Ironically the low-rolling Bridgestones on the "classic" Prius have terrible treadlife...perhaps the rubber comes off so easily it doesn't create any resistance?

Not having compared with a conventional Escape I can't tell you if the Conti's are noisier than other tires.

 

Noise doesn't seem any worse compared to the Conti's that were on my wife's 03 Escape. We didn't like the rain/snow handling capabilities of the Conti's though so we'll have to see if these are any better.

 

I replaced the Continentals at 20,000 miles with Bridgestone Revo ATs. It killed me to essentially throw away tires with so much tread life left, but I could not stand the hard ride and noise any longer. The Revos are much, much smoother and quieter. The downside (besides the cost of the new tires, of course) is the loss of about 1-2 mpg in fuel economy. For me, that was something I was readily willing to accept.