Ford Escape Hybrid

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Anupam Routh

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Greetings!



What's your opinion of the Ford Escape Hybrid? Do any of you or your friends have this vehicle?



What's the mpg for this car?



With thanks.



 
My mom has one as a company vehicle. She said the hybrid part was a little wierd to get used to, but overall I guess she likes it, but she doesn't pay for it or the gas.
 
arouth,

i have 1 '07 escape in my fleet (non-hybrid), and so far it has held up well.

as far, as new escape hybrid, get on line. ford cannot meet the request for purchase :huh:



ford, maybe a good thing . act on it !!
 
We have a few in the motorpool at work. The AWD is not as good as standard AWD due to torque issues with the electric motor. We have had a few people almost get stuck going down a steep driveway, parking, and then trying to get out by turning around and heading right back out. Turns out you have to get a running start at the hill for the electric motor not to shut down the transmission.



I did test drive one last year and noticed that to get the advertised mileage you had to run the AC in the economy mode. This meant that the AC blew warm air on you when the vehicle was idling at stop signs.



The 2009 is supposed to have a lot of refinements in the power train and perhaps better AWD performance along with increased mileage. I would hold out until then.
 
We have an 05 Escape Hybrid. My wife drives it every day and she loves it. 33 MPG, a little less in the winter. In the summer, if you want A/C, the engine has to run, defeating the purpose of saving gas. Definitely better for city driving, but still pretty good on the highway. The 05 is pretty basic, outside of the nav, which is crappy for that year btw. Not too many other bells and whistles for our year. It does well in the winter with our hills, and never been stuck. With gas prices the way they are, it's helping. Still will take a long time to balance out, but it's a mental thing right now about saving. She really likes the new ones, but our dealer said there is very long wait to get one. They have one in stock that was traded for another car and cash from another dealer out of state, but they found out it doesn't have certain emission stuff on it and they can't sell it here.
 
If all you do is city driving I'd consider a hybrid. Otherwise you're wasting your money in a big way. It takes a long time for a hybrid to return on it's extra msrp. I'll be buying a third vehicle in 2009 or 2010 and I'd love to have a hybrid for all my city driving. However, truth be told, I think it's more cost effective to just go buy a mid mileage Focus or Corolla for like 7 grand or less. I certainly don't want anymore payments!
 
I really want to like the Escape (for my wife). However, everytime I get a close look and ride in one, it screams "cheap" "cheap".



I'm thinking Mazda CX-9 or maybe look at Ford Edge Touring Edition when it comes out. I also want to check out a Murano sometime too.



Wish there was a good suv /crossover with decent comfort, mileage, power, and great build quality. Escape just can't do it for me- would rather have a Liberty I think instead.
 
I really want to like the Escape (for my wife). However, everytime I get a close look and ride in one, it screams "cheap" "cheap".
Click to expand...



Have you looked at the Mercury Mariner? It is just like the Escape, except it is cheaper, better built, more equipped, and the dealers are better.



The Mercury by me offers an extra $1,000.00 off on any sale, including A-Plan and X-Plan along with the rebates. They also give you free car washes 6 days a week.



If my wife did not love her 2000 Explorer, we would be driving a Mariner right now. It is such a step up above the Escape.





Tom
 
They tested an early Escape Hybrid in New York city traffice an got 40MPG in the city. But lile all Hybrids, they only save gas when driving in heavy city traffic, and they don't get much better mileage than the standard gas Ezcape while driving on the highway.



If you live and drive in city traffic and don't go much over 30 MPH, you can get very good good gas mileage. However in most cities in the northeast where traffic is so bad, they have mass-transit systems, that are even cheaper to use than to buy, insure, and maintain a vehicle.



...Rich
 
One of my co-workers brought his over to Poland. He has been taking a lot of long road trips, to include two trips to Germany, a trip to Paris and now he is on Croatia. He bought it specifically for this assignment to Europe so he would save money.



In my opinion, he made a big mistake. He is putting up a lot of highway miles and walks and takes the bus/tram on the local city trips. His driving behaviors have defeated the benefit of a hybrid. If he needs service on this SUV, he will be out of luck, because hybrid Escapes aren't sold in Europe. He's on warranty, so if he has a major issue with his hybrid system, it must be shipped back to North America for repair, just like my Mazda 3.



Before buying a hybrid, determine what your driving habits are. If you don't drive in the city much, then you would be better off, just buying a standard vehicle which better fuel economy. Here in Europe, the choices are better, with smaller, more efficient engines, and numerous turbo diesel options, which are efficient, but also have a lot of power.



My vehicle has a 1.3 DDiS Turbo diesel, which gives me over 45 mpg and good acceleration with a 5-speed manual transmission. The Suzuki Swift with this engine gets 60+ mpg on the highway. Nothing like an Escape, but if you don't need anything more than a commuter and grocery hauler, there may be some new options coming to the US very quickly to help consumers save gas.



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Before anyone buys a hybrid, compare the cost savings per MPG and compare that to the investment of the hybrid. Most will find out, unless you are looking for that "Green feeling", a hybrid is a waste of money.





Tom
 
Overall, I think the hybrid technology is a good idea and a step in the right direction. It is more practical, at least from a "green" point of view than a plug-in electric vehicle. The plug-ins require a source of electricity that may be worse for the environment than a hybrid. As more and more hybrids are sold the scale of economies will eventually bring the cost down. Several cities are using the Escape Hybrids in their taxi fleets with apparently acceptable results.
 
I would have gotten one but I couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone about the towing for my jetski. Plus I'd need a utility trailer since I wouldn't have a bed. Some literature said they could tow 1000 lb. but then I couldn't find a hitch and it was not listed as a factory option. Now I see that Hidden Hitch has one for it.
 
Hybrds, again...are only really good for in city driving not if you are going to drive over the road for distance there is not much of a mpg savings on them if you do more distant driving.



 

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