I think you're in a tough spot - you have a commute that will be hardest on any car in terms of mpg. And if an SUV is a must-have, that's another strike against. I'd suspect the Escape might be your best option from an FE perspective - the Highlander might be a more confortable ride. The problem is that in actual numbers, a hybrid SUV would only be 4-8 MPG higher than it's standard counterpart. Cut that in half for all-city driving. So unless you're buying a hybrid for another reason (i.e. envionment), the cost savings may not actually be that great when you have to overcome the "hybrid" cost. You may be better off with a regular Highlander or Lexus RX350, or the Acura or Honda as previously suggested.

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***

I don't have as much hybrid experience as Tim, but I'm going to offer a dissenting opinion: Yes, the all-city driving with frequent stop-starts is an absolute killer to efficiency, no matter what car you drive. Don't expect to get the rated consumption figures out of any car (though I think you already knew that). However, I think that the difference between hybrids and their gas-only counterparts is greater for all-city driving. That is, you'll get more of a benefit from a hybrid relative to gas-only when looking at all-city. After all, stop-and-go is what regenerative braking and EV-only creep were made for! Now, that is considerably hurt by the frequent short trips: if the engine doesn't warm up, it doesn't turn off, which is where part of the benefit comes from.

But for that driving pattern you might also want to consider the wear-and-tear benefits of the hybrids: since they are designed to cycle the engine on/off a lot, they generally have larger, more powerful starter motors...

I stand corrected. I own a Honda and I keep forgetting that Toyota's HSD does better in the city. Thanks for pointing that out. According to toyota.com:

Highlander 4 cyl, 4WD: 20/25
Highlander 6 cyl, 4WD: 18/24
Hybrid: 32/27

So that is a 16 mpg city difference in the Highlander. Now if that's what it actually got, you'd certainly benefit.

For grins,

Escape: 23/26
Escape Hybrid: 36/31

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***

I do pretty close to pure city (NYC streets) driving with my HiHy. I get about 21mpg. That's around a 20% increase over the standard V6's epa numbers. In reality, its more like a 50% increase over what the V6 would get in the same driving conditions.
There definitely are benefits over the standard version.
My last SUV got between 9-12mpgs on the same routes, with Premium gas at that.

The 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid is rated at 34 mpg city. With the new 2008 EPA ratings, that should be relatively accurate. There is only about a $3000 price difference between the hybrid and a similarly equipped gas version. If you qualify for the full tax credit, the tax credit will be $3000. The difference will be made up before you factor in the gas savings.

I don't have any real world numbers but my 2008 Mariner Hybrid is on order. I hope I can help more in a few weeks.

I would agree you should see at least a 50% improvement over the "standard" version. Most MPG discussions on places like escape-central.com have people getting around 14mpg in "city" driving. I think 24mpg with my AWD Mariner Hybrid is what you can expect as a minimum except for periods of extreme cold (20's or lower) or during heatwaves that necessitate running the AC.

-Tim

2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid AWD
Black with Pebble interior
Premium Package with Nav & Moonroof



Current ODO: 26,152
Typical Drive: 20 min crosstown in heavy traffic (3.5mi there and back twice a day)


532 Gallons of gas saved
That's 10,642 lbs less CO2 emitted

Ford has supposedly increased fuel mileage by 3 mpg in the 2008 model (gas and hybrid, I believe). There is a difference between the 2008 EPA ratings and the 2007 numbers adjusted for the 2008 tests.

What about the Camry hybrid? I think it is about the same size.

In 2008, Ford will be releasing a Ford Fusion hybrid and Mercury Milan hybrid.