2013 Ford Escape Gas Mileage

crkyolfrt · April 2013

I'm inclined to agree to an extent. Or at least somewhere there should be a suggestion caption near the thread name that says that it is imperative that if you post it is worthless and only adds to confusion and wasted posts unless you specify 2WD or AWD, AND 1.6 or 2.0.

If MPG threads whose vehicles being discussed come in either 2WD or AWD copnfigurations, there really should be a separate thread for each type of drivetrain. With some vehicles there are greater variances between 2WD and AWD, than others, but when you compound two very differently powered engine sizes too, it can lead to confusion quickly. And if you post ONCE what your drivetrain is, and meanwhile 50-100 posts/ 2 weeks later and you haven't mentioned it since, then only the regulars might remember what your drivetrain is, so really each post should start (or at least end) with a reminder of what combo you have.

I see this confusion on every single one of the MPG threads here on Edmunds even if they don't offer 2WD or AWD but offer 2 or more engine sizes, or # of cylinders, and since turbos are becoming more common place, whether they're turbo'd or not.

It's a joy to read a Subaru MPG forum, because at least you always KNOW you're dealing with all AWD'rs..

stever · April 2013

We've added some language to the discussion header.

But don't get your hopes up that people will read it.

(Subaru has made some FWD cars for the US, and not just the Justy, btw. The first generation Legacy for example came in FWD, with AWD optional. Not many early 90's owners posting though).

crkyolfrt · April 2013

(Subaru has made some FWD cars for the US, and not just the Justy, btw).

Oh, I didn't know that...or what I mean is I knew part of that...I knew they made only front drivers, but here in Cda not in years and years...more than twenty..(and ya, I wasn't counting the FWD Legacy option for the first couple years).
I figured you guys got what we got, but I guess with so many warmer southern climates in the US, it does make sense to offer front drivers only. But even still, in a Sube forum, if someone has a FWD only, they're likely to mention that caveat cuz it's so rare.

stever · April 2013

I'd like to have the option. Won't likely buy another Subaru but a 2WD wagon could interest me.

You know, kind of like Ford offers with the Escape. Choices. :-)

Could be worse in here - we could be talking about Escape Hybrid mpg numbers too if they still made them. (There is a discussion for that).

crkyolfrt · April 2013

You know...aside from the fact that where I live, (within two hundred miles in any direction to the south and 1000's to the north) and especially my specific driveway itself, I have never understood the 2WD/FWD attraction in CRV, Escape etc sized SUV's. Sure, I supposed they're slightly roomier (height only) than a good square-like Sube or Volvo wagon, but at what cost?? They simply can't handle as well as a car, because they carry their (substantial) weight higher than a car, which also means the more wind resistance and drag which is the mileage killer compared to a similar volume car. Now...yes they do have more grd clearance, but then how many people actually need the extra grd clearance without AWD? If you try to go places that you need to clear rocks or small logs, you're quickly stuck anyway with only 2WD. Around here, a front drive SUV (or even a large tow capable..summer only, large SUV like a rear drive-only Durango, simply are useless. And if you do happen to have one, and when it comes time to sell or trade it, it has so little resale value cuz no one wants it. The depreciation on such a vehicle is just simply huge up here.

The way I see it, I could picture someone buying a FWD Escape down in FL or somewhere flat even if they do get snow, and either need that extra height interior volume, and/or don't mind paying the FE/handling penalty so they can maybe sit a little higher so they can see out and up the road a little better, but aside from that, I just don't get it. They are harder to clean snow off, harder to get in and out of, harder to load stuff, way harder to wash..and often needing a step ladder to do the roof properly, cost more to insure etc etc..the list just goes on and on..

stever · April 2013

Different strokes; lots of people like the seating height and the looks, and they get the 2WD to save a bit on the purchase price or on gas or because they know how to drive on snow.

So, back to the topic, did any owners cruise somewhere for the weekend and keep track of their mpg?

redhyde6 · April 2013

I own the 1.6 SE FWD version. I use 87 Regular Unleaded (10% ethenol blend

) I can say I drive the Escape much more calmly, no fast acceleration off the line, no sudden breaking (due to event on my part). I live in the country side with some hills and curves, and I tend to like to take curves faster then most people do.

