Ford Escape vs. Toyota RAV 4 (1 Viewer)

[Drew Bethel]

My wife's old beat up 1992 Chevy S10 is gradually reaching the end of it's useful life so we are trying to think ahead for a new vehicle.

Which one would you select and why?

Some things that are important to us:

- Safety, fuel efficiency, durability

- Space: we don't have kids yet but hope to and the near future

- Nice ride

- Reliability

 

[BrianW]

I'd get the Rav4. It has the highest mileage in its class, lots of room, good visibility, nice ride, and legendary Toyota reliability.

But I must confess, I know next to nothing about the Ford Focus, so I'm unable to compare the two very well.

 

[DaveGTP]

Drew, if you're looking at safety: there were a lot of recalls on the Early models of the Focus. A lot for scary sounding stuff like Engine compartment fires and wheels falling off. Maybe they're better now. See this article @ autosafety.org:
http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?did=80&scid=51

On the active side of things, by all accounts, Focuses have very good handling (good for emergency manuevers). Personally, the Toyota sounds like a better bet.

 

[Mike Broadman]

I bought an early model Focus (2000, ZX3 hatchback). There were recalls, but they were no big deal. I have 55,000 miles on it and the only problems I had were the usual wear-and-tear stuff and once the ignition was jammed.

 

[Bry_DD]

I'll vote for the Rav4 cuz of the Toyota reliablity.

 

[David Preston]

Another vote for the Toyota. Is there a max price you want to pay for a car? Probably can get a few more suggestions if had a price range or are these the only two you are looking at?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The Honda CRV also fits into this class of vehicle. Both Honda and Toyota make very reliable products.

 

[Drew Bethel]

We'd like to keep it

 

[Tony Whalen]

I'd also vote for the Rav4, but then again, I have a biased opinion, as I *just* bought one a couple of months ago. Great little vehicle, and it hold a surprising amount of cargo. And that whole "Toyota-reliability" thing is a good point, not to mention resale value.

 

[David-S]

have you looked at the toyo matrix/pontiac vibe?

It's got the hatch of the focus going, but toyo/gm (i like them better than ford)

(I think the vibe looks better than the matrix)

 

[Kevin Farley]

I'd say look into the Golf as well... yummy with the turbo or the Jetta wagon? Yaay! (they're a bit pricier though..)

 

[Jason Tracewell]

I have driven both cars (work for a auto group) and own both a Ford & Toyota...

The Rav4 is pretty nice.. I considered one, but once I got in, I felt cramped (as I do in our Corolla as well) in the drivers seat.. I am 6' and am always feeling like I need to push the seat back, but it is already as far back as it can go... Other than that, it's a pretty nice little SUV... It handles nice, very reliable and fuel efficient..

The Focus is a very nice ride as well... It's more roomy in the drivers area (which a lot of the Fords are) and there is the 4-door or hatchback versions of the car... The are pretty good on gas (has nice pick-up) as well and the only bad thing on it would be the reliability... Not when you first get it, but down the road... Toyotas beat it there...

So really it comes down to style and what you prefer... Either one will get you where you want to go and both are pretty nice.. Personally, I'd get the Focus, just for the extra leg room..

-Jay

 

[Bob Graz]

The Focus is a fine car plagued by reliability problems. Don't know how the 2003's are doing. From a pure reliability perspective the better choice would be the Rav 4.

 

[Drew Bethel]

Oh, head/leg room is also importnat. I'm 6' 3" and my wife is 6'.

I also like that the Focus comes with a V6.

Has there been any head-to-head reviews by any of mags.

 

[James_Kiang]

We've got a 2000 Focus Sony Limited Edition. All that means is it was the SE model with the upgraded ZETEC engine (still 4 cylinder, the 6 cyl is new - EDIT: that's wrong, I was thinking the new SVT did come 6 cyl but it's 4), subwoofer, and nicer stereo. It ran us just over 20k IIRC. Let me tell you, if I could reverse that decision I would. Yes, there have been at least 5 recall notices, though for the most part those have been minor things (a couple potential exceptions were already mentioned). Thing is, the brakes were worn so bad after ~15k miles that the discs and pads needed replacing (I don't think that was my fault, but I'll admit to it being possible). The transmission needed to be replaced at around 20k. The car started to overheat a while back when idling and it took them a little while to figure that one out. I'm still not completely satisfied with those results - I started driving without the A/C on and on longer drives it would started to overheat again when sitting. A guy at the dealer told me that's because the cooling fan doesn't come on until it reaches a certain temp if the A/C is off, whereas if the A/C is on the fan is always going. That leads me to the next thing - with the A/C on I'm lucky to get 20 mpg. The latest thing that has happened is that a couple of times now, just after starting the car and starting to drive, it seems to stall out (mine is automatic), a couple warning lights come on (the multipurpose one, the brake, and the abs one), only to then turn off and the car goes back to normal. I took it to the dealer and they could find nothing wrong - the computer did not store any warnings and they could not duplicate those effects. That's ok - I was able to get it to happen again a couple weeks later (just a few days ago). All this and I have less than 34,000 mniles on the car.

EDIT: About leg/head room - the front of the car should be fine, but the back seat does seem a bit cramped.

 

[Tommy Ceez]

You can get a Hyundai Santa Fe for under $25000 hooked. My GF just bought one and im kinda impressed. Add the 10/100,000 powertrain and 6/60,000 bumper to bumper, and 5/unlimited roadside assistance and Im VERY impressed. Most reviews Ive read (I believe in overreading reviews before purchases)have the Santa Fe right up with the Rav4 and CRV.

 

[Malcolm R]

I don't know as you'd find a true head-to-head, as they seem to be from different classes? (i.e. SUV vs. compact car?)

But you could check out the April issue of Consumer Reports. They provide assessments of all new vehicles (I was just browsing through it last night, as a matter of fact).

 

[Drew Bethel]

Hmmm, I just took a look online at a Consumer Reports head-to-head test, though it's a 2001 report here are the rating from best to worst:

RAV4
Subaru Forester S
Ford Escape XLT
Hundai Santa Fe GLS
Mazda Tribute LX V6
Honda CRV EX
Suzuki Grand Vitara JLX+
Chevrolet Tracker
Nissan Xterra
Kia Sportage

 

[Vincent_S]

quote:
We'd like to keep it

 

[Steve Schaffer]

AFAIK the Focus is not available with a V6, are you sure that's the Ford you've been looking at?

The Ford most comparable to the RAV-4 would be the Escape, a car-based compact SUV with engineering shared with the Mazda Tribute. This is available with a V6, but has to be because the 4 cyl version is a dog.

The Focus is a Corolla/Civic class sedan/hatchback/wagon and only comes with one of 2 different 2 liter 4 cylinder engines.


If you do intend to keep the vehicle longer than the warranty period and do care about resale, get the RAV-4 or Honda CRV.