We rented an "intermediate SUV" for our FL vacation, since we will be putting on allot of miles and wanted to give the Pilot a break. Drove it down to South Florida on Saturday and heading to Key West in it tomorrow sans kids.
2013 Ford Escape SEL AWD w/2.0 EcoBoost turbo
After putting ~800 miles on it so far on and off the highway I find myself actually enjoying driving this car. The engine has balls and the AWD grips nicely. The leather seats are comfy and the controls are smartly placed but there is quite a bit of wind noise in the cabin at highway speed.
The SYNC system isn't the full-blown version like what was in the Explorer SEL I rented for a work trip a couple of months back. It has the main LCD panel in the dash with the climate controls right under it, with normal push buttons. The gauge cluster is all analog except for a small LCD screen high center that shows some useful info like distance to E, tripometer/odometer, average fuel consumption, etc.
Passenger room, including leg room is comfy both front and back seats but the storage space in back is tiny. We had to pack in a very minimalist fashion for 2 adults, 2 kids and plus we shoved two small dogs in back.
Fuel economy isn't all that impressive - on the highway @80mph average we got 22mpg. Still beats the Pilot though.
Overall, it's not a bad car at all - definitely one of the more enjoyable rentals I've had. And the more I stomp on it when it's just me in the car and neither of the boys the more I like it.
|