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Today Good Price or No Dice Ford The Escape is one of a selection of small SUVs that stand out to have a cult following among car buyers. Let’s see if the price of this one has us all drinking the Kool-Aid.
If you grew up in Scouts—either Boy or Girl Scouts—you probably learned a lot of useful skills. Along the way, you may have even collected a badge or two touting those skills. If we want to give yesterday 1961 International Harvester Scout 80 a merit badge, it must be for value. In $20,000, the restored compact SUV scored a solid 54 percent win over Nice Price, making it the this is a great Scout Actually.
If yesterday’s Scout represents the earliest period of sport utility ocrossover craze, then today’s 2005 Ford Escape XLT can be considered representative of its current state. After all, aside from certain safety features and technological advancements, how different is this little Ford wagon from today’s Bronco Sport?
I think the answer you are looking for is “Not that many.” In fact, most automakers have been producing compact crossovers of this type for years. Today, it’s one of the hottest segments in the market with competitors like the Honda CR-V and Toyota’s RAV4 leading their respective brands in sales. For Ford, when sales of the current Escape are combined with its platform mate, the Bronco Sport, the total is greater than all other US models except the all-conquering F-Series.
In a market as hot as all that, it’s no surprise to see older models still making waves and commanding premium prices. Let’s see if this Escape falls into that category.
According to its ad, this ’05 Escape has seen light use and diligent maintenance. There are only 80,000 miles on the clock and overall, it shows little evidence even of those.
The white over gray plastic-clad exterior may not be the most exciting color combo, but at least the styling underneath has been well maintained. That’s accentuated by attractive five-spoke factory alloys that show no evidence of stalling and are shod with aggressively named Hercules Ironman wheels.
The cabin shows a little more wear, but it’s pretty light and seems intact. It’s an XLT, but thanks, it has harder-wearing standard cloth upholstery instead of the seemingly less durable optional leather. It covers all the basics—A/C, power windows and locks, tilt-wheel, and cruise control. It also has several updates, including a Pioneer stereo with GPS Nav, and interestingly, one of Parrot’s old cell phone bridges. Other than that, everything is said to be all-original on this one-owner Escape.
As we mentioned, the seller claims he has maintained the truck well and boasts a 41 service record on CarFax. The mechanicals are pretty simple and straightforward on this truck. Power is provided by a 200-horsepower DOHC 3.0-liter Duratec V6 mated to its standard companion, a four-speed CD4E automatic. As is the case with most trucks in this class, power goes to the front wheels only. On the plus side, these are pretty solid trucks and parts availability is still decent.
We have to see if the price on this Escape is equally decent. The owner is requesting $7,900, and while that’s a chunk of change for a Ford that basic pushing two decades in age, we have to remember how hot this segment is right now, and how that price fits, especially compared to the competition.
What do you think? Iis this an Escape you’ll do for a $7,900 entry fee? Or, is that too much to crossover?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslistor go here if the ad disappears.
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