I drove from north of Charlotte NC to Charleston SC and back over spring break last week. This was traveling interstates 85, 77 and 26 with travelling approximately 70 mph for the majority of the drive. On the trip down, due to the lovely beach traffic I only averaged 25.5. However, on the trip home, I averaged 33.6. This to date is the highest MPG I've had since purchase in November 2012. I figure it's increased mostly due to the vehicle is pretty much broken in(I have 9500 miles on it) and the weather was mid 70's, and I spent very little time stopped on the interstates. I've been manually tracking my MPG for each tank since early February, and the current overall average is 28.

I can say one thing I've noticed is the Escape automatic tranny is a little 'stiff' if the temp is anywhere below 50 or so outside. Most days in the winter I would have to let it run a few minutes before driving or it would 'stick' and not shift into the next gear when accelerating. This is the first automatic I've owned since 2003. So I tend to watch the RPM gauge closely and keep it at/below 2000 to get a better MPG, and I've carried over that habit with the Escape. So I'm not sure if this could be an issue for some that are getting lower MPG's. I find myself often about 50mph, letting off the gas just slightly to make it shift. Just something to keep in mind.

typesix · April 2013

Most automatic transmission cars have a delay when upshifting to the top gear when the engine is below a certain temperature. This is to make the engine warmup faster.

johnnyuma · April 2013

I never knew this. Check out this link:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1083331_diesel-vs-small-turbo-gas-engines-do- es-real-world-mpg-matter

Especially this line:

... legally, the only figures automakers are allowed to cite in new-car ads are the EPA fuel-economy ratings for the city, highway, and combined test cycles.

Read and heed if you complain about Ford's fuel economy ads for the Escape.

tim156 · April 2013

With the cold temps, which are hanging on around here, I've been averaging on my 60/40 highway/city daily drives around 23.5 to 25.0 mpg's. This morning I filled up, reset the avg. mpg gauge and ran some errands which took me from mid metro where I live, to the north end of the metro and back to the south end. My guess is it was about 90/10 highway/city with about 12-15 miles on the freeway at 55-65 mph from one stop to the last. My mileage reading reached and remained at 30.1 until I got back on the surface streets driving to my final stop. I drove home from my last stop about 3-4 miles on surface streets and as I pulled into my garage, it was reading 27.3 mpg. Hopefully this trend will continue as temps warm and I can get back to 28+ mpg's for my daily drive.

johndate · April 2013

I disagree about getting in and out of they are much easier to get in and out ask my 95 year old mother in law!

pdawg1 · April 2013

I have the 2.0 4WD and still not getting mileage as expected. I noticed something on the tail pipe extensions, black soot, indicating a very rich mixture.
I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this? It is black and comes off on your finger.............A rich mixture would not yield good mpg.

redhyde6 · April 2013

I took a quick trip again over the weekend to Charleston, SC from north of Charlotte, NC. I drove slightly faster then I did on the last trip and it was cooler, low 60's out for the time periods I was driving. I spent very limited time in stop and go traffic, and drove between 65-75 on the interstates. I got 29.18(337.8 on trip od) out of the tank down to Charleston. This was running the air/heat the entire drive.

I've given up on using the dash mpg estimator as it's been over and under thru various fill ups. I had reset it each fill up when I'd reset the trip od. Over a total of 18 fill ups I've tracked, I'm now averaging 28.15. So it's upwardly ticking as the weather warms up and I put more miles on it. (I'm now sitting at 11300 aprox).

automelon48 · April 2013

Sounds encouraging! I suspect more people will see their results improving with warmer temps, summer gas, and more miles on the ODO.
Please remember to tell us what vehicle configuration you are driving, so we don't need to go digging in past posts.
Looks like yours is a 1.6 FWD.

crkyolfrt · April 2013

Please remember to tell us what vehicle configuration you are driving, so we don't need to go digging in past posts.

I concur.

