I am in the final stages of deciding which car I am going to be purchasing. It is basically down to the MMH or the Honda CRV. I love the fuel economy of the MMH but someone has raised a concern that the MMH does not have any anti-rollover technology that most other non-hybrid SUVs have. Is this correct? If so, how much, if any, weight did you give to that factor in making your purchase? Thank you.

 

None. Because none of the cars until recently had Stability Control, and pretty much all of us did fine without that "technology".

Do you do a lot of street racing? If the answer is no, then this a a feature you would never use if you had it.

And the "feature" is not that magical in the first place.
It is really over-rated in my opinion.

All it means is that a computer can brake one wheel at a time, such as just the front left and let the other 3 wheels coast. That's all it does.

It can't stop or prevent you from "rolling over". There is no such thing.

With the hybrid regenerative brakes, you use both spinning front wheels to recharge your battery, and you can't brake just one wheel. But the benefit of rengerative brakes saving you 1 or 2 gallons of gas per tank fill up far outweighs the small benefit of the stability control.

These opinions are my own, and just that, informed opinions.
Get the Hybrid. -John

 

I believe Ford has indicated that some of the stability controls are in use on the FEH/MMH just not enough to advertise as such.

I remember reading a post either here on on cleanmpg.com where someone with a FEH did some evasive type turns and the ABS light came on. Although that could have been from wheel skid/hop/float, it lets me feel better that there's something in the system that's "listening" and is willing to react to a possible issue (not that any Stability system can save you in all situations).

If you are in the market for a small to medium size SUV and don't need to tow anything, I highly recommend the FEH/MMH. I've yet to see a competitor that matches up with all variables considered.

 

It depends on who you talk to. I've owned cars with stability control and without, and prefer to have it for peace of mind. If the '08 FEH had stability control, steering wheel radio & climate buttons, and perhaps and electric A/C compressor, I would have bought immediately. Instead, I hemmed & hawed and made a lowball offer and then waited weeks 'til they caved and agreed to it.

Stability control can save your behind in some situations. Mercedes Benz and GM were two of the first to offer it volume. Their numbers, along with those of NHTSA, indicate impressive reductions in singe-car accidents where a vehicle skids out of control and runs either off the road, hits something or rolls over. Since some Ford SUVs and big vans had a history of rollovers, for whatever reasons, it's marketed by Ford as "roll skid control" or RSC.

My Prius had it (they call it VSC or vehicle skid control) and it was nicve to know it was there. To test it, we took the car into a huge, empty, snowy area and drove like maniacs. No matter what, the car would not slide significantly or spin. It's pretty amazing. It prevents both understeer (plowing) and oversteer (back sliding out) and keeps you in your corner up until the laws of physics take over.

I would not pass on the FEH or MMH due to the lack of RSC. It offers so much that's missing in the competitors.

 

RSC = Roll Stability Control

 

I agree.

Plus I will add that if you drive the hybrid the way one aught to drive a hybrid, you will never ever get yourself into a situation where you could rollover in a way that the RSC would have helped.

Besides, you have that battery pack which does a very good job of maintaining a lower-than-most-SUV's center-of-gravity.

 

BTW, are we talking about anti-roll over, or traction control here? Traction control is what would help in the snow.

 

[quote=MyPart;151639]
If you are in the market for a small to medium size SUV and don't need to tow anything, I highly recommend the FEH/MMH. I've yet to see a competitor that matches up with all variables considered.[/quote]

I appreciate all te wonderful responses. I am curious about what you wrote above, specifically as it relates to the MMH and Hinda CRV. Aside from the impressive fuel economy savings, what do you perceive that the MMH offers that the Honda CRV does not?

 

[QUOTE=GNiel9;151652]I would speak up and say that the impressive fuel economy was squarely at the top of my list. Witth my previous "smallish" SUV, I was getting between 16 to 17 mpg commuting to work. I know get 32 to 33 mpg. With that type of "real world" mileage, a lot of other things can be forgiven. For me it was things from no 6-way passenger seat to no control over the AWD/4WD system.

Plus, I believe, the FE/MM back cargo area is within an inch of the "bigger" Explorer/Mountaineer.

 

I was there too. I debated the lack of stability control in my mind over and over before making my decision. It would have been far easier for me to decide upon the FEH if it had the feature. At the end of the day though the MPG was a feature I was guaranteed to make use of, and stability control was just a maybe. I had survived this long w/o it...

If you wind up deciding to drive it efficiently it will probably be much safer than that CRV as the FEH will encourage you to drive it gently (via the mpg stats it will provide for you).

Don't get me wrong though, I wish I had it.