My wife wants a new vehicle. She wants a new F-150 but I'm having issues swallowing the gas mileage they get. She has an Explorer now that gets around 17mpg. Her drive to work is 45 miles one way and over 40 of it is freeway(65mph is max posted).

I took her to see the Ford Escape hybrid which she thought was OK but a little small and lacking a little power(her explorer has a V8). We then went to see the Toyota Highlander which she really liked. Pretty much the same size as her Explorer except the back cargo area.

Given the number of highway miles she drives(very little of any of the driving she does is city miles) I'm wondering if I may be paying for better mileage which she won't get. Are there many folks with hybrid SUV's that drive mainly highway and are happy with the mileage?

I sure wish I could talk her into a Prius or the Civic(I really like the Civic), I woulda left the Honda dealer with a Civic if I could talk her into a car over an SUV.

Thanks for any input,
Brad

Welcome to GreenHybrid!

Curious as to your wife's reasons on her vehicle preference. If it's safety, she would be ahead of what she has in a Volvo or another large sedan. If she decides to be rational, the Civic and Prius are very safe.

Your posts also suggests she might have a lead foot. If I read this correctly, most of the work commute, get up to 65mph, then cruise with the exception of five miles. There should not be a lot of acceleration.

It's unfortunate her tastes are different, but a Honda hybrid's forte' is highway driving. She could be getting 50-60mpg in a 2006 hybrid Civic.

I don't drive a Ford Escape hybrid, but I'll bet 30mpg or close is realistic.

Hope this was somewhat helpful...

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

Her choice of vehicles is just that she likes big trucks, always has.

I think she has a lead foot in the city but from our house to the highway(where the speed limit is 65) is about 2 miles and when she gets off the highway it's a little over a mile to her work. She says she drives 65-70 but since I don't ride with her I can't say if she actually does. She's starts work at 6am so she doesn't deal with rush hour traffic either.

Thanks for the response, it does help some.
Brad

Well, I own an '06 AWD FEH. My normal commute is 44 miles one way, 41 of them on the highway at 65 miles per hour. (Cruise Control) During the summer, I was getting 34+ MPGs, and even now in the cold and wind, I'm getting 31+.

However, that's for my commute and there's other driving involved at times. Your milage may vary, especially in light of your last post, unless I'm not understanding you, it's a 3 mile commute one way. With a commute that tiny, it probably doesn't matter what you get, you're going to get crappy MPGs, as there's insufficient time for good warm up to optimal use and FE.

I'm surprised Delta, I would've expected you asking if the wife really needs that much vehicle, since I am. Is there a reason she needs a large vehicle for such a small commute?

First 4WD Hypermiler

Have you read the FEH FAQ?

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Her actual drive to/from work is 45 miles each way. It's pretty much all highway though. I just added the info about the couple miles on normal(non highway) roads so folks could see just how much was actually on the highway. Her commute sounds exactly the same as yours as far as the amount of city vs highway.

As far as her "needing" such a large vehicle she doesn't. Its a "want" plain and simple. She simply likes big trucks. The most she ever carries is a couple bags of groceries or the baby stroller.

I should mention we live in Maricopa Az, a small city south of Phoenix. It's pretty darn flat if you ask me.

Sorry for the confusion,
Brad

Well, then I'll allow my (perhaps extreme) bias to show, and recommend the FEH.

You're likely to see a greater savings over time than against a HiHy, and it's not like it's a vast reduction in space like moving to a sedan hybrid. It'll be far more fuel efficient, it's got a fair amount of neat tech, and if she's willing to learn how to drive it like a hybrid rather than just another gas guzzling SUV, she can get some fantastic MPGs out of it without much sacrifice, and it'll offer space enough for your needs.

I had a '95 Explorer that I figure was getting 16 MPGs, and had a max range of 280 miles on around 16 gallons. Going to the FEH, I actually picked up Horsepower, interior space (and lost a few inches on the exterior), and can go around 500 miles between around 12 gallon fill ups. I've got a spreadsheet that I have been carefully maintaining, so far I've saved $1,209.22 in fuel in just 7 months over the Explorer! Also keep in mind, gas prices aren't likely to be going down anytime soon, and so far the "experts" are proclaiming over $3 a gallon by summer.
Something to think about.

First 4WD Hypermiler

Have you read the FEH FAQ?

Live in Michigan? Let it be known in Michigan Roll Call

Read My Automotive Blog at Rich Rambles

I love small woman driving around in mini-vans wanna be... ops I'm sorry... "light" tractors (sorry I mean trucks) carrying nothing but groceries. I guess she like the heat in Az as she's helping us produce more.

