Don't listen to the Ford negs who like to show up on Ford reviews. The Escape, and especially the hybrids, are very nice vehicles. Mine is 4 years old and no problems. After 20,000 miles, averaging 46.6 mpg.
Great review. Always love your straight forward honesty. Just got a used 2021 of these. Could not find a Rav4 prime that was not 20k more. Fantastic gas mileage, great visibility, like the ride and safety. Might not hold up like the Toyota but the 20k less can go a long ways. Don't need AWD in city.
For $30k, you can get a Mazda CX30 or Subaru Crosstrek. The Ford will fall apart in 3 years and have tons of recalls. Every American brand car or suv that i every had, did not last beyond 60,000 miles before it had major problems.