But I haven't spent enough time with the Chevy to say much more. Looking for safety, luxury, and gas milage in that order. Do not want to drive a 6 ton vehicle to the grocery store. Still, you get true luxury appointments from a luxury brand. You get sufficient size and heft to cover part of the safety equation, but aren't wheeling around in something as robust as a Chevy Tahoe or Ford Expedition.
Safety implies size.
Laws of physics and real-world crash statistics verify that. So you might want to step up to an MDX-size SUV from those you've been considering. The good news is that Ford found all those problems before many Escapes had been sold, and stepped up to them right away. The bad news is that so many problems since the August launch suggests that the combination of a new vehicle in an overhauled factory using new manufacturing processes is too many new things at once. That could mean other problems that we don't know about yet.