I've grown weary of keeping my 29+ year old cars on the road as daily drivers. I need something that I can put 180 lbs of dogs in the back or deliver beef from plus get some reasonable fuel mileage out on the road.

Must be reliable too.

My daughter has an Escape and she loves it; thinking about one of them or the Mazda look-alike: the Tribute.

What thinks the forum?

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

If you are looking at newer vehicles, perhaps the Subaru Outback. The 4-cylinder CVT models are pretty fuel-efficient for their size.

The second chapter here is that if I go this route, I'm thinning the Mercedes herd. Lots of parts cars, some beaters, some that could be restored.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

The Escape is a good vehicle. They have a hybrid, but the system takes up a decent amount of the cargo space, so your hauling would be diminished a bit.

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Needs to be domestic. I'm 50+ miles from the nearest foreign dealership, only 15 from Ford & Chebby houses and 9 from Chrysler/Dodge.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Most of my miles are highway so the economy benefits of any hybridisim would be minimal.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

friend of mine bought one a couple years ago, and has been very pleased with it. He does a lot of surfing, its apparently big enough or the back hatch opens so that he can fit his surfboard inside and his dog, either way hes enjoyed it a lot.

His Girlfriend just grabbed a matching model Mercury Mariner they both liked the Escape so much. Seems like a decent car

__________________
This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

My aunt, may she rest in peace, had rented a brand-new one in Hawaii, but has issues. When the sunroof was open, the whole vehicle rattled and shook. If they staged the side windows just right it would go away, but scared her the first time.

No offense, but Mazda is foreign. Japanese.

You know that this vehicle is essentially a Ford Escape, right?

May I suggest a Jeep Patriot, base model? Mine has the 5 speed and four cylinder and gets 29-30 mpg on the highway. Side air bags, dead ass reliable and enough room for stuff, plus passengers like dogs. Basically a station wagon rather than SUV.

...and you would be right about that. Point is, there is enough Ford in the Tribute to be able to tell if there are intrinsic issues with the design, be it Ford or Mazda.

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

I like the station wagon aspect.


Tell me more. How long have you owned it? Would you buy used? What don't you like about it?

__________________
Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Just bear in mind when shopping, if 4WD/AWD is desired, that the Patriot and Escape/Tribute/Mariner are/were available in 2WD iterations.

What about the Transit? Lower thresholds for the dogs getting in/out and for loading/lifting beef.

2012 Ford Transit Connect Models | View XL & XLT Trim Packages for the 2012 Transit Connect | Ford.com