Escape vs Maverick

[rev21jon]

Greetings Maverick enthusiasts

So I just happen to own a 2020 Ford Escape SE AWD with the 1.5 turbo. I currently have just over 36K on it. The only option I have on it is Copilot 360. I put weather tech mats and splash guards on it. I live in southern MI and have driven it to and through many other states on vacation. I didn't want this car AT ALL, I have a strong dislike of crossovers but when I totaled by Regal Turbo during heavy snow I had to take what was on the lot.
So here is my confession - The 1.5 turbo isn't performance minded however in sport mode it isn't a lame duck either. I was actually very surprised by this, I have never had any problems passing weather it be a huge truck and trailer or another car.....no problem at all.....period, full stop.
The car is very comfortable on long trips and I have taken several the longest one way drive was 14 hours straight. Storage for the trip was just enough for the 3 of us on a one week trip. We have had several heavy snow storms since I have had this and this little Escape just plows right through and doesn't flinch. We got dumped on one time the snow was light and fluffy yet crazy deep, deep enough that I had to use "DEEP SNOW MODE" and it was no joke, I was pushing snow going down our road until I got to a main road that was more driven over. Never ever flinched I couldn't believe it it was flipping crazy! My wife takes the same road to work that day in her Jeep 4x4 driving in the tracks left by other vehicles mind you and gets stuck twice.
That's when she started to covet the Escape. Long story short the Jeep from day one has been nothing short of a complete and utter disappointment at best and she is taking the Escape from me once the Maverick gets here. I was told weather I like it or not the Escape is now hers and she's even going to name it. So our opinion is the Ford Escape is a fantastic automobile and has been nothing but a pleasant surprise at every turn and gets very good mpg to boot. 31-35 mpg depending on temp, weather and terrain. Its my daily driver and a great one at that........it has won me over but its no Maverick pickup.

Sponsored

 

[Romac]

I can weigh in here because we had a 2020 Escape, 2021 Bronco Sport, and now the Mav. So I've had experience with all three on this platform.

The 2020 Escape and 2021 Bronco Sport were both fantastic, we sold both strictly taking advantage of the ridiculous carvana offers we got. The wife had the Escape, I had the BS.

We had about 30k miles on the Escape when we sold it. 1.5, fwd SE. I know the 1.5 gets a lot of hate in this thread, but its surprisingly good. Power is pretty instant - no it's not the 2.0 - but it's far from a slouch particularly in the Escape (the Bronco isn't nearly as sporty). We actually felt like power was particularly good in it for it's size. We loved the styling of the Escape, it was GREAT on gas. Literally loaded down with us and both our kids on trips to Disney it would get 35-37 mpg all day, and easily 30+ in our regular commutes. Sport mode was fun, the reclinable back seat is fantastic - wish more cars in the class had it. Particulary good for rear passenger room and giving the kids more comfort. Storage space was great, interior was fairly nice but the front seats were terrible. They're kind of flat and almost always felt uncomfortable to me and lower back would start to hurt on longer trips. The 1.5 and 8 speed are noisy, but the 8 speed seems to be noisy (rattles/clanks at low speed and turns) in all three vehicles. I feel like there was some pillar wind noise in the Escape but I could be mis remembering. General road noise wasn't bad though. Of the three the Escapes steering feels the most aggressive. Darty isn't how I would describe it on it's own, but compared to the Maverick and the BS it felt darty and athletic. It's by far the sportiest/funnest to drive of the three. No comparison here.

The Bronco Sport drove the 'biggest'. Even though it's really no taller than the Maverick ground clearance wise, the taller hood/fenders and safari roof really make it feel like a bigger vehicle than it is. The steering is much more truck like - yes, more truck like than even the Maverick. But the Bronco Sport is by far the quietest and nicest cabin to be in of the three in my opinion. It feels nicer than it should, the seats are fantastic, the safari roof line (slopes up in the rear) really opens up the feel of the cabin. It's a great place to be. It's the slowest of the three easily. The tuning is definitely not as aggressive, and it feels extremely planted on the road especially on the highway, but with the more truck like steering and taller feel it's not as 'fun' in the corners or on backroads. Gas mileage was the worst here too. I got usually 25/26 mpg in the BS 1.5 8 speed. I think the best I got on a Florida trip was around 28 - to be fair it was on some heavy KMC wheels/all terrains and had a roof rack. I miss my Bronco Sport. It's the red headed step child I feel like, but I think it easily wins the 'nicest place to spend your time' award for this platform.

