I have a 2011 Hyundai Sonata I’m considering trading in for a crossover SUV. I’m considering a 2011 Ford Escape XLT with 87k miles or a 2010 Toyota RAV4 with 119k miles. Had both checked out by my mechanic and both cost 11,900 and 12,250 respectively. I like both but wanted your opinion and what would you pick? Why am I wanting a SUV? It’s higher off the ground and easier for me to get in and out since I am 6’5" tall. Thank you. Both are 4 cyl and front wheel drive.
I personally have a lot more confidence in a high mileage Toyota then a lower mileage Escape. But, why limit yourself. I would keep looking. If you only need FWD, Hyundai makes the Sante Fe and othe small SUV models too. You could also checked out a 2wd Honda CRV. Btw, I like your reasons for wanting one. They are very practical cars even n 2wd. We have had several of these things in our family and they were all well liked for their utility.Keep looking though at other makes. The CRV is excellent and the Hyundai models may be cheaper.
As above, I think you could do better. Maybe a Toyota with less miles and a little more $$. The Toyota and Honda offerings are in high demand in the used market. So add the Hyundai Tucson, Santa Fe and also Kia Sportage. I have had a few co-workers with the Escape and they had some reliability issues with them. I test drove two and they did not age well IMO, too noisy/loose plastic etc.
As a point of reference, when we were buying our used Sonata, CPO Tucson’s were listed around 16K with 20-30K miles on it and I am sure you could bring them down. I had much luck talking the price of the Sonata down than I had with the Camry.
Avoid the Escape.
Check the annual auto issue of Consumer Reports (April issue). Probably available at your local library. Used cars are rated via survey by the subscribers. The collective survey results of many subscribers will give you better input than the few comments you’ll receive on this site.
Another vote to avoid the Escape. We’ve leased them at work for years now, and they’re terrible. Of the probably 50 we’ve had since I started here, 100% of them have had to go in for what I consider idiotic repairs for a car that’s less than 2 years old. Transmission rebuilds, engine rebuilds, more recalls than I can even remember, blown head gaskets. One of my favorites was on our latest crop of them - all the door handles on the liftgates tore off. That’s Yugo-level shoddy.
Our last ones, 90% of them had to go in at or before 15,000 miles to get the transmission fluid changed because it was burned, because the transmissions were slipping like crazy supposedly due to a software problem. Ford charged us for the fluid exchange, which I personally would have hotly disputed if I had a personal stake in the matter.
I wouldn’t want an Escape if it was free.
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Isnt an Escape next of kin to a Mazda?
The Mazda Tribute is a Escape twin. The Mazda CX-5 is the new replacement since Mazda and Ford got divorced. The CX-5 is a totally different car.
I dunno, Mrs Mc is on her second Escape, having put 162K on the first one that her father bought brand new in 2002. All I ever did to it was regular maintenance, even while her dad had it, and an alternator replacement at about 155K. Granted the Toyota has a better reputation.
RAV!!! do not get the Escape, not even with 0km can be compared to a Toyota.
I cannot speak regarding 2010 and 2011 models but when I test drove both a 2014 Escape and a 2014 RAV4 the Escape had far more sway and lean on curves and turns. The Escape was the only car or small SUV which gave me motion sickness to drive.
The RAV 4 is head and shoulders above the Escape in reliability and durability. The Escape’s auto transmission has been troublesome as well as the instrumentation.
Go with RAV4. Toyota is way better.
Dexter liked to drive one(what a sick show )
Excuse me if it was mentioned but, the Forester is the top rated CR compact SUV for very good reason.
I am surprised you are comfortable in the RAV 4, I was onlt 6’3" and my daughters RAV 4s had way too short a bottom seat cushion.
I don’t know if safety is a concern for you, but the latest IIHS tests rate the Rav-4 “Poor” for front passenger safety in the small overlap test (this was for a new model, but the new models are likely to have done better than past ones). The Escape was not rated for 2016, but both cars did poorly in past vehicle safety tests. See http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/vehicles-with-good-driver-side-protection-may-leave-passengers-at-risk
We have a few Escapes in our fleet, and I am not impressed
They may be fine from a mechanical standpoint, but I consider build quality to be very mediocre
Not to say Toyota is fantastic, but better than Ford, IMO
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Rav4 gets my vote also. The transmission of the 4-cycle is known to be more reliable than their v6.