Ford Escape vs. Toyota RAV 4 (1 Viewer)

[NickSo]

I'd second the idea of checking out the Hyundai SantaFe... along with its building reputation of reliability, and having one of the best warranties in the business is really worth at least a trip to the dealership. For the price of a decently equipped Rav4 you could have (at least when we were looking at it a year or two back) a fully loaded (leather, tiptronic manumatic tranny, etc) Santa Fe.

 

[David Preston]

Not sure if this is in the $25,000 range but I love the 4runner. They look awesome and if you don't have a heavy foot I'm sure you could get good gas mileage.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Quote:

I'd get the Rav4. It has the highest mileage in its class, lots of room, good visibility, nice ride, and legendary Toyota reliability.
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I agree with the above and I'm surprised no one mentioned the fact that the RAV 4 can be had in AWD/4WD which may come in handy in Minnesota snow.

 

[Drew Bethel]

Geez, what the hell was I thinking! All along I meant Ford Escape vs Toyota RAV4 :b

Moderator please change the header to Ford Escape.

 

[Rob Lutter]

Ha!

I owned a Rav4 for 3 years... never had a problem with it! I am a big fan of Japanese engineering myself so I gotta say "go with the RAV!"

 

[BrianW]

Between the Ford Escape and the Rav4? No contest. Go with the Rav4.

 

[Reginald Trent]

I'd go with the RAV 4 on dependability alone, not to mention the possibility of exploding tires from another Ford SUV product.

 

[Jim_F]

Between those two, I'd take the RAV 4. Among all mini-SUVs, I'd get another Forester (I don't mind the tiny rear seating area) My next car will probably be the turbo version when I'm ready to part with my '01.

 

[Philip_G]

for just about 25k you could get a forrester turbo.. just to toss out an option

 

[Malcolm R]

This is why I was confused when you asked for a "head-to-head" comparison. I didn't think the RAV4 and the Focus were really comparable. :wink:

 

[Tony Whalen]

Between the Ford Escape and the Rav4? No contest. Go with the Rav4.

Brian got it right. No contest at all. According to every review I read, the Rav4 is superior to the Escape.

Oh...spotted a couple of people mentioning headroom. I don't get it. I'm 6' even, and I've got plenty of room in my Rav. I can even wear a fairly tall hat. I do NOT have a sunroof, if that makes a difference.

 

[Peter_A]

Sure the Toyota is great, just make sure the engine doesn't develop the sludging problem that for a while Toyota denied existed. They finally acknowledged a problem which they should have done right away.

http://www.corolland.com/sludge.html

http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?did=416&scid=37

 

[Will Pomeroy]

For 25000 get a Volkswagen Jetta Wagon TDI. If you don't go off road, then it won't matter that its not an SUV. The VW probably has more cargo capacity than both of them, and it gets about 55mpg because its a diesel. I drive one (sedan) and its great. I can get about 700miles on a tank. At least go and check it out before you rule it out completely. Diesels have changed substantially in the past few years.

 

[Paul O]

I recently bought a Honda CRV for 18K +TTL. The base model (non 4wd) - includes pretty much everything except for moonroof and fancy wheels. I test drove the Rav4 and it is very small inside compared to the Honda. Check out the CRV if you havent already.

 

[Tommy Ceez]

The RAV4 also has nothing resembeling a rear bumber so rear end collisions can be quite pricey to fix

 

[Drew Bethel]

What's the towing capacity of the RAV4 vs CRV?

 

[Michael Toguchi]

I found that the RAV4 was lacking in the backseat leg room. The pressure sales tactics at the Toyota dealer we went to also put us off completely. I test drove the RAV4, Mazda Tribute (same as Ford Escape), Saturn VUE, Honda CRV, GMC Envoy and Chevy Trailblazer. The Tribute/Escape rode quite nice and I was surprised how solid the vehicle felt. The CRV was okay, but lacked 'oomph', and I didn't care for the curious dashboard and shifter placement. The Saturn VUE had _terrible_ fit and finish, and seemed a little cramped in the front seats. I also didn't care for the electronic assisted power steering. The Envoy rode great, but didn't like the dashboard design. We settled on the Chevy Trailblazer, for it had the same ride as the Envoy, but a little more subdued in the dash department. Not the same class as the mini-SUV's you are looking at, but we got it for under 25K out the door (2WD LS).

 

[Steve Schaffer]

As a Toyota dealership technician I can report that we have never seen a single case of sludge on an engine that we could verify had been maintained properly.

Sludge is only an issue for those who did not change their oil PERIOD!!!


We have replaced a number of engines (around 5 or 6) under the sludge policy--in no case did an owner have any verification that the oil had been changed as per factory recommendations. Most of the vehicles were off-lease Siennas purchased used with 30-40k miles on them when the 2nd owner bought them.

One was a 4 cylinder Camry whose owners admitted they'd never changed the oil in 38k miles.