Before you drive the year/make/model of any car you're considering, speak with employees at the dealership about their typical gas mileage. Ford FALSELY advertises that this vehicle gets 22mpg in the city & 28mpg on the highway. I did a lot of research when I bought my new car and narrowed it down to the Subaru Forrester and the Ford Escape. The vehicles had similar specs as well as gas mileage. Because the advertised gas mileage of each vehicle was within 1 mpg of each other, I went with the Ford. Right off the lot, I only got 16mpg in the Escape. I touched base with the salesman a couple of times early in the life of this vehicle and he suggested that the car needed a few thousand miles on it to 'break in' the engine...and it did indeed improve after 5 or 6k miles. At the 10k mile service I once again asked about the mileage discrepancy and was told that "driving conditions affect performance and gas mileage." I think anyone who has been driving over 10 years, realizes that fact. I explained to them that for approximately 6 weeks prior to the scheduled maintenance appointment, I drove no faster than 55mph (very difficult on the freeway), slowed gradually, and started slowly. I drove that way for about 2000 miles...driving as if I had something in my car that would spill or fall over in order to test the theory that it would improve my gas mileage. However, it only improved by 1mpg. I discussed all of this with the people at the dealership and was eventually told by the manager (who also drives an Escape) that even he did not get the advertised gas mileage. Like me, he only gets about 22.4 mpg. I probably would have gone with the Subaru Forrester if I'd known there was such a large difference in gas mileage because it adds up quickly. The sales people at the dealership may choose to lie about getting the advertised gas mileage, but write their names down. They may be less inclined to lie if they know there's a chance that you could be holding them accountable. All that to say, DO NOT buy the Escape, if the 22-28 mpg is important to you.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Before you drive the year/make/model of any car you're considering, speak with employees at the dealership about their typical gas mileage. Ford FALSELY advertises that this vehicle gets 22mpg in the city & 28mpg on the highway. I did a lot of research when I bought my new car and narrowed it down to the Subaru Forrester and the Ford Escape. The vehicles had similar specs as well as gas mileage. Because the advertised gas mileage of each vehicle was within 1 mpg of each other, I went with the Ford. Right off the lot, I only got 16mpg in the Escape. I touched base with the salesman a couple of times early in the life of this vehicle and he suggested that the car needed a few thousand miles on it to 'break in' the engine...and it did indeed improve after 5 or 6k miles. At the 10k mile service I once again asked about the mileage discrepancy and was told that "driving conditions affect performance and gas mileage." I think anyone who has been driving over 10 years, realizes that fact. I explained to them that for approximately 6 weeks prior to the scheduled maintenance appointment, I drove no faster than 55mph (very difficult on the freeway), slowed gradually, and started slowly. I drove that way for about 2000 miles...driving as if I had something in my car that would spill or fall over in order to test the theory that it would improve my gas mileage. However, it only improved by 1mpg. I discussed all of this with the people at the dealership and was eventually told by the manager (who also drives an Escape) that even he did not get the advertised gas mileage. Like me, he only gets about 22.4 mpg. I probably would have gone with the Subaru Forrester if I'd known there was such a large difference in gas mileage because it adds up quickly. The sales people at the dealership may choose to lie about getting the advertised gas mileage, but write their names down. They may be less inclined to lie if they know there's a chance that you could be holding them accountable. All that to say, DO NOT buy the Escape, if the 22-28 mpg is important to you.
- Carrie Lynn M., Bloomfield, NY, US