The new Ford Escape, or the old one for that matter, and the Toyota FJ Cruiser don’t really have that much in common, and aren’t really comparable, but I decided to write about them in back-to-back blog entries anyway. I suppose the connection is that I drove them back-to-back. OK, they are both also SUVs, although visually as well as tactilely there is no comparison. They are different animals, and I believe would appeal to different people; but there you go.
First, the Escape. What they brought me was the top-of-the-line Escape, the all-new-for-2008 model, and one of nine, or 11, trims available. I say nine or 11 because the regular Escape comes in nine trims, ranging from the front-wheel drive XLS model, priced at $18,580 MSRP, up to this Limited four-wheel drive model, with an MSRP of $25,330. There are also two Hybrid models, one front-wheel drive and one four-wheel drive, with MSRPs of $25,075 and $26,825, respectively.
Oddly enough, when they brought this Limited four-wheel drive model, they brought me the sticker from the Hybrid, so I am kind of flying blind on the pricing. I know what the base price is, as stated above, and the Limited edition I know comes with a ton of extras as standard. But I really have no clue what the actual bottom line is. This is not that unusual for this time of year. This is, after all, a 2008 model and they aren’t quite to the dealers as I write, so they haven’t exactly developed full sticker pricing yet. The price sheet I got for the 2008 Hybrid wasn’t a complete sticker. Since my test-drive Escape Limited had satellite radio and navigation and was very nice, I am going to guess that the price approached $30,000 when all was said and done.
Read the full review at.
