2012 Ford Escape 4 or 6 Cylinder??

[pk1959]

We are getting a Ford Escape, but are unsure of whether to get the 4 or 6 cylinder. Both are being built for us. Dealer stock is so low that we are unable to test drive both to compare. As soon as they get both in stock, we will be test driving to see if we notice a huge difference between the two. Gas mileage is a main concern for me. The 4 cylinder claims to get 21 city and 28 highway. The 6 cylinger claims 19 city and 25 highway. Can anyone who has either of these vehicles tell me if the actual mileage you get is close to those claims?? This purchase has been pushed WAY up time wise for us since the 2013 models are NOT something we would buy because of the way the 'redesign' looks. Thanks

 

[espana94]

We are getting a Ford Escape, but are unsure of whether to get the 4 or 6 cylinder. Both are being built for us. Dealer stock is so low that we are unable to test drive both to compare. As soon as they get both in stock, we will be test driving to see if we notice a huge difference between the two. Gas mileage is a main concern for me. The 4 cylinder claims to get 21 city and 28 highway. The 6 cylinger claims 19 city and 25 highway. Can anyone who has either of these vehicles tell me if the actual mileage you get is close to those claims?? This purchase has been pushed WAY up time wise for us since the 2013 models are NOT something we would buy because of the way the 'redesign' looks. Thanks

Go with the 6 cylinder...I have 2002 Escape with the 6 cylinder, the engine is peppy but it can labor sometimes when going up hills. (I chalk that up to engine age.)

My sister has a 2012 Escape with a 6 cylinder, it is loaded with almost all of the options. We drove it from Chicago to WDW last May, fully loaded with my DD's stuff for her 7 months in the Disney College program. The car drove great both loaded with stuff on the way down and fairly empty on the way back. We averaged about 24 MPG fully loaded and 27 MPG on the way back. No problems whatsoever driving through the winding hills of Tennesse between Nashville and Chattanooga.

I think she gets about 20 MPG in normal suburban driving here in Chicago. She loves her Escape. I love mine too. It has been a work horse for us and still runs great at 9 years with 85,000 miles.

 

[Kimber]

We have a 2005 Escape, fairly loaded and drive all across the mnts in Pa and are very glad for the 6. It has gone to Disney twice. I think we average around 24 or so highway for long trips loaded down, so not bad for the car. I do not think there could be near enough power in a 4 to only improve mileage a bit. Side note, I want to replace my Escape with a new one, but since I am only at 60,000 not for a bit, and when the 2013 pics came out I almost want to do it now. Hopefully that will only last a year or so as I would not buy that ugly new model either!

 

[mlclements]

My husband actually builds the ford escape in M0. He says get an ecoboost. It is a turbo charged 4 cylinder with more horsepower than the 6 cylinder and gets better gas mileage than a standard 4 cylinder. This is something new on the escape for 2012.

 

[pk1959]

We have a 2005 Escape, fairly loaded and drive all across the mnts in Pa and are very glad for the 6. It has gone to Disney twice. I think we average around 24 or so highway for long trips loaded down, so not bad for the car. I do not think there could be near enough power in a 4 to only improve mileage a bit. Side note, I want to replace my Escape with a new one, but since I am only at 60,000 not for a bit, and when the 2013 pics came out I almost want to do it now. Hopefully that will only last a year or so as I would not buy that ugly new model either!

Yep, pics of the 2013 made us decide to do it NOW. The salesman said that it would only be 1 or 2 mpg difference, so we figured we probably would go with the 6 cylinder. It's only an $1100.00 difference in price between the two engines. Even when we get to test drive one, we really don't have any hilly terrain to test it on. Pretty flat where we live, so we don't know if we would be able to tell if it was sluggish or not. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[pk1959]

My husband actually builds the ford escape in M0. He says get an ecoboost. It is a turbo charged 4 cylinder with more horsepower than the 6 cylinder and gets better gas mileage than a standard 4 cylinder. This is something new on the escape for 2012.