The Maverick driving experience is somewhere in the middle of these two. The steering isn't as sharp or weighty as the Escape, but it's also not as 'truck' like as the BS. It feels somewhere in the middle of the road. I think it's overall length is more noticeable, but it feels much flatter in the corners than the BS, but again not as good as the Escape. The 2.0 is a well established commodity power wise. It's smooth, feels more refined than the 1.5 dragon, definitely quieter. It's the fastest of the three, that I had, but I imagine the 2.0 escape feels like a roomier hot hatch by comparison. I get great mpg in my Maverick though. 25-26 mixed driving, and it's easily getting 29-30mpg of mostly highway driving. This is 2.0 awd with 4k tow package also. I do use eco mode occasionally (which I never did on the other two, but gas being $5 a gallon has me hitting the switch). The Maverick, in my opinion, is not nearly as noisy as people make it sound. I've read some reviews where people make it seem like it's cheap and noisy as hell - I think a quick trip in an old Ranger or something would quickly remind people how quiet the Mav still is at the price point. That being said, it is noisier than the other two (general road noise). It rides well but maybe doesn't soak up bumps like the other two did. The seats are better than the Escape for sure, but not as good as the BS. I think something about the bottom cushion is different and feels a little smaller. I'm not a huge guy but not small, 6'0 and about 200lbs/athletic build. Something about the bottom seat cushion in the Mav feels just a bit too narrow to me, coming from the BS, but I can't quite figure out why. The Maverick interior panels definitely look the most interesting and have a very unique vibe that I like, but they are unquestionably the lowest quality of the three. Hard plastics everywhere.

Considering how they share platforms and even some parts commonality, they all three actually drive quite differently. I think the Escape is great, and really undervalued and underloved in the segment. I think it hit at a time where the bubbly crossover redesign didn't land well (when toyota made the Rav4 look more aggressively square for instance), and some competitors beat them in other areas so it just never made the splash it maybe could have, and even less so now with the Bronco Sport and Maverick getting all the love. I think the Escape is going to get pushed out of the segment at some point in the near future, but I would buy another in a heartbeat. I think there is a lot to like and it's a really good driver. I can only imagine that the same experience would be amplified with the 2.0/or awd/or hybrid models.

If you're taking the hybrids off the table and talking about the gas versions, the Escape in my eyes wins as far as road noise/driving dynamics and gas mileage. If you don't NEED the truck like capabilities of the Maverick or you don't WANT the truck like styling, I think you'd be very satisfied with the Escape. Never hurts to go give one a test drive!

 

[Bigsarge]

Looking for any comparisons between an Escape and Maverick.
I am interested in fuel economy, road noise and stability in high winds.
I see the Escape has 5 stars safety rating, what about the Maverick?

Thanks

I traded my 2018 Escape in on my 2022 Maverick Hybrid. I was happy with the Escape but oftentimes I needed the bed space to haul a few things. Love the 40+ mpg with the Maverick but was satisfied with the 32 hwy mpg with the Escape AWD. I also got $4k more for the Escape in trade than I paid for it nearly four years ago. The Escape, however, was a smoother ride. Maverick is kinda stiff but not bad for a truck.

 

[Area51BS]

The 1.5 in the Bronco Sport moves it along pretty nice. Even pulls a small boat with ease. We have an Outer Banks and a Maverick. Why not the BS with a 2.0?

 

[Zolutar]

To those bashing the 1.5L ecoboost, wifey has a 1.5L Bronco Sport OB....frankly it impresses me, its tourqey and decent go, especially in Sport mode. Cant complain about the fuel economy either I have the older 2L Escape and while the escape is livelier (and gas guzzlier), the Bronco holds its own. The older 4cyl 1.5L Escape I had with my company car...that sucked...no power, no speed..it just was lame.
Looking forward to my hybrid Mav. Frankly would have loved to go with the 2L ecoboost, but with gas prices and my driving habits these days....Hybrid is the better choice for me.

 

[NJ Pinelands]

Should read- Not cool VS Cool AF.

Air Force is very cool !!!

 

[unlimited]

Air Force is very cool !!!

Uhh, you took that wrong. Saying the Escape is not cool, not sure how you took it any other way. Oh wait, cool AF is like saying Cool as F@ck.

 

[Pickles]

Looking for any comparisons between an Escape and Maverick.
I am interested in fuel economy, road noise and stability in high winds.
I see the Escape has 5 stars safety rating, what about the Maverick?

Thanks

Why wouldnt you just look up their comparative mpg and safety ratings instead of reading all of our hypothetical comments lol how many people here do you think own both a maverick and an escape?

Sponsored