Escape. We traded in our 96 Taurus and actually gained room in our garage. It has comfortable room for four, space for the dog and amenities.
However, I recently crashed my 2002 4 wheel drive Escape. While driving a straight section of road in a combination of snow, ice and slush (yes, all three simultaneously) the vehicle back-end began slipping out. Attempting to correct the situation only made it worse until the vehicle was fully side ways and slid off the road.
This was the second time this had happened in a span of 5 minutes. Both times on straight sections of road. The first time I was in 4 wheel drive. The second time I was in front wheel drive (hoping to prevent the back end slide). I can only theorize that the traction-control aspect of the transmission reactivate the 4 wheel drive mode and probably made the back end break loose.
On a positive from the accident, crash zones prevented any damage to the main body. I was able to finish my drive. The air bags did deploy, but the impact was so slight that my only notice that the airbags had deployed was their magical appearance in front of me and the ringing in my ears.
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