In case you were wondering about Tim's, (since he bought one of those OBDII hookups, I got curious enough to go hunting) I finally found his about 300 posts back

It's a FWD 2.0
I had decided it was either that or a 1.6 AWD before the search. I think even though Steve added a notice at the top that it is best to specify your vehicle on each post, even if you have posted it before, at best only new posters may see that. I suspect that this confusion will ensue for as long as this thread is alive as is.

redhyde6 · April 2013

Sorry about not mentioning that. Yes mine is a 1.6 FWD. And this is a vast improvement over my mpg from winter/less miles where I was getting an average of 26 or so driving the same roads. I was really getting disapointed at that time, but now I'm much happier to see these better numbers. Well within what I was wanting when I purchased it last November to match what I was getting in my prior vehicle( 2008 Ford Fusion S).

automelon48 · April 2013

No worries.
I went from a Chrysler Pacifica 4.0 FWD to the Escape 2.0 FWD, so I have seen about a 25% reduction in my fuel use. Oddly enough, my Escape has 270 lb-ft of torque and my Pacifica had 269 lb-ft. (also the Pacifica weighed about 700 lbs more) I was happy with the performance of the Pacifica, but needless to say I am even happier with the Escape !

crkyolfrt · May 2013

Depends on the SUV I guess. Last w/e I spent time in an ML350, and I am average height (5'9") and average inseam, and it was quite hard to get out of without dragging your butt quite heavily down the side of the seat bolsters. It did not have the running board option. Your 95 year old MIL would have needed a plastic milk carton basket to step on first in order to get in or out of it. Unless she was a very not average 6'3" and still quite flexible.

izedaman · May 2013

12k miles mixed driving, in titanium 2wd... still avg mpg 20. Took a trip in my wifes 2012 veloster, that when we bought it stated 40mpg hw. now after the lawsuit its stated 35mpg.
With me, wife, kid, trunk half full. i averaged 37.1 mpg. So I dont need any more tips on driving or what gas to use or what season it is.. this Ford is BS in its stated mpg, Im not the only one.
Im ready to sell this POS 200-240ish miles between fillups is also a major pain. I also know im going to take a hit.. more then what I will save in gas. It more principal now, I feel I was misled when I bought the car and it irritates me when I get in it, or when im filling up 2x a week.

I almost would have been ok if they would have put a 19+ gallon tank in it.

dizney · May 2013

If your that unhappy SELL IT !
I'm still getting 25 - 36 mpg with 7900 miles.
2wd

mikeo56 · May 2013

1.6 FWD
23 town 29-30 HWY driving 65-70
life of the car 25
4800 miles total
Happy:)

tinycadon · May 2013

If you're so sure you know why his mileage is so poor how about YOU BUY IT & then tell us how great the gas mileage is???

tinycadon · May 2013

The Hyundai Tucson, Ford Escape, Kia Sportage, General Motors Buick Encore and the Chrysler Group's Jeep Patriot earned "poor" marks in the new"small overlap" frontal crash test. In this test, the vehicle hits a barrier at 40 miles per hour with just one-quarter of its front bumper. The impact occurs on the left side, just in front of the driver's seat. This concentrates crash forces in a small area that's outside of the strong crash safety structures built into most new vehicles.

dizney · May 2013

LOL I just did buy a second one for my wife last week! She picked this over a Subaru LOL ..
She drives slower than I do so she should
do
better than my 25 _ 36 mpg!!!! Sorry I don,t buy used .....

tinycadon · May 2013

Better hope it doesn't get into a 1/4 front head on crash, the Subaru Forester was the only one to score a G from IIHS test.

explorerx4 · May 2013

They didn't mention how often this type of crash occurs and personally I'm not going to base a car buying decision on it.

tinycadon · May 2013

Telephone pole, tree, head on where you don't hit fully head on, to name 3 off the top of my head?

johnnyuma · May 2013

How is this related to 2013 Escape MPG? But then you're the Ford basher that had a hissy fit and dumped your Escape. How's that Crosstour working out?

tinycadon · May 2013

How's your driving range going in your "Fuel Saving" engine?

