I put about 300 miles of mostly highway driving on an Escape a few weeks ago. I came away kinda iffy about it. My co-workers thought it was a little narrow inside for the length, and while it was reasonably comfortable with bells and whistles, including Ford's superior navigation of the music system from the dashboard, the gas mileage was poor (about 24 mpg) compared to other vehicles of its size - I've routinely gotten 28-30 highway on an Equinox or Terrain 4-cyl FWD.
I wouldn't pass it up, but it wouldn't be my first choice. For a 300-mile day trip on the Interstate, I'd rather give up another 4 mpg and get a Limited trip Edge or Flex, or save another 4 mpg and get an Equinox or Terrain.