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Hybrid Vehicles Ford Escape Hybrid New Ford Escape Hybrid Owners - Give Us Your Report
125 messages, Last post on Nov 01, 2008 at 10:17 PM
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Purchased our 2007 FEH AWD from a local dealer's lot two weeks ago after seeing the 2008 sneak-peeks and the LA auto show text/pics. The new design probably improves on some of the prior version's looks/layout issues. I'm sure the Ford fleet managers and focus groups love the changes, but the 2008 seems too truck-like for us. (Of course, that's certainly our subjective opinion; your mileage may vary).  My wife's the primary driver. We've only put a bit more than 500 miles on it so far, and both of us like almost everything about this vehicle. No buyer's remorse at all.  Nice performance; comfortable front heated seats (although the switches need to be moved to the dashboard); great space/capacity behind the 2nd seats; very smooth transitions between the elec and gas propulsion systems; exterior fit and finish look really great; the interior is familiar when compared to our 2004 Expedition, although most of the non-leather materials are very bland. The GPS' technology is long-in-the-tooth (using CDs), plus the CD set is two years old. When updates are available every 24-30 months, they'll cost $200+ per set, based upon the mapping company's response to my inquiry. Above all, this vehicle is fun to drive! We look forward to going through our first winter with this economical AWD. 
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I purchased our 06 Escape from a Saturn dealship here in town with only 3500 miles on it. After some research I was able to establish that lady had purchased it new from our local Ford dealship-but had 4 kids-three of which were in car seats. So before too long she traded it in on a Saturn Van. The first 5 or so tanks were runnning about 29mpg. Then it started dropping. When it hit about 24 I took it into the dealership-according to them nothing was wrong, and we were told it took 5-6 thousand miles for the computer to "learn". I took it back when it hit 20 mpg and was told again that there was nothing wrong and were told by the service departments only "Tech" (qualified to work on it)that "You do realise that this is not a multidriver vehicle, right?" I was astounded. We hit a bottom of 17mpg and it is now at 20. I contacted the service manager and he said he was baffaled. (Much to the irritation of my wife) The up side is my wife loves it, it handles fantastic in the snow. Any suggestions? Thanks , Randy
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Replying to: loveak (Dec 18, 2006 10:11 pm)
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If you want an accurate reading, you need to reset the trip computer with each tank up. You also need to read back a few pages as many people have already posted how the cold effects all hybrids and what to do about it. Mark.
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Replying to: karls (Dec 17, 2006 9:38 am) Prius Camry Accord Escape Mariner Accord was nice. Camry was somewhat disappointing. Prius was good. Mariner was good. Escape was good. At this moment you can't find no 4WD Escape Hybrids in dealer stock in Atlanta (or other big towns in Ga.) Most of the Mariners available are 4WD, and they are loaded up with costly packages. Many have the navigation unit which several owners posting here indicate they are not satisified with. So I found 2 base units. One black MMH 4WD and stumbled into one "sage" MMH 4WD. The sage colored one was showing up on internet but dealership "couldn't locate it in their inventory". It turned out that they had a "computer glitch" (or human glitch aahaha) and I ended up benefiting from it. After several calls from me to them they discovered it in their adjacent lot. I drove about 60 mi and tested it. Bought it on the spot. And they did not charge to deliver it that day to my home 60 miles away! Aside from great gas mileage, the Mariner had 5 miles on it and was fun for me to drive. It's: a. Handsome style b. 'Sage' is a dynamite color c. Entry and exit are excellent d. Controls ok. (takes a little getting use to) e. Visibility is great (compared to Element, etc) f. Noise level is low. g. Cloth seats comfortable h. I like the self dimming mirror (standard) i. 16" wheels look good j. Bumpers and panels were smooth "sage" color. k. Roominess l. Better than expected handling m. I like tax credits n. Standard sound system is just "ok" o. Good environmental image I bought the base model of the Mariner Hybrid 4WD. I like it. Did the X plan price and saved pretty well off MSRP by paying cash. (And no "Documentation Fees" added in because of using X-Plan) I'm shopping for vent shades for windows (rain out, air in) and trying to find a set of decent splash guards because areas behind tires will suffer from dirt, tar gravel, etc. over time. Posting in here because Mariner Hybrid is a cousin to the Escape Hybrid. MMH has no discussion here at Edmunds. These vehicles are kind of fun and makes you feel good driving them. |
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Hey, check out www.fordaccessories.com Mark. |
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Replying to: stevedebi (Dec 19, 2006 3:08 pm) The service manager and I got into an interesting discussion the other day about the snow tires. I'm going to take a tape and see if the tires are exactly what the originals are. We aren't depending on the digital but using the old pen and paper. Running about 20 off and on now. |
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You may be getting 20mpg in mixed driving but I assure, that is at least as good if not much better than what a v6 Escape would get in mixed driving. Also, the snow tires are scrubbing off some MPG due to greater friction. Mark. |
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Replying to: mschmal (Jan 04, 2007 11:37 am) The Good: 28 - 31 mpg in the city or on the highway; pretty good in decent weather. Handling in bad weather is decent. The Bad: This morning, after dropping my daughter off at school, I looked at the mileage and it posted 19.1 mpg. In the 1.3 mile drive from the school, it dropped down to 18.9 and 18.8 mpg. The "Miles to Empty" gauge dropped from 184 miles to empty to 182 miles to empty in less than a minute of driving! The typically sluggish performance of the truck seems significantly exacerbated by the cold (and admittedly it's really really cold here--although the truck is garaged). Also, I have stock tires--not snows, and recently inflated them. I read that in cold weather, mpg would drop some, but 40%?? That's really bad--my former Audi A6 turbo got better mileage than this. Because of the squeaks that should never occur on a new vehicle (see my and other people's posts about this), the klugey computer that needs to be reset often and doesn't even provide an external temp, and the crummy NAV system, I'm less than satisfied. Ford needs to own known problems (like the squeaking), and has a lot more work to do regarding how to engineer a hybrid in cold weather conditions (should we all just move to Florida?), and I'm seriously considering replacing this with a Toyota Highlander Hybrid, but I don't know how that handles the cold... |
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Replying to: gmoreau (Jan 26, 2007 6:39 am) Ya the thing that does bug me is that I don't have an external temperature reading, and a few more storage compartments (overhead space is wasted)would be great and just one more gallon of gas in the tank would extend my range considerably. One thing you have to realize is that on extremely short trips (a mile or less) you really kill the mileage. This is true in most vehicles until they warm up. It may be aggravated a little in a hybrid because the engine runs at a higher RPM to charge the batteries even while stopped. Once you hit the 3 to 4 mile mark it all seems to balance out. The cold obviously has a big effect as both batteries and engines are least efficient when they are cold. Overall I have been extremely happy with my EH and it has saved me a tone of money in fuel bills compared to the VAN that I was using. Now if they would only put in a diesel then we could be talking real mileage 
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