johnnyuma · May 2013

Thanks for asking. My Titanium AWD has about 9,000 miles on it. Overall I'm at 25 MPG (Combined city/hwy - EPA is 24 MPG). My last road trip was 29 MPG cruising at 65 MPH (EPA hwy is 28 MPH). When I last filled up my DTE indicator said 400 miles! :shades:

tinycadon · May 2013

I don't for a second believe you're averaging 25 combined!

tim156 · May 2013

Why not...
If we could post pictures on this forum, I take a picture of my current combined mpg's which is 25.4. Not everybody is a lead foot, choose or are forced to drive 75 mph. Just because you couldn't do it, doesn't mean it can't be done.

johnnyuma · May 2013

Well stated. No need for me to add anything.

dizney · May 2013

Here is a link to a picture from a few months ago when I took a RT journey of 104 miles and averaged 35.2 MPG Door to door not all highway. The highest I ever got was in the 36 MPG range!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v372/diz/35a2d89d-3d8e-4285-aed7-25afa99783bc.- jpg

tim156 · May 2013

I must have deleted pics from my last trip from Phoenix to Minneapolis. Here's a pic of early in my Escape's life. It was my first day trip on two lane, hilly country roads in Western Wisconsin and granted, it was at 55 mph, but good mpg's are obtainable.

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa479/2012focussel/P1010830-1_zpsb1d5d8fc.jp- - g

usa1fan · May 2013

My fuel economy has started to trend upwards with spring too. Granted, I'm driving slower (60 max), but I'm seeing 29-33 mpg on the interstate, and the combined has been climbing toward 26 (25.9 right now).

2.0l AWD SEL, ~13500 mi.

johnnyuma · May 2013

Better weather, summer blend gas and driving slower certainly adds up to improved MPG.

We took a trip to the Florida panhandle in Feb. Overall miles driven 2500. Overall trip MPG 27. Best MPG (cruising the panhandle @50 -60 MPH) 31 MPG.

My best MI trip so far was 29 MPG (round trip about 400 miles) cruising at 65 MPH. Just did that last week.

2013 Ford Escape Titanium (2.0L) AWD

tim156 · May 2013

I wrote ScanGuage but I meant UltraGauge and I like it. I don't have it hooked up now, but it's helped me recognize the everyday driving conditions where more fuel is being used, when the fuel cut off is activated and the percentage of turbo boost during different acceleration conditions. It also shows me where it's most advantageous to pulse and glide. It's a good tool to help with improving mpg's. It has a bunch of features I'll never use, but it has all the features I need at more than half the cost of other devices. Most often around town I use two four quadrant screens and IIRC display, avg mpg, instantaneous mpg, boost %, rpm, mph, HP, torque & gallons per hour. When I travel to AZ next winter I'll add some long trip readings. It's well worth the $69. I'm still waiting for my $9 rebate to make it $60.

kyfdx · May 2013

We are going to take a little break from this discussion..

Thanks!

automelon48 · June 2013

2013 2.0 FWD
Finally had the chance to run a full tank on the highway. It was a round-trip with a tail-wind one way and a head-wind the other way. Cruise control set for 110 kph (69Mph) and achieved exactly 30 MPG. (7.8 L/100km)(measured at the pump and the dash agreed)
That is also the furthest I have gone on a tank. (415 miles)
After 33 tanks of fuel I am averaging 24.2 Mpg. In the last two months I have been doing some trailer towing as well, so the average could have been higher. Generally pleased with mileage. If I drove it with the turbo pushing me back in the seat all the time, my mileage would suffer. It is easy to get lots of power with these engines without feeling like you are "pushing it".

stever · June 2013

We're back. :shades:

johnnyuma · June 2013

Here's my 8 month update:

9800 Total Miles
Overall 25.0 MPG (I keep a spreadsheet - but I've never reset my trip2 - that indicates 25.2 MPG)
High 31.0 MPG - Cruising 50-60 MPH (great weather in FL in Feb)
Low 18.5 MPG - Short trips (lousy winter weather in MI in Dec)

Now that summer's here (warm weather and summer blend gas) I'm consistently getting 28 - 29 MPG cruising at 65 MPH.

