2008 versus 2009 Escape

[diver110]

I have pretty much targeted a 2008 or 2009 Ford Escape. US News ranks the 2009 higher for safety, but I have been told the safetey features for the 2008 and 2009 are the same. Can someone enlighten me as to the actual facts?

Assume the same safety, it seems it would make sense to buy a 2008 6 cyl but a 2009 4 cyl given the power improvement in 2009. The Hybrid, unless I could steal one, would not seem to make sense. It would be very unlikely one could get the premium back economically.

Any feedback related to the above would be appreciated, including revealing any misunderstandings I might have.

Many thanks.

[Phil Van V]

D110 I don't have an answer to your questions, however, after reading through the threads It seems to me that the'08 V6 have less problems then the '09 models.

[JFUSION21]

the only safety concern they ever have with the Escape is on the tendancy for rollover. I believe in 09 they made some slight suspension tuning changes and perhaps it is a bit more resistant to rollover. Perhaps the rear sway bar addition makes it less likely to roll over. I think all of the electronic stability items are the same between years. Did they change the height of the vehicle at all between 08 and 09 ?, just wondering.

[wptski]

Originally Posted by JFUSION21

the only safety concern they ever have with the Escape is on the tendancy for rollover. I believe in 09 they made some slight suspension tuning changes and perhaps it is a bit more resistant to rollover. Perhaps the rear sway bar addition makes it less likely to roll over. I think all of the electronic stability items are the same between years. Did they change the height of the vehicle at all between 08 and 09 ?, just wondering.

Somewhere, somebody stated that the '09s have about 1/4" less ground clearance.

[JFUSION21]

Originally Posted by wptski

Somewhere, somebody stated that the '09s have about 1/4" less ground clearance.

the reason I mentioned that is because I test drove an 08 a while back and it seemed to be a bit taller than our 06 model. I now own an 09 model and it doesn't seem much taller than our 06 model. I just wondered if there was a change in height between years, without access to firm specs I'm not too sure, but subjectively it looks like there is a difference to the naked eye. Slight changes to the roll over issue may be the reason for increased safety rating.

[theoldwizard]

Roll Stability Control and ABS are standard on '09. Might have been optional on '08.

Also on '09

• Cruise Control now standard.
• New 4 cylinder (2.5L vs 2.3L); More power and better fuel economy.
• Improved V6; More power and better fuel economy.
• New 6 speed automatic transmission; optional on 4 cylinder and standard on V6.