Joking aside, the highlander hybrid should be plenty better then other SUV's in it's class. It also seems to be a slow mover at dealerships so I'm sure you can find one for a decent price. It doesn't have the milage of the ford but the highlander hybrid is a lot bigger so the FE is not bad. It's also a rocket (faster then the none-hybrid V6!).

If you can wait for a year+ then I think they will come out with a new highlander based on the new (larger) camry platform. The new camry hybrid is based on the 4 cylinder so should have A LOT better gas milage. That said we're looking at least a year into the future for that one.

Ford is also talking about bringing out the edge as a hybrid (it's a good looking cross over).

Pravus Prime, you were witnessing the "kinder, gentler Delta Flyer".

BDixon made his first post on behalf of his wife, and he is entitled to a decent greeting.

I would like to gently say she has to decide if he wants are worth paying more gas - now and particulary in the future ($4-5 a gallon?) I have a very similar commute only it's 25 miles early in the morning. I get 70-80mpg in my Insight. BDixon's wife is basically doing most everything possible to consume the maximum gas possible with her vehicle choice and driving habits.

If she elected to drive a Ford Escape Hybrid, she at least doubles her fuel economy over an F150 - 4x if a Prius or Civic.

I contend that she is no less safe in the vehicles suggested, and I'm not even sure it's a "sacrifice".

It's like a lot of things in life - to get a change, you have to make some changes.

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

Could you get her to just TRY a Prius or HCH? I just gave up my AWD FEH(well, not entirely, but gave it up to hubby for "most of the time") here in the truly white north (lots of lake effect snow, the past two days we got about 10 inches in places, including the often-unplowed road I take to work), because I was won over by the Prius' utter coolness.

We have always had 2 4WD vehicles, one for each of us, and on some days it is a necessity - but we decided we could live with one in exchange for the vastly better mileage of the Prius, over my 40 mile round-trip commute. I mean, it's just me (and the occasional bag of groceries!), so why use all that gas? On really snowy days, I can take the FEH and let hubby either stay home (he works at home, so that's an option), or use the Prius for his more city-bound driving. And 90% of the time, I'm getting 50 mpg (I'm averaging the 45 I'm getting now with the 60 I expect in warmer weather), and he's getting 30 in the FEH, rather than the 30 (FEH)/17 (V6 Escape) we were getting before.

It was a little hard getting used to the idea of not having 4WD, the higher ground clearance, the cargo space, etc., but ONCE I DROVE THE PRIUS, I was sold! What I'm saying is, if you could get her to TRY it, she might actually decide that there is something to be said for sprinting around in a small, aerodynamic, red (if she so chooses, as I did), sporty little runabout, that gets 50 mpg and makes driving FUN! I suspect she enjoys the large trucks because of a feeling of power and fun (vroom vroom!), and some of that (albeit of a different kind - power that comes from agility and coolness, not from raw force) can certainly be had from a smaller, sportier car. (Now I guess I've marked myself as a true nerd, if I think a Prius is "sporty" - I know it's not a Corvette or Porsche or GTO or whatever - but compared to the boxes, trucks and SUV's I've driven for most of my adult life, it is!)
Good luck. (If you can't get anywhere with the car angle, then I would urge going with the FEH. Particularly if you don't need the AWD, the mileage is substantially better than the HiHy, and I think the cost is lower, too. And they're great vehicles!)

Thanks for all the input folks.

From what I've been able to read over the last few days on the HiHY and FEH it definiatly looks like the FEH would get better gas milage. As far as the cost difference all the dealerships said the FEH would be 30k+ whereas the HiHy we can get for 33k. Obviously this was their lowest line model but it's what my wife test drove so she won't know what she's missing lol.

I think once gas hits $2.50 it's not gonna came back down below that point. I actually expect gas to break $3.00 at some point during this year. I(and other who think the same as me) could be wrong and gas may be back below $2.00 soon and if so then so be it. If I was sure she could get 30mpg with the HiHy I'd get it tommorrow but knowing she can have a heavy foot and doesn't really care about the mileage she gets I want to take a little time and do some research.

As for her having to decide between her wants and what's actually needed I've been over it with her dozens of times. She just doesn't like the small cars. She says she can't see and doesn't feel safe. I think this is a little overblown and it's more to do with most of our friends and family all having nice new big shiny trucks and SUV's which aren't used for anything, other than 1 guy who owns a boat which he needs to pull.

For those that say/feel her driving that big explorer is wastefull and un-needed, I agree completely but about all I can do to stop her from getting another is to NOT sign any loan papers. She can always go down to a dealership and get a vehicle without my name on any of the docs.

Thanks again,
Brad