2002 Ford Escape

HOW IT ALL STARTED
We had finally decided to join the horde of people buying SUV's (having finally gotten out of the minvan phase of our family's life) and so we faced the big decision: a full sized SUV, or some sort of hybrid/small SUV? We'd had good luck with Ford products in the past, so we settled on a choice between Explorer or Ford's new mini-SUV, the Escape.

Eventually, we chose the Escape because it seemed to be the perfect compromise between SUV power and good gas mileage. Or at least that what the brochure and the dealer promised. But, like so much else in life, reality didn't quite measure up to our expectations. In other words, the vehicle wasn't a huge disappointment . . . but it wasn't exactly what we'd expected, either.

HOW'S IT LOOK?
First, I should say that we loved the color. A silly thing to comment on, I suppose, but this was a deep green that really caught our eye, and was nicely set off by the bumper, wheel wells and grill. The interior is a standard cloth weave, that has gotten mixed reviews in our family: some feel it is too "nubby" to be comfortable won long drives, others love it because it can take almost any abuse and still look great.

The Escape has a nice, sleek look, with a better, more aerodynamic shape than the Jeep Liberty and other similar models. The Escape also looks like it is ready for some serious outdoor driving, with oversize tires, and a ground clearance that is fairly high for this type of vehicle.

Like most smaller SUV's, the Escape has smallish windows, which makes vision, especially out of the back window. The instrument panel and temperature controls are nicely laid out, and ergonomically designed so that they are easy to grab and manipulate.

MORE POWER TO THE PEOPLE
Under the hood, we have a 3.0l, V-6 engine that supplies plenty of horsepower off the line, and makes the Escape zippy to drive. The gear ratio seems to be designed for quick acceleration at lower speeds, however, this also means that the acceleration between 50-70 mph is not very fast, which can make passing slower vehicles an adventure for those of us that live out here on rural two lane roads. But for the most part, the Escape is powerful and enjoyable to drive. It has also proven to be remarkably durable, requiring very little besides routine maintenance over the 120,000+ miles we have put on the vehicle.

On the downside, the mileage is not anywhere near government predictions for either highway or city driving. We average about 14 mpg around town and about 18-19 on the highway. This is compared with 20 and 28 as predicted by the government. It probably shouldn't come as any shock that our mileage didn't match the government's tests, but the fact that we were as much as 10 mpg below those tests was an unpleasant surprise. An additional problem is the small 15-gallon gas tank. The small tank capacity and low-ish mileage combine to give the Escape a fairly small range on a single tank, making it not my first choice for long-distance driving.

HANDLING WITH CARE
The Escape is fun to drive because of its acceleration, but also because of its nimble handling. It corners well and the steering is responsive and gives you a good feel for the road. Although all SUV's are inherently less stable in swerving maneuvers than cars, the Escape feels less so than other SUV's that we have ridden in.

Although we got the two-wheel drive (front-wheel drive) version, instead of the 4-wheel drive version, we have taken the vehicle out in some seriously bad driving conditions, and it has always handled whatever we threw at it.

On the downside, because the Escape is quite a bit shorter than a full-sized SUV, it has a fairly rough ride, a feature which, when combined with the nubby upholstery can make long rides in the vehicle uncomfortable.

THE BOTTOM LINE
The 2002 Ford Escape has been an attractive, reliable and enjoyable vehicle to drive. Except for gas mileage, the Escape is a good choice for the type of driving most of us do: short trips, in stop-and-go situations.