2008 Ford Escape Review

Compact crossovers are a little like hamburgers. Using the same basic ingredients, different manufacturers manage to make their burgers unique. The original 2000 Escape lead the field with a V-6 engine, car-like ride and huge cargo space. But the competition caught up and passed the Escape, making Ford’s updates for 2008 little more than fresh pickles and an extra helping of special sauce on the same stale patty and bun. These days the Escape is eclipsed almost universally by its competitors in terms of style, performance, quality and capability, offering a more satisfying meal for your dollar than this warmed-over Ford.

By: Keith Buglewicz

Photo credit: Oliver Bentley and Ford

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Our black-on-black-on-black Escape weighed in at $30,910, including the $665 destination charge. Granted, that included $4,015 worth of options over the $25,330 base price, but even if you factor in the eventual barrage of Ford incentives, there are better buys. On paper we admit it sounds good: a $2,395 navigation/audiophile audio system, 17-inch chrome wheels for $695, a luxury package costing $795, and the Limited’s V-6 engine and all-wheel drive. However, the Escape is unfortunately less than the sum of its parts.

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A V-6 engine with 200 horsepower should be able to move a small crossover with ease. But this 3.0-liter V-6 struggles against the Escape’s 3,522 pounds, and acceleration from a dead stop in first gear is especially sluggish. Once moving, it isn’t bad, and passing power is adequate. The transmission’s oddly-selected cogs are the culprit, sacrificing acceleration for fuel economy, and the 18.2 mpg isn’t much of a payoff. The transmission shifts roughly at times, and if you select gears manually you can time the changes with a sundial.

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The Escape has a good ride, almost regardless of the road conditions, as long as those roads are paved. In the rough stuff, the Escape shudders, dances and quivers alarmingly, so much so that you’ll feel inclined to head home before reaching your secluded destination. Despite its car-based platform, the Escape is ill-suited to any sort of enthusiastic driving thanks to its high stance. The body leans considerably in corners, the rear end squats under acceleration and the nose dives under braking. It never feels unsafe, but sensitive passengers may want a Dramamine before a mountain trip.

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One bright spot in the Escape is visibility. Despite the intrusive second-row head restraints, the view out through most angles is quite good. The rearmost pillars are thin, and the ones to the sides and beside the windshield are also admirably out of the way, providing good sight lines. Throw in the generously sized mirrors and – surprisingly – backup sensors, and you have a little ute that’s easy to maneuver in parking lots and on the highways.

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Some small crossovers aren’t much fun on the road, but provide some fun once you get off it. Others are fun on the road, but not much good off. The Escape is neither, providing little satisfaction on or off road, or under any driving condition we encountered. The constant din (more on that later), cheap interior materials and overall dated driving dynamics do nothing to improve the situation.

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The Escape’s seating position is very upright, and the seat felt small to some of our drivers, with the seatback and bottom cushion too short. Around the driver’s legs are numerous hard plastic panels, which make it hard to find a comfortable position. The door tops are also hard, and the elbow rests on the doors and center console are covered in spongy rubber that, although better than the hard plastic, is uncomfortable to the touch. Throw in the tilt-only steering wheel and it’s hard to get comfortable in the Escape.

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The rear arrangement is a “bench” in the worst sense of the word, using hard, flat cushions and featuring an upright seating position. The result is that rear passengers don’t fare any better than their front-seat counterparts. The upright position isn’t adjustable, and although headroom is adequate, it comes at the expense of a bottom cushion that’s too low. Shoulder room isn’t very good either, and we imagine squeezing three adults in the rear seat would be a chore.

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Take your pick: engine, wind, transmission, suspension, road…the Escape has them all. Stand on the throttle and you’re granted noise instead of acceleration. The transmission clunks into gear as you choose between Park, Reverse and Drive. The suspension thumps and clatters over bumps. Road noise permeates the cabin at every turn, until it’s drowned out by wind noise at higher speeds. The noise levels in the Escape are as satisfying as attending a noisy party when you have a headache. At least the audio system can drown out most of the racket.

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The Escape has a reasonably low load floor considering its overall height, so lifting large cargo into the back isn’t terribly difficult. There’s a matte plastic protector on the bumper so you can slide heavy cargo in without scratching the paint. A hidden compartment under the floor is big enough for a gym bag or large purse, and there is a pocket to the left of the cargo area for smaller items. The seats fold down two ways: Seatbacks only if you’re hurrying, or you can fold the bottom cushions forward and then flip down the seatbacks for a big, wide load floor.

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Our Escape test vehicle was a pre-production unit. We did not assess build quality, as it is our rule to praise or critique this aspect of a vehicle only when it is reflective of what consumers will find at the local dealership.