Did anyone here drive a 2013+ Escape before buying their Forester? Curious what swung the pendulum to the Subie.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Forester v. Escape
DAC17
21 - 31 of 31 Posts
The peppiness of the engines (drove the 1.6L ecoboost Escape vs. 2.5L Forester) was similar. But the visibility of the Escape was poor and the backseat legroom (with front seat all the way back, I'm 6'4") was terrible, so those were the two key differences. Other aspects - handling, ride, sound system, etc. seemed in the same ballpark.
oh man, that is pathetic
A friend was considering an Escape Titanium with the 2.0L ecoboost. Today he came to pick up my Forester with me and drove an XT Touring and said he liked it better. More fun to drive and more solid feel were his reasons.
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Loaner Test Drive
Hi All-
I'm currently in the hunt for a replacement to my 2003 Honda Element AWD MT.
I'm looking at the Forester Premium (CVT), Ford Escape 1.6 AWD (SE) and Honda CRV AWD.
I got a chance to take a Loaner Forester and Escape out back to back and thought I'd share what I found. I was able to duplicate the same ~100 mile loop of mixed city, suburb, and Highway/Country driving on the same day. Both cars were not broke in: 40 miles on the Ford, 7 miles on the Subaru. WNY temps were in the upper 20's, winter blend fuel, though the Subaru had a lot more wind to contend with.
Ford Escape
I really liked the way the Escape drove and road. It was a well connected feel that was great around the corners and pretty smooth, yet connected on the highway. Roads are pretty awful around here with a lot of upheaval from the thaw/cold cycles this winter, but the Escape was well composed and a pleasure to drive. The engine was pretty zippy but not easy to keep in an efficient range. Corners were fun with a bit of body roll when pushed hard. I really liked the way the car handled. I've never been a fan of automatic transmission but the Escape's was pretty good for an auto.
The Escape had very little wind noise and was quite quiet up front. The rear tires produced more noise and the exhaust had a distinctive but not awful sound.
The cockpit was comfortable and the seats gave pretty good support. The side supports on the seats helped hold me in the seat when attacking corners aggressively. It had more of a tight feel to it and the quality of the materials was pretty nice. It felt like the car wrapped around me nicely.
Controls were ok, but the center dash placement was a confusing mess. It had the Mytouch console, which I wouldn't get, but the physical buttons weren't well though out.
I got a measured 25.032 MPG (measured), with the trip computer showing 25.8 MPG, which is a bit disappointing considering I was a Eco-superstar according to the digital Eco meter. I kept the speeds to the speed limit and overall drove smoothly with minimal gas-brake transitions for both rounds. Considering it's being broke in, temps were cool, and the gas is the winter blend the MPGs weren't terrible, but I could tell that in my normal work commute traffic (30-40 mph city-suburb streets with occasional red lights) it would be hard to keep the motor from spooling up the turbo.
Subaru Forester.
The seats weren't nearly as good a fit for me. They weren't bad-- I'd rate them as adequate, but took quite a bit of adjusting to get them fairly comfortable. They didn't hold me in as well as the more bucket-like seats in the Ford, but they weren't terrible.
Controls were a bit better placed than the Ford's center console, but it was harder to get my phone hooked up and playing music and making calls. Once it worked it was decent but lacked some capabilities of the Escape. Both have much nicer connectivity than my Escape.
Also, I really didn't care for the limited climate control control settings. The fan had 4 speeds. 1 was quiet, 2-4 were pretty noisy. The temperature dial didn't have a large number of clicks to adjust with either-- I'd prefer a bit more variations in the selections.
The Forester road pretty good but not quite as smooth as the Ford. It's a bit .. Jouncy?
Not bad though, just more off-roady than sporty. Steering wasn't quite as connected-feeling as the Escape, but the car responded well to more aggressive cornering. The CVT effect is a bit different, but seemed to work really well. In my regular commute city-suburb driving conditions the CVT did a good job at keeping the RPMs at a minimum and the estimated MPG rating high-- I think it would get significantly better mileage than the Escape for my daily drive.
The Forester faced a pretty stiff (25-40 mph) headwind on the flat part of the trip out, but still managed a 26.40 MPG (Calculated) and 27.3 computer readout. I'd guess they would be within 1-2 mpg for easy 55-65 mph highways, but the Forester and it's CVT would probably do 4-5 mpg better in my daily commute mode.
The cockpit in the Forester was a totally different feel than the Escape. It felt more open, which wasn't necessarily better or worse. It was a bit odd- I felt like I was sitting up higher, but the car felt lower. It was fairly quiet with perhaps a bit less road noise and a little more wind noise than the Escape.
While I think the sight lines on the Escape are quite good, the outward visibility in the Forester is absolutely amazing. I had the Forester overnight and in the AM the snow picked up and visibility was reduced, which made me appreciate the easy clear view of the outside world.
With the fresh snow I took an extra loop and checked out the hard packed roads of a county park. Although the all-season tires are pretty poor in the snow, the AWD system of the Subaru seems to live up to it's reputation. I tried stop-goes, corner drift, etc.. with and without traction control and it was quite fun. Again, traction on the stock tires was pretty lousy compared to the well worn winter tires on my Element, but the car really tried to get what it could out of them.
