Should you buy a used Ford Escape? No.

By Jason Allan, former head of vehicle reviews and ratings at Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader

The Ford Escape is a roomy, easy-to-live-with compact SUV I'd steer a friend away from anyway, and the reasons stack. The cabin is the good part: a sliding rear seat with real legroom, an infotainment system with actual buttons, and a hybrid that returns about 40 mpg. The rest of the record isn't close. Consumer Reports' reliability prediction for the 2023 and 2024 cars is the lowest of the 13 compact SUVs Bestest scores, the base 1.5-liter three-cylinder is grumbly and short of breath when you ask it to pass, and the lower trims are finished in hard, low-rent plastic the 2023 facelift didn't touch.

The 1.5-liter engine in the 2020 to 2023 Ford Escape has a fuel injector that can crack and leak fuel onto a hot engine. Ford has recalled it three times for the same defect, in 2022 (22V-859), 2024 (24V-187) and 2025 (25V-467); the first two fixes were a software update and a drain tube, and only the third replaces the injectors and fuel rail. In NHTSA's records for the 2021 to 2024 models, complaints that mention a fire, a crash or an injury, counted per 10,000 cars sold in the first two years on sale, run higher on the Escape than on any of the other 12 compact SUVs Bestest scores.

The verdict covers every Ford Escape, hybrid and 2.0-liter included: the injector recall belongs to the 1.5-liter, but the resale record and the reviews belong to the whole line. So the Ford Escape isn't a Bestest car, and it isn't a close call: I wouldn't let a friend buy one. A compact SUV Bestest lists costs more used and gives it back at trade-in. If you want an Escape anyway, here's how I'd shop for one.