A 2008 Ford Escape Clause

The small SUV has a lot going for it—including a great sticker price—but it might make sense to wait for the 2009 before making a commitment

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Better looks, nicer interior, lower price

The Bad: Weak brakes, clunky fold-down rear seat, outdated transmission and engines

The Bottom Line: Nice little SUV, but should you wait for the '09?

Reader Reviews

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Up Front

The redesigned Escape compact SUV is one of the few bright spots in financially troubled Ford's (F) lineup. While most other Ford models got clobbered last year, the Escape's sales rose 5.2%, to 165,596. The Escape is selling well, I suspect, because it was redesigned for 2008 and many buyers like its buff new appearance, improved interior, and lower price. I like the Escape, too, and would consider buying one—though probably not the '08.

Don't get me wrong. The '08 Escape is an attractive and inexpensive choice for shoppers who are trading down to a smaller vehicle and prefer a compact SUV over a more car-like crossover vehicle. It comes in three trim levels: The XLS, XLT, and the Limited. There's also a hybrid-powered version.

The list prices on the '08s are about $1,000 less than on the '07 Escape. The two entry-level models range in price from $19,435, for an XLS with a stick shift and front-wheel drive powered by a 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engine, up to $24,485, for an all-wheel drive XLT with a four-speed automatic transmission and a 3.0 liter V6 engine. The fancier Limited, which comes standard with the V6, goes for $24,435 with front-wheel drive and $25,185 with all-wheel drive.

Moreover, the '08 Escape is being heavily discounted right now. Ford is offering $2,000 rebates on the model through Jan. 31, plus additional miscellaneous discounts such as $500 off for college students and members of the military. Partly as a result, the average selling price of the '08 Escape is just $22,289, according to the Power Information Network (PIN). That makes it highly competitive with such inexpensive rivals as the Hyundai Tucson ($21,099), General Motors' (GM) Chevy Equinox ($22,762), the Subaru Forester ($22,204), and the Saturn Vue ($22,285).

The Escape also sells for an average of about two grand less than the models Ford says are its main competitors: Honda's (HMC) CR-V, which goes for an average of $24,032, and Toyota's (TM) Rav4, which goes for $24,530, according to PIN (which, like BusinessWeek, is a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

But when Ford redesigned the Escape for '08, it focused on aesthetics. The mechanical guts of the vehicle remain largely the same. Partly as a result, fuel efficiency is average. With a four-cylinder engine, an automatic transmission, and front-wheel drive, the '08 Escape is rated to get 22 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway. That's about the same as a comparable '08 Toyota Rav4 (21/27) and a tad better than the '08 Honda CR-V (20/27). The Escape is also pokey, even when powered by a six-cylinder engine. I timed it at 10 seconds in accelerating from 0 to 60.

Now, a big question looms over the '08 Escape: Why not just wait a few months and buy an '09 when the new models come out this summer? On Jan. 22, Ford announced upgrades to the Escape that should make the '09 far better than the '08. For one thing, it will have Microsoft's new Sync communication and entertainment system (as a $395 option).

However, the big news is two new engines. The smaller is a 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder that gets a mile-per-gallon better mileage than the '08 Escape's four-banger but also is rated at 170 horsepower, 11% more. The '09 gets better mileage than the '08 partly because the engine is coupled with a six-speed automatic transmission (as opposed to a four-speed in the '08 Escape).