In the rutted hard pack the Suspension of the Forester really came into it's own. It felt really solid and well planted when the going got a bit tough. I think it's a fair trade off for a little less refined road manners.
So, where the heck am I at in my shopping decision process?
Plus/Minus
Ford
+ Road handling, cozy cockpit, really nice road ride, expect the AWD to be good, phone-connectivity functionality, decent shifting auto, sharp looks! 2000 lb towing.
- MPGs, 2013 recall issues, low reliability prediction from sites like Edmunds (engine overheating/fires?) Turbo repair costs within 10 years?? (it's a little motor working hard!)
Subaru
+ Off-road handling, AWD is the bomb, amazing view of outside, mostly better interior layout, acres of moonroof, heated seats/mirrors, better MPGs, CVT works well (in snow too!), safety ratings, better reliability expected, subdued but decent looking
- So-so ride on rougher roads, seats are so so, limited bluetooth capabilities, climate control adjustment, oil burners?, CVT reliability/cost through 10 years??? 1500 lb towing.
Overall- I think I'm going to want to go with the Forester. Reliability is important to me, and I'm not sure the Ford is going to be there, even though I loved the drive and ride. I also think the Forester is going to be a lot of fun in my "country mode" of snowmobiling, ATVing, camping, and snow drift busting.
Since the 2015 Forester is expected to be announced by mid-late March I'm going to wait to see if they improve and update the Premium's audio connectivity and function. I'd hate to be stuck with some limitations that affect me, however slightly, for the lack of patience. Plus, I should be able to order exactly what I want- maybe there will be a new darker green color option for 2015!
Thanks for listening!
Scott
PS-- If you're torn between a couple choices of car I would highly recommend asking (nicely) if you could use a loaner- especially if you can arrange a back-to-back comparison. It was very helpful!
Hi All-
I'm currently in the hunt for a replacement to my 2003 Honda Element AWD MT.
I'm looking at the Forester Premium (CVT), Ford Escape 1.6 AWD (SE) and Honda CRV AWD.
I got a chance to take a Loaner Forester and Escape out back to back and thought I'd share what I found. I was able to duplicate the same ~100 mile loop of mixed city, suburb, and Highway/Country driving on the same day. Both cars were not broke in: 40 miles on the Ford, 7 miles on the Subaru. WNY temps were in the upper 20's, winter blend fuel, though the Subaru had a lot more wind to contend with.
Ford Escape
I really liked the way the Escape drove and road. It was a well connected feel that was great around the corners and pretty smooth, yet connected on the highway. Roads are pretty awful around here with a lot of upheaval from the thaw/cold cycles this winter, but the Escape was well composed and a pleasure to drive. The engine was pretty zippy but not easy to keep in an efficient range. Corners were fun with a bit of body roll when pushed hard. I really liked the way the car handled. I've never been a fan of automatic transmission but the Escape's was pretty good for an auto.
The Escape had very little wind noise and was quite quiet up front. The rear tires produced more noise and the exhaust had a distinctive but not awful sound.
The cockpit was comfortable and the seats gave pretty good support. The side supports on the seats helped hold me in the seat when attacking corners aggressively. It had more of a tight feel to it and the quality of the materials was pretty nice. It felt like the car wrapped around me nicely.
Controls were ok, but the center dash placement was a confusing mess. It had the Mytouch console, which I wouldn't get, but the physical buttons weren't well though out.
I got a measured 25.032 MPG (measured), with the trip computer showing 25.8 MPG, which is a bit disappointing considering I was a Eco-superstar according to the digital Eco meter. I kept the speeds to the speed limit and overall drove smoothly with minimal gas-brake transitions for both rounds. Considering it's being broke in, temps were cool, and the gas is the winter blend the MPGs weren't terrible, but I could tell that in my normal work commute traffic (30-40 mph city-suburb streets with occasional red lights) it would be hard to keep the motor from spooling up the turbo.
Subaru Forester.
The seats weren't nearly as good a fit for me. They weren't bad-- I'd rate them as adequate, but took quite a bit of adjusting to get them fairly comfortable. They didn't hold me in as well as the more bucket-like seats in the Ford, but they weren't terrible.
Controls were a bit better placed than the Ford's center console, but it was harder to get my phone hooked up and playing music and making calls. Once it worked it was decent but lacked some capabilities of the Escape. Both have much nicer connectivity than my Escape.
Also, I really didn't care for the limited climate control control settings. The fan had 4 speeds. 1 was quiet, 2-4 were pretty noisy. The temperature dial didn't have a large number of clicks to adjust with either-- I'd prefer a bit more variations in the selections.
The Forester road pretty good but not quite as smooth as the Ford. It's a bit .. Jouncy?
Not bad though, just more off-roady than sporty. Steering wasn't quite as connected-feeling as the Escape, but the car responded well to more aggressive cornering. The CVT effect is a bit different, but seemed to work really well. In my regular commute city-suburb driving conditions the CVT did a good job at keeping the RPMs at a minimum and the estimated MPG rating high-- I think it would get significantly better mileage than the Escape for my daily drive.