Great!!! We have talked to several different dealers and none of them has even mentioned this engine as an option??? I don't know if it is to late to check into this or not.

 

[Disneychix]

I had an 05 Escape 6 cylinder. I could never have gotten by with a 4cyl. It would be too loud and too slow.
It got decent gas mileage. Our other car was an Explorer and the gas usage was huge between the two-the Escape used much less.

 

[JB2K]

Until earlier, this year, I had the Mazda Tribute (very similar to the Escape and also built at Ford's Kansas City, MO assembly plant) as a V-6. The mileage you (OP) speak of is accurate to what I experienced.

However, here are some things to consider -- if your plans are to use this as a "mom-mobile" and tool-around town (or on long drives to WDW), you should do OK with the 4. If you need that "extra power" for hilly terrain (such as those found in West Virginia), or if you have plans to use this as a towing vehicle, then you'll do better with the 6.

As for the vehicle itself, I loved it -- it was totaled way too soon in an accident.

 

[JCMHutch]

I have a 2008 Escape in the 4 and have found that it does get the mileage it claims. I do a mix of city & highway. I have never had an issue with pick-up - then again I have a manual transmission and I don't tow anything. It's been a very good car and as of now, I plan on getting another one when I decide to replace it (in about 5 years!).

 

[monarchsfan16]

I got a 4 cylinder 2011 Escape in August, and I'm happy with it. Granted, I was driving a (6 cylinder) 1997 Explorer with 172,000 miles on it prior to that, so I don't have much to compare it to (my new car has MUCH more pep), but I'm still very happy with it. I drive a stretch of VERY hilly highway everyday for work. Literally, in 7 miles I can go from seeing NO snow on the ground, to being in a winter wonderland, because of the elevation change. Gas mileage was very important to me, because I drive a lot of miles, but performance on hills was huge too. I have no complaints; my car has plenty of pep and can get up and go just fine. I average about 24-25mpg on the highway, but I usually have the cruise set at 75 mph. If I drop down to 55-65mph, I get around 26 or 27mpg. The one extra mile isn't worth it with the amount of time I spend in my car I will say that I don't tow anything. If I was using my car for towing, I'd get a 6 cylinder, but honestly, if I was towing, I'd buy a truck instead. The 4 cylinder suits my needs perfectly (and I've put almost 8000 miles on it, in the time I've owned it).

 

[bookgirl]

Both of mine have been 6 cyl. For it's size I just couldn't see going down to a 4. I've driven a few larger vehicles that are 4's and hated them, so much so that I've avoided owning any vehicle car or suv that is a 4.

My 2001 and my current 2010 both got milage in the low (to mid on Hwy) 20's so as far as gas milage, a smaller engine was not worth the lack of power.

 

[mrsklamc]

I have a 2008 Escape in the 4 and have found that it does get the mileage it claims. I do a mix of city & highway. I have never had an issue with pick-up - then again I have a manual transmission and I don't tow anything. It's been a very good car and as of now, I plan on getting another one when I decide to replace it (in about 5 years!).

Sadly unless Ford changes future models it won't be available. The 2013 "Escape" is actually a renaming of an ugly vehicle they've been selling in Europe.

 

[marius97]

Get the 6!!!!! We have the 2010 in a 4 cyl. Love the car, hate the engine. You push on the gas and feel like nothing happens. I always think of the Flintstones when I drive that car. DW drives that, mostly constant country road driving at 60 MPH. She gets a solid 28 MPG.

 

[gardengalB4]

I have a 2008 Escape in the 4 and have found that it does get the mileage it claims. I do a mix of city & highway. I have never had an issue with pick-up.

I have to agree with This.

 

[mrodgers]

Get the 6!!!!! We have the 2010 in a 4 cyl. Love the car, hate the engine. You push on the gas and feel like nothing happens. I always think of the Flintstones when I drive that car. DW drives that, mostly constant country road driving at 60 MPH. She gets a solid 28 MPG.

