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Originally Posted by GaryG
There is no paper you can wave in anyone's face, and I suggest you research the operation of the Ford Escape Hybrid (FEH) A/C operation. If your mother went unarmed to a dealership and bought, it's her fault. Where do you put a car salesman on the food chain? There just above the used car salesman, don't you think? If you cared about your mother's vehicle, you should have been there for her! That said, the FEH may have been the better choice if she puts alot of miles on a car. My guess, she could have done ok with a prius!
GaryG
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Now now, let's not be too harsh, she did find the site, register, and ask the question. Let's not feed the notion that hybrid owners are pompous freaks anymore than needed, shall we?
Unfortunately nekekami, there is some truth to his statement, it does seem to be a day late and a dollar short to be asking now, doesn't it? Doing research on a major product, (and outside of a house, what's a bigger purchase?) after you buy it rather than before does seem like a silly time to do any research at all on it. Furthermore, while you had no way of knowing, car salespeople have proven to be woefully ignorant of hybrids, any and all hybrids.
Gpsman1 is right, though how right varies by how much of each kind of driving you do, and what level of AC you can live with. At the "best" end, mostly expressway 65
MPH and above, with MAX AC, yes, the FEH is more fuel efficient, though not by much. When you get away from the red Max AC setting, where the engine and the AC run constantly, and you get away from the higher speeds, you find the FEH really shines. In city stop and go style traffic, where the FEH really shines, Max AC is a fuel economy killer, as the engine runs constantly, even when stopped (and you get 0 MPGs), dramatically lowering your overall fuel economy at lower speeds, but still slightly better than a conventional Escape (though this margin is rather small). Now, should you be able to live with AC or recirculated AC, where only when the engine is on is the AC on (essentially when the vehicle is in motion is the AC on), you have a dramatic improvement in FE, and the FEH blows the conventional Escape out of the water with nearly 150% of the Escapes fuel economy. Really, how much better a FEH is depends on the driving locale and the needs of the occupants. Stop and go city, and you can live with AC not being on constantly, FEH is drastically superior. Stop and go city, and you must have AC on all the time, it's harder to justify the FEHs higher price. Expressway driving, I'd go with the FEH. (Wait, I did.
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