Good luck with what I think will be a great choice.
As I said in response to your previous post, I doubted that you could both use your credit card and get the best price. That I suppose amounts to having your cake and eating it too.
at 0% finance by putting down the minimum and letting your money work for you I'm sure you will recoup whatever you might have lost by not being able to use your credit card.

I looked at the Escape also just for interest though I'm not looking for a vehicle right now.
I might have considered the Hybrid but question what the track record with repairs might be.
Perhaps that would be more suitable for stop and go city traffic which I no longer face.
Also considering the price being approx $5700 more I would question the length of payback.

Like you, I want something bigger but it is a nice vehicle. I have been a Ford man since the late 70's when I learned my lesson (long story there)

On my last vehicle my choice started out to be an Expedition Eddie Bauer with all the bells and whistles.
Considering that the large SUV's were basically Ford Pickup trucks with permanent caps and 2 extra seats and amounted to almost $50k, I opted for a E series Van, with every conceivable option insteard. With Dual A/C, DVD player with dual screens, Captains chairs, Leather, Dual Batteries and power everything, ..in other words fully loaded, I walked out with a price just under 30k with 0% financing also (btw that was in 2004).
For me it works as a great vehicle for both personal and business use and the car rarely gets out of the garage.
I guess the phenomenon of Vans has diminished and now viewed as a work vehicle since the introduction of SUV's, you can really get good pricing

The only drawbacks having a V8 is fuel of course and the fact that there is very little weight in the back end thusly not the greatest in the snow.

Again, Good luck