That's how our 2006 Tribute V6 feels like. You give throttle and it does nothing. West Virginia was mentioned, I spent half of West Virginia on the turnpike and I-79 in 2nd gear struggling to hold 50-60 mph.

I think the previous "redesign" in 2008 gave the Escape a different motor and transmission. I actually think the problem with my 2006 is the transmission rather than the motor. 1st and 2nd gear is goes like mad, then as soon as it hits 3rd gear, it falls flat on it's face.

My wife drove it exclusively for about 3 years just putting to the grocery store and the kid's doctor appointments. The 2006 era EPA I think was 16 city and 21 highway. She averaged about 18-19 mpg (out in the country, mostly hilly half hour highway runs). When she started working and driving every day, her driving became far more aggressive and far more faster in speed and she now averages 21-22 mpg.

Every car I have ever driven I drive aggressively and I average above the highway rating. I'm currently driving a turbocharged VW Jetta that specs 28 highway and I average 29 or above.

A lot has to do with how you drive, especially in a hilly and mountainous area. You drive more aggressive and faster and the car doesn't struggle as much on the uphills and runs more efficient.

I wouldn't take another Escape/Tribute, or even another Ford product if you paid me though. The normal maintenance comes about 4 times quicker than my previous 20 year experience of driving Japanese cars. I'll be going back to better quality used Japanese cars for the same price than going with new Ford vehicles when the time comes (or a VW as I do love my Jetta.)

 

[goofyredraider]

My husband's civilian job is selling Fords (has been for 13+ years). He said definitely the 6.

 

[pk1959]

Get the 6!!!!! We have the 2010 in a 4 cyl. Love the car, hate the engine. You push on the gas and feel like nothing happens. I always think of the Flintstones when I drive that car. DW drives that, mostly constant country road driving at 60 MPH. She gets a solid 28 MPG.

This literally made me LOL!! The Flinstones comment!! Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts. For the $1,100.00 extra and probably a bit less gas mileage, I think we should go for the 6 cylinder. Don't want to regret down the road not having enough power. We keep our vehicles a
l-o-n-g time. We have a 95 Jeep Wrangler with only 53,000 miles on it (4 cylinder-talk about push on the gas pedal and go nowhere!!!) that we just bum around in and a 2001 Ford F-150 Supercrew 4X4 that we will keep and drive in winter. The gas mileage on the truck is not very good, which we have been driving for 11 years, so I guess that is why I am thinking so hard about the gas mileage factor. I appreciate everyone weighing in with their experiences.

 

[pk1959]

I had an 05 Escape 6 cylinder. I could never have gotten by with a 4cyl. It would be too loud and too slow.
It got decent gas mileage. Our other car was an Explorer and the gas usage was huge between the two-the Escape used much less.

The salesman did mention that the 6 cylinder would be a quieter ride and also much smoother. I thought it was interesting that you also mentioned the noise level. I am just happy that so far nobody has posted that they have an Escape and HATE IT!!

 

[mrodgers]

I am just happy that so far nobody has posted that they have an Escape and HATE IT!!

I wouldn't take another Escape/Tribute, or even another Ford product if you paid me though.

I figured my statement there pretty much says "I hate it". The Escape is a piece of junk. I have more money in 5 years and 90,000 miles in "normal" maintenance than I've had in all cost for 15 years, 4 Toyotas, 1 Nissan, and 1 very short owned Honda with a combined total of about 500,000 miles.

I do my own maintenance and only once with the Escape (actually Mazda Tribute, but same car) had I ever been in a mechanics garage because I didn't want to tear the suspension all apart for another problem after just putting it back together the previous week. I've replaced clutches, headgaskets, all maintenance and 1 single actual repair on one of the Toyotas and still don't have as much money into them as I have in my Escape with just a mere 90,000 miles.

I typically drive vehicles to at least 150,000, 3 of them were past 175,000.