Hi Iboomalot:
___You do like to stir the pot, don’t you … The EPA numbers you see on any car are generated by running certain specific test(s) in a given temperature environment, with no load accessories, on a treadmill. There is no BS.

___Secondly, the Ford Escape’s being represented here have 1 hypermiler of 7 in total that report tank over tank data. These 7 Escape HEV’s also have an accumulative mean that is just 10% below the EPA combined and this includes being released just as colder temperatures arrived country wide. A little comparison for you … The AH is running a cumulative mean of 27 mpg which is 19% below its EPA combined. The AH is the latest hybrid release other then the Mercury Mariner and right into the dead of winter so expect it to catch up somewhat as the months roll on. The Civic and Insight are just about dead on within their EPA combined so I won’t do the calc’s on them. And then we have the Prius II. It has been out for over a year so we have a years worth of data to rely on. Given its 48 mpg cumulative average here at GH and its EPA combined of 55.5, it is running 13.6% beneath its projected EPA combined.

___With the above as posted here at GH and by comparison to the EPA’s combined, would you like to make other comments in regards to the Escape HEV’s lack of FE in the real world? I think they (Ford) has done a terrific job given it is a PZEV in the clean fuel states and is achieving a very healthy average considering what most others driving SUV’s today are receiving. I am proud of the fact that Ford took it upon themselves to create a Hybrid from the Escape and Mariner. With that, you have quite a few receiving the benefits of an SUV and the greenness of just about any hybrid available.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net