2013 Titanium AWD

redhyde6 · June 2013

I've also seen improvement in my MPG over all since it's gotten warmer here in NC. Overall since I've been tracking it (2/2013) I'm at an average of 28.4. The last few tanks have been especially great (as long as I don't let my husband drive) where I've been averaging 30-31 mpg. And I've gotten these going 70-75 on the interstates.

We took a trip last weekend to Chimney Rock, NC, and still averaged around 28mpg.

1.6L SE FWD

I like the prior poster have been keeping a spreadsheet. In addition to tracking the normal things, I've been tracking what gas brand I've been using. I know they say that doesn't matter, and it's more the additives that can effect the MPG, but I've noticed consistantly I get the better MPG's driving the same routes each day on certain brands. Any one else tracked and noticed this? I consistantly get better MPG on Shell, Exxon and Sunoco.

stevedebi · June 2013

"... I know they say that doesn't matter, and it's more the additives that can effect the MPG, but I've noticed consistantly I get the better MPG's driving the same routes each day on certain brands. Any one else tracked and noticed this? I consistantly get better MPG on Shell, Exxon and Sunoco. "

Shell and Exxon are top tier gas. I don't know about Sunoco, they don't have that one here in LA.

tim156 · June 2013

As "they" say, all gas is the same... except the additives. I use BP every time I fill up. I am back to 27+ for my daily drive of 3 city, 7 hwy miles to work and miscellaneous errands throughout the week.

2.0/FWD

johnnyuma · June 2013

I don't have any loyalty to any particular brand of gas. So I don't bother tracking where I buy my gas. I'm aware of the top tier gas designation but I've never worried about buying gas from a top tier supplier. I buy gas based on price when I fill up locally and convenience when I'm traveling. Close to home I usually buy at an Admiral station (I think they're only in MI) and sometimes at a Shell or Marathon stations.

I track my mileage because it's a good overall indicator of engine performance. In the past 25 years or so (I'm thinking of fuel injected vehicles I've owned) I've never had a problem with a clogged injector (in fact never even had one replaced). Before then with carbureted cars I had some carburetor issues and I on occasion used gumout or some variant of a fuel additive. Today I don't use any fuel additives. I generally keep my cars until they have over 100,000 miles on them. I've had two vehicles with over 200,000 miles (1988 Chevy Cavalier and a 1993 Ford Probe GT) and again never had a problem with injectors or any fuel system issue (never even had a problem with a fuel filter).

If you conclude there's a difference in MPGs based on brand of gas I'd be interested in hearing about it. But for now I don't believe there is a difference.

BTW ethanol content in gas does make a difference. The higher the ethanol content the lower the MPGs.

stevedebi · June 2013

"... If you conclude there's a difference in MPGs based on brand of gas I'd be interested in hearing about it. But for now I don't believe there is a difference. ..."

Well, I have noticed difference on occasion, when filling up on trips, but I seldom fill up except at Shell or Mobile (both happen to be the cheapest around). So I don't have a good comparison. But I avoid really cheap stuff like Arco or Costco.

There is a whole thread about top tier gas...

s4oaks · July 2013

Have had 2013 Escape 2.0 Eco-boost for about a week and am really disappointed in the mileage. The first tank is an average 18.5, city and highway combined, I realize that it may just be a breaking in period, but this is so much lower than what the sticker and gov't ratings say. I have read the other messages, so will continue to watch and wait. We're in So. Calif in 100+ heat, so hoping that the break-in combined with A/C usage account for the low mpg.

Using Shell unleaded for first tank.

utahdriver · July 2013

All I can say is I wish those considering a Ford Escape would try the Mazda
CX-5. My 2013 gets 28 MPG city/highway from day one, 6,000 miles and no problems/no recalls.

s4oaks · July 2013

We did try it, but since I am 6'5 ( long torso) I wasn't comfortable in the car, and the sunroof only made it worse!

2013 Ford Escape Gas Mileage

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