I'll just say I would avoid the VW, they have have a pretty bad reliability record. That's from hearing from other people complain about them online, and also from knowing a few people that own them. Not as bad as a Range Rover, but not much better either. A lot of minor issues (especially electrical) that add up to quite a bit of money and frustration.

Between the Ford and Subaru, I'd lean torward a Subaru, but then I'm biased because I own one. They are popular for a good reason, and it definitely isn't their looks. But they have earned the reputation as being a very reliable, no frills type of car. The Ford is newer, but a difference of 25K miles on a used car really doesn't mean a whole lot. How the car was maintained and how it was driven and cared for are a lot more important than the number of miles. The Ford escapes did have a lot of problems when it was first introduced, but most cars do on their first model year.

Really depends on what you prefer, the Escape is more SUV-like while the Outback is more of a station wagon. For traveling off-road, I'd probably give the edge to the Ford because I know the Outback has some huge overhangs, but the differences are minor and neither of them are going to be great off road. Both of them are essentially lifted sedans. On road I think the Outback will be better in terms of fuel efficiency, handling, and just general road manners because of the lower center of gravity.

I bought a Forester for my wife years ago when she was pregnant since it was one the highest rated vehicles for safety. It was the perfect size and we both loved it. The performance was excellent and we had no problems with it.

We only got rid of it after we had our second child and it was too small to lug all of our kids' stuff around with us, so we got a minivan.

Ironraven, I would add a slightly different twist on the issue: Which is easier to get into; physically. I know that I need to stop crawling into and out of cars because of back and hip issues. That said: I would opt for the Escape. I can easily slide in and slide out. Perfect height for my butt.

We plan to get an imprezza hatch in the near future... awd for winter, and hatch to be able to load long items, hopefully to prevent us from using the truck (gas hog) as much. Gas mileage on these are great!

Having worked for two major suppliers to all auto makers in the U.S., both domestic and foreign owned, I'd stay away from anything made by the Big 3. Sorry to say this, and it took me years to admit it, but nearly everyone makes a better vehicle than the Big 3 and have for many, many years.

The Big 3 have never controlled their internal costs and neither the management nor the UAW give a hoot about quality, in spite of advertising to the contrary. I could give specific examples, but I'm not writing this to stir up a hornets nest, just to give a serious answer regarding product quality/reliability/service.

- '06 Escape, 56K miles
- '05 Passat wagon, 65K miles
- '04 Outback Legacy, 80K miles

Personally, I would knock out that Passat right away. FWD vs AWD, expensive repairs, and reliability is iffy. The only way I would consider one is if it's diesel and stick (which seems to be the best combo for Passats/Jettas).

That leaves the Outback and the Escape.

First, to quell your fears about rollovers, the Escape is naturally much better than an Explorer when it comes to rollovers. Reason being, is that the Explorer is a body-on-frame suv, the Escape is a uni-body. Body on frame vehicles tend to have a higher center of gravity, making rollovers somewhat easier. With that said, newer vehicles have stability control, traction control, better tires, ect; which reduces rollover likelihood greatly. I wouldn't worry about it.

As far as which I would go with between those two, it's a bit tougher. Judging by the age and mileage the Escape is probably going to be in better shape. If that's the case, than that's what I would go with.

On a side note, one thing I don't like about Subarus is that, for many of their engines the recommended or required minimum octane fuel is 91 (premium). While they will run on regular (with reduced timing and power), I prefer to use the fuel that the manufacturer recommends. That means that, in some cases, you would end up paying more for fuel than you would have if you went with a vehicle that gets worse mileage, but is designed to run on regular.

Edit:

Just out of curiosity, I started looking at the gas mileage between the two.

Outback: 18/22 mpg (Premium Recommended)
Escape: 17/21 (Regular Recommended)

Doing the math, it would actually cost a little less to drive the Escape.

Avoid the VW, period.

VW's are great cars, especially the Passats. I've had two for the past 10 years.
If you can afford the proper maintenence they are great drivers cars.
HOWEVER. I can relate dozens of horror stories about my Passats(1992 &1995) as well as my two sisters-in-law's Passat (2003) and Bug (2005).
They will eventually nickle and dime you to death with recurring problems, mostly electrical. Sometimes they'll even strand you in the middle of intersections or on the freeway...Just two of my stories.

The reason I mention affording proper maintenence is because VW is part of the VW/Audi group. There are many parts, including complete engines, that are shared between these two companies and what that boils down to is you will pay Audi prices in parts and labor for a VW.

I'll bet that '05 wagon is right on the verge of expensive things needing to be replaced or repaired.

Go buy the Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide, whether you like CR or not, for 2009. It's $10 well spent. Then see if you can find earlier years at the library.

This is really the only way to see a high sample rate for the cars you are considering.
In my case, the CR guide simply confirmed what I lived through with VW's.

Thanks guys.

I think I made up my mind today. Running an errand took me past walmart, and as I'm approach their turn I remembered that I wanted to get a new garbage can to put in the TRUCK. (I spend too much time in my car, and if I let it the space in front of the passenger seat becomes unlivable in a couple weeks.)

As much as I like the Outbacks, two years in Vermont is a LOT of salt on the underside, and the milage is higher. Stopped at the dealership, they weren't able to negotiate much lower on price. And everyone has said that the VWs are pricey to fix, so...

Wow. I'll be able to see over annoying big pickups in parking lots. This is kind of a novel idea for me. *laughs*

The Escape is not really that high off the ground. We just bought one in October 07. In fact, I was just out changing the oil and filter this afternoon. I put a Fumoto drain valve in (FINALLY got the right size [F-106 WITH F-106 standoff-adapter] just in case you're interested). Well, that is if we have the same size engine. Ours is the middle-sized one, is that 2.8L?? I'd have to check - I don;t have access right in front of me.

This vehicle has 18K miles on it and is averaging, accordng to the dashboard computer, 24.5 mpg. Not exactly the best, but pretty good for my wife's around town driving.

I don;t drive it enough to give you a run-dwon of its ups and downs, but my wife hasnt had any complaints. The only dealer service we've had is to have the radio/CD player replaced. Something went wrong with it, I don;t remember what, but they decided to replace the unit. Took them two trys to get a good one in there.

As far as driving, I like its responsiveness. There is a little road noise, but it's not overbearing. It's got good acceleration and cruises well on the highway.

Good luck with yours!

Interesting that you bring that up, both the new Escape and new Outback have 8.4 inches of ground clearance, which isn't half bad for a vehicle of that type (More than the comparable CR-V and Rav-4). Surprisingly, it isn't even much less than an Explorer or Expedition 4x4 at 8.7".

With that said, they all still fall short of vehicles made specifically for true off-road/prerunner use. For example, vehicles like the Wrangler, Hummers, FJ Cruiser, and Ford F150 Raptor have around 10 inches of ground clearance or more out of the factory.

All in all, good luck with your Escape IronRaven! Hope it treats you well.