I will be turning in my '05 Jeep Grand Cherokee in October and am seriously considering the new '09 FEH. I prefer the looks, styling and ride of the Ford Edge; however, the tax credit and money I will be able to save on gas is very hard to ignore. Most of what I've read about the car has been very positive regarding reliability and what you get for your money, but I still have concerns about the technology and how it will hold up over time, not to mention how expensive it is to repair. I would like to try and get as much real world feedback as I can from people that actually have experience with the vehicle as opposed to getting everything from websites like kbb.com, edmunds.com, etc. I am interested in trying to find out about any pro's or con's that people would like to share. A couple of specific questions I have are as follows:

1. With the changes being made from the '08 to the '09, will the A/C be able to run on the electric engine alone, or will it still require the ICE.

2. For the '09, is the stone interior color still the only interior option available? If so, does anyone know of any good after market options to get a different leather interior?

3. Living in Michigan, I would prefer the AWD option; however, I have to be convinced that it's going to be much better in the snow than the FWD in order to sacrifice $800 of the tax credit for the AWD. Anyone have any input on these two options?

Thanks in advance for your comments, feedback, suggestions etc.!

You need to check with the Ford dealer to confirm but I don't think the A/C system is electrical driven yet. However, there are supposedly some other system changes that improve gas mileage again.

I have a FWD 08, live in SW Michigan (135 inches of snow this year) and haven't seen a need for AWD. We traded in a FWD mini-van with traction control and it never faltered in the snow either. The FEH is very solid but compared to the van, the shorter wheelbase and high center of gravity results in a rougher ride and a little more "nervous" handling. Nothing bothersome though.

We have the a 2008 AWD FEH in Royal Oak. The AWD handles better than our cars with FWD and traction control. Do we need it? No. Can you notice improved handling in several inches of fresh snow? Yes. Can you notice the difference when there is less than an inch of fresh snow down? No.

You should probably just have posted this once.

http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f...ichigan-17970/

I live in SE Michigan and think AWD is overkill given the mileage and cost penalty.

Let me save you a bit of time; for now any answer you hear is subject to change. Until we get closer to the build date for the '09 some of the hard details may be up in the air.

It's rather likely that it will work similar to the '08's with an economy mode and all that.

It's also likely that it will still only have the single interior trim style.


Bottom line, get what you're comfortable with. Many people don't have problems in the snow and report the FWD handles well in it. If all you're worried about is non-terrible snows, then no, the AWD probably isn't "worth it".

Personally, I've got the 4WD, and while it doesn't get that much use, I'm glad when I have it. I only paid $400 more for it, and since back in 2005 there was only the tax rebate not the tax credit it didn't make any difference there to me.

I live in Warren (Speaking of which, all of you if you haven't should check in on the Michigan Roll Call, see the link in my signature), but I've had to for work commute to St. Clair in some very unfavorable weather along with living on a dirt road that doesn't get much attention, along with an occasional off roading or other scenario, I'm glad I have it at those times. 4WD isn't a magic bullet to traction, but if you know how to use it, it's useful to have.

As for the MPG hit, yeah, there are times during the summer when I wonder what I'd be getting without the extra weight of the system, but I'm working on a 39 MPG tank currently, with a summer goal of 45 MPG. I got close last summer with 4 tanks over 40 and my personal best at 43.3. If it weren't for the darn cold months I'd have a pretty terrific lifetime MPG.

As for service and repairs. Well, I can only really mention the Hybrid Drivetrain Warranty to help you out. Outside of oil changes and replacing the