The Forester faced a pretty stiff (25-40 mph) headwind on the flat part of the trip out, but still managed a 26.40 MPG (Calculated) and 27.3 computer readout. I'd guess they would be within 1-2 mpg for easy 55-65 mph highways, but the Forester and it's CVT would probably do 4-5 mpg better in my daily commute mode.
The cockpit in the Forester was a totally different feel than the Escape. It felt more open, which wasn't necessarily better or worse. It was a bit odd- I felt like I was sitting up higher, but the car felt lower. It was fairly quiet with perhaps a bit less road noise and a little more wind noise than the Escape.
While I think the sight lines on the Escape are quite good, the outward visibility in the Forester is absolutely amazing. I had the Forester overnight and in the AM the snow picked up and visibility was reduced, which made me appreciate the easy clear view of the outside world.
With the fresh snow I took an extra loop and checked out the hard packed roads of a county park. Although the all-season tires are pretty poor in the snow, the AWD system of the Subaru seems to live up to it's reputation. I tried stop-goes, corner drift, etc.. with and without traction control and it was quite fun. Again, traction on the stock tires was pretty lousy compared to the well worn winter tires on my Element, but the car really tried to get what it could out of them.
In the rutted hard pack the Suspension of the Forester really came into it's own. It felt really solid and well planted when the going got a bit tough. I think it's a fair trade off for a little less refined road manners.
So, where the heck am I at in my shopping decision process?
Plus/Minus
Ford
+ Road handling, cozy cockpit, really nice road ride, expect the AWD to be good, phone-connectivity functionality, decent shifting auto, sharp looks! 2000 lb towing.
- MPGs, 2013 recall issues, low reliability prediction from sites like Edmunds (engine overheating/fires?) Turbo repair costs within 10 years?? (it's a little motor working hard!)
Subaru
+ Off-road handling, AWD is the bomb, amazing view of outside, mostly better interior layout, acres of moonroof, heated seats/mirrors, better MPGs, CVT works well (in snow too!), safety ratings, better reliability expected, subdued but decent looking
- So-so ride on rougher roads, seats are so so, limited bluetooth capabilities, climate control adjustment, oil burners?, CVT reliability/cost through 10 years??? 1500 lb towing.
Overall- I think I'm going to want to go with the Forester. Reliability is important to me, and I'm not sure the Ford is going to be there, even though I loved the drive and ride. I also think the Forester is going to be a lot of fun in my "country mode" of snowmobiling, ATVing, camping, and snow drift busting.
Since the 2015 Forester is expected to be announced by mid-late March I'm going to wait to see if they improve and update the Premium's audio connectivity and function. I'd hate to be stuck with some limitations that affect me, however slightly, for the lack of patience. Plus, I should be able to order exactly what I want- maybe there will be a new darker green color option for 2015!
Thanks for listening!
Scott
PS-- If you're torn between a couple choices of car I would highly recommend asking (nicely) if you could use a loaner- especially if you can arrange a back-to-back comparison. It was very helpful!
Nice and informative write-up. Well done. While not relevant to this specific thread are you going to do some additional road tests like the CRV and RAV , . , maybe even an Equinox or some of the Korean competitors?
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Ford forums? Too much Slovak chewin to by typing on forums.
Who would ever drive a ford, does the escape have thier "revolutionary" 4 valves per cylinder?
Thank you for the excellent review, Scott! Sounds like you are doing very thorough research and will make a well educated decision.
Thanks. I test drove a 2014 CRV and my girlfriend has the previous version, so I have a good idea of what that's about. The are a nicely equipped car that I have no doubt would be reliable and... adequate. It was fairly comfortable, had an nice but slightly soft ride, and is flexible in the interior layout. The AWD is a bit weak but adequate for helping get through snowy conditions. I am really happy with how my Honda had performed for me. And yet, the CRV is down the list as my safety pick-- it's just a bit... boring? Uninteresting? I'm not sure-- cars are funny that way.
The Equinox doesn't look like it will get the MPG and isn't a standout in any area I'm looking at. It's a nice looking car, IMO. Plus, as my dad worked at the Ford plant we were a Ford family (mostly) and it's hard to think of the word Chevy without the word "Junk" reflexively coming into my head, even though they do make some nice vehicles.
The Kias and Hyundais also don't seem to get the fuel efficiency I'm looking for, and are generally rated just average for reliability. The warranties are great though. I had my sister's Kia Optima in my driveway for a few years and thought the motor had good power and the car was fine, but the looks/design of most of the ones I've looked at don't really "speak to me". My friends have a Sorrento and like it all right.
I sat in the RAV at a recent auto show (as well as the Korean models) and just did not like the outer view or the overall fit of the cockpit. The outer view of the the Kia/Hundai didn't appeal to me from the "in the seat" position either, but weren't as bad as the RAV.
I really liked the way the Jeep Cherokee felt inside, and I love the look of it in person. The mileage is a bit less, but like the Escape it has better towing capacity than most others. (need to update original assessment to include towing) However, after reading about some of the issues they are having with the transmissions and electronics I would definitely wait a couple years before buying this new platform.
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