2005 Ford Escape XLT

[Ferocious]

I love her dearly and she's awesome. I'm thinking about getting her one for Xmas.

I know she likes them and I even know what color she prefers.

 

[Wheatmaster]

what about the hybrid?

 

[rh71]

she should get a CRV or RAV4. These are the best mini-utes.

 

[Rogue]

You can probably find some awesome deals on an '04 Jeep Grand Cherokee since the '05 is a redesign and is hitting show rooms right now. I prefer the look of the Jeep to the Ford and well, I don't like Ford too much after owning one either.

 

[Zenmervolt]

I second the Hybrid idea. Much better mileage and pretty much identical performance, plus all the options are available on it that are available on the XLT I think.

ZV

 

[imported_Phil]

What, no pics? Linkage?

 

[Rage187]

They eat gas like nobody's business.

 

[sniperruff]

lucky for you i can provide you with a mini review... my friend took out a loaner for a couple of days... i didn't drive it but my friend really pushed it so here's my impressions:

first it was a 2004 XLT with a V6 and 4 wheel ABS

exterior-
it's a normal-looking SUV. nothing special here... looks like a mini explorer to me.

interior-
as expected, the interior is filled with plastics: the dash is hard plastic, and some part of the door panels are padded plastics, with some silver-colored plastic here and there. seating materials are nothing special, and the sides of the front seat cushion has these 2 weird bulges that irritates your arse (no i am not obese). the front passenger leg room is pretty good (with the seat back) but it's not smoothed out: you can feel a bulge here and there, should that make a difference...
the stereo is ok (it was a 5-CD changer), nothing special. no cassette.

mechanics-
the V6 gives out reasonable power- when you step on it. it definitely gives you enough power to pass 18-wheelers and such. the engine roars when you really push it, but the transmission is reasonably smooth.

ride-
the ride is quite smooth, and it didn't tilt as i expected it to when you go fast around a tight corner. it has a car-feel unlike larger SUV's. however wind noise is very noticeable, starting from about 30mph. the ABS provide pretty good stopping power.

fuel economy is labeled as 22/26. it was definitely below 20 since my friend likes to push his cars.

overall it's an ok car with nothing special. considering the price tag i'd look at other choices such as the forester, xterra, and maybe santa fe

MT review here

hope that helped. i just find the price tag for the XLT to be a little heavy, even though it is a reasonable car.