Yep, Ford still offers the 1.6 liter Ecoboost both in FWD and AWD.
The issues with the 1.6 liter seems to be mostly with the 2013 and earlier 2014 Ford Escapes. I'm pretty sure by now Ford has seen most of the errors and have fixed them. In fact I just did a quick on websites like cars.com and motortrend.com and there has yet to be any recalls on the 2015 Escape models, so far so good I guess.
Plus don't forget you also get a warranty with the car so you'll always have that as a back up.
Since I've joined the page last year I've been seeing less and less complaints about the 1.6 liter engine. Even the Ford Fiesta ST forums, which also uses the same powerplant, seems to be noticing the same thing as well.
Thanks! I had a feeling from what I was reading that the issues with the 1.6 seems to have been fixed.
I read Consumer Reports and saw they gave the Escape the black circle for reliability but when looking further at the score and everything was a white circle (average) or better for this generation of Escape. The only black circle I saw was for the audio system which I'm assuming is people not knowing how to use MyFord Touch or the glitches it comes with.
Lately, I take what Consumer Reports says about cars with a grain of salt. They love Subaru but I've had two with problems; not the head gaskets or oil consumption issue.
Plus, where I live I can easily see 10+ Escapes a day and if it was that unreliable, many people wouldn't keep buying/leasing them if they had issues.
We have a 2014 SE with the 1.6 EB, and my research agrees with yours and Hitokiri's above. If you haven't test driven one yet, be sure to check out Sport mode (S on the shift pattern) for city/suburban driving. It made a very noticeable difference on ours...much increased responsiveness
I sat in the Escape Titanium at the NY Auto Show and was instantly comfortable in it but of course I was in the loaded $40,000 model. Going back to reality my wife and I would purchase the base SE 1.6 4WD at 0% for 60 months. When looking at TrueCar it would only be an extra $50/month compared to what we pay for the Fit now so it seems like a no brainer cost wise plus our insurance would go down a considerable amount when removing the Fit and adding the Escape. Just have to drive one now. The #1 dealer for NYS is actually 10 minutes from the house so my obvious thought is to go there first.
My hope is that there will be even better deals down the pipeline since the '16 will be the mid cycle refresh. I'm also adamant against CVTs after having one in my '11 Legacy.
Nice to see you doing your research, I am sure engine wise you will be really happy with both available engines. I talked to a friend who has the 1.6T and he has had zero concerns, he is so happy that he is going to trade in once his lease is over in a few months and pick up another model same engine.
I have also read about some 1.6T concerns early in production (2013), seems to be solved and I wouldn't have any hesitation in choosing that now.
I am looking at the 2.0T since I generally always go for the higher HP model, especially when the difference in fuel economy is extremely minimal as it is in this case. The other item I like is the 2.0T engine has a timing chain versus the timing belt in the 1.6T, not a big concern at all.
Good luck in your research, Ford has done a tremendous job and I am certainly impressed knowing the lineage of the Escape line.
After speaking with the Mrs., it's been narrowed down to the Escape or the RAV4. We are going to test drive both in a couple weeks. Based on the insurance rates and available interest rates, we have narrowed it down to those cars.
We both like the Escape but for whatever reason we don't like it, we want to have a backup. I considered the Forester for a short while but like I've said, I've had two Subarus in the past that gave me some problems.
Have no need for towing. Just needs to fit my daughter's giant car seat and have a large enough cargo area to load stuff in it with the family. Also, AWD is a must especially with the hills of Staten Island.
The Escape is primarily my wifes car. I am 6'3" and have two forward facing car seats in the back. My kids (age 4 1/2 and 2 1/2) have room with me in the drivers or passenger seat.
Ah. okay. I would agree with Hitokiri, the first 2 years, the 1.6 had tons of issues. Now days, it seems to be ironed out. Funny thing though, they are putting a NEW 2.0 in the cars now....so they've already created a new 2.0 but still use the same 1.6...
I suppose the paint, mmm I can't think of many common issues. There are the random ones, but warranty should cover those. Make sure the features, like power lift gate, etc work.
I have a 2015 2.0 AWD and the radiator fans 70% of the time squeal at shut down, but I haven't brought it in yet. Only issue I've had so far.
Ok---I'll fourth the recommendation. If you even have an inkling that the 1.6 will be underpowered, I'd stay away from the RAV4 then. While I think the RAV4 is a great vehicle overall, it's just another grocery getter appliance. There is no fun factor in driving it, and I actually found the handling to be very safe and predictable, the Escape has much better brake feel, as well as much more responsive steering. Acceleration is where the Escape shines between the two. If the best fuel economy is your main priority, just buy the RAV4 and skip the Escape test drives. If you are willing to sacrifice a bit of fuel economy for overall handling and performance, then skip the Rav tests and buy the Escape. I was fortunate to drive an Escape 2.0L for a week in Florida for a rental car. So glad I did. Ended up buying a 2.0L SE after an (un)fortunate accident with our Jeep Compass. No one injured when the Compass totaled, but glad to be rid of it (and have GAP pay off the loan).
Anyone recommend a dealer? The plan was to go to DANA Motors in Staten Island. According to Dealer Rater, DANA is #1 for NYS. I'm willing to go as far as Queens or about 40 minutes or so into NJ.
Here's another vote for taking the drive to Flemington. Very easy to get there. As mentioned, very easy to compare a lot of vehicles. Lived in NJ from 1986 - 2003 and used to go there for VW and Mitsubishi service and purchases.