Maybe I’ve been too harsh.

[ST80MND]

Every generation of cars has that 1 model that just makes your skin crawl. You know the one, it would spark rage and bile would rise from the depths of your hatred for it. In the 90’s it was the Cavalier. In the oughts it was the mazda 3. In the tens it was the Ford Escape. https://images.app.goo.gl/Z33RuAXNVireftYL7
I cannot stress enough how much I loathe these cheap, flimsy, tin cans. My mom has one. She loves it. Arrg. So, the most foul assault to motoring, the base fwd escape, shares the same platform as the new Bronco Sport. However, even in base trim the Bronco will have “4x4”. Not awd, or awc, 4x4. Is it possible the top trim escape may actually be good? Is it possible The Bronco sport will be enemy #1? Is it possible I may have been too harsh? I had to eat my words with the cavalier decades later. https://www.ford.ca/suvs/bronco-sport/models/bronco-sport-base/

[Chariotoflove]

@st80mnd Clearly the thing to do is buy one and find out. Remember to report back with your findings after several months of ownership.

Seriously though, if the platform is solid, then I do think trim and equipment can transform a car. Of course, if the platform is shit, no bits and baubles will save it.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

What's wrong with the 3? Sure, the interiors were rather low rent, but from behind the wheel that doesn't matter because they were brilliant to drive. Admittedly, I'm basing this off of my brother's old V6 Mazda6 but they handled similarly.

But yeah, I've always loathed the Escape. Especially all those hybrids that filled every fleet in the country. If Ford had made a hybrid Focus wagon it would have been so much more efficient and pleasant to drive.

[davesaddiction]

@st80mnd I loved my '05 Mazda 3s manual hatch (with the 2.3). Flogged it everywhere for 7 years and 90k miles. Light makes right. #SlowCarFast

[Highlander]

@st80mnd When I bought my Mazda3, I also drove a honda civic and Corolla, there was no comparison, the Mazda was leagues ahead of either of those econo boxes, in styling, interior, options, and performance.

[nth256]

@st80mnd - Keep in mind, too, the Escape that you hate (or at least the one you linked to) is not the Escape that shares a platform with the Bronco.

However, knowing that the Bronco and Escape share a platform is giving me some strong Patriot/Compass vibes.

[Boxer_4]

@st80mnd That car for me is the Jeep Patriot.

Speaking about that generation Escape, when my parents were looking for a replacement for their Passat, we briefly looked at one at a car show. We moved on after we nearly broke the roof rail off the floor sample.

[TexturedSoyProtein]

I don't find the Bronco Sport hateable.

It looks good. It has good features and capabilities. The only thing "wrong" with it is it shares its name with a "real proper SUV" and this is the "watered down version." But judged on its own as a off-roadier-than-average crossover with boxy nostalgic styling, I think it's actually pretty appealing.

Don't let your knickers get twisted because of silly branding peccadilloes.

[CobraJoe]

@st80mnd said in Maybe I’ve been too harsh.:

I cannot stress enough how much I loathe these cheap, flimsy, tin cans. My mom has one. She loves it.

I thought the same thing, until I drove a V6 powered 1st gen. It was shockingly quick.

But overall, it's a small, cheap, utilitarian box of a vehicle. It's hard to completely hate something that is actually useful.

[MybirdIStheword]

@st80mnd my folks have an 2010 or similar escape, and despite some build quality issues it aint that bad of a car. Now, Its not great, but it isnt cavalier/geo metro levels of awful. Not even close.

[Milky]

@st80mnd One thing I just cant get over (because its a pet peeve of mine), is how stupid the hood/cowl height it. Theres no excuse for making it "tall" for no other reason then aesthetics. The escape is already a jacked up focus, but look at this wall they had to add to close the gap between the strut towers and the windshield base.

[Manwich]

@st80mnd said in Maybe I’ve been too harsh.:

. You know the one, it would spark rage and bile would rise from the depths of your hatred for it. In the 90’s it was the Cavalier. In the oughts it was the mazda 3. In the tens it was the Ford Escape.

I liked the Cavalier... particularly in Z24 form!

And the Mazda 3 was great... except for the rust.

And the Ford Escape is a great vehicle... especially in FWD/4 cyl/manual trim or the FWD/4 cyl/hybrid trim!

[nth256]

@boxer_4 - I test-drove a 4-cyl first-gen Escape after driving a Jeep Patriot for years... It is, in nearly every metric, almost literally, just a the Jeep Patriot with a Ford badge. The interior and exterior dimensions and materials, driving dynamics, sight lines, even the engine noise, were almost the same. I passed on it because I was trying to get away from a Patriot, and buying one would have basically been a lateral move.

[annoying_salman]

@milky said in Maybe I’ve been too harsh.:

@st80mnd One thing I just cant get over (because its a pet peeve of mine), is how stupid the hood/cowl height it. Theres no excuse for making it "tall" for no other reason then aesthetics. The escape is already a jacked up focus, but look at this wall they had to add to close the gap between the strut towers and the windshield base.

That's hilarious