I love my Escape as well... it's nice and easy with 201 horsies and 200 lb or torque... compare to Honda CRV which is barely drivable with MTX and absolutely not freeway-merging friendly with ATX. I only wish Ford made the 3.0 with MTX... and floor shifter... column shift is kind of hokie pokie guess which gear I'm in... not fun when you end up in neutral intead of drive at the red light trying to peel out...
