The 2012 Ford Escape and 2012 Honda CR-V are both fuel efficient four-cylinder small SUVs that offer the capability, space and ride height of an SUV with the drivability of a car.  Both the Escape and CR-V offer seating for five and options like leather seating and navigation. The 2012 Ford Escape starts at $21,440 while the 2012 Honda CR-V starts at $21,895.

The 2012 Ford Escape.

The 2012 Ford Escape is available with a manual transmission, a rarity these days in anything besides compact cars and sports cars.  The stick shift Escape is only available in front-wheel drive and is rated at 23-mpg city and 28-mpg highway. A six-speed automatic is available on the 2012 Escape that is rated at 21-mpg city and 28-mpg highway with front-wheel drive and 20-city, 26-highway mpg with all-wheel drive.  All 2012 Ford Escapes are powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with 171-hp and 171 lb-ft of torque.

2012 Honda CR-V

The 2012 Honda CR-V comes with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with 185-hp and 163 lb-ft of torque.  The 2012 CR-V is only available with a five-speed automatic transmission.  With front-wheel drive, the CR-V is rated at 22-mpg city and 31-mpg highway. With all-wheel drive, the highway mileage falls to 30-mpg and the city mileage stays the same.

The 2012 Ford Escape has 40.4 inches of front head room and 41.6 inches of front leg room, which will make it better for taller drivers than the CR-V with 38.0 inches of head room and 41.3 inches of leg room up front. The Escape has 39.2 inches of rear head room and 35.6 inches of rear leg room to the CR-V’s 38.6 inches of head room and 38.3 inches of leg room.  If you regularly have adults seated in the back seat, the CR-V’s extra leg room will probably be a huge improvement for comfort. Along with the larger rear seats, the CR-V has more cargo room than the Escape.  The 2012 Honda CR-V has 37.2 cubic feet of trunk space while the 2012 Ford Escape has 31.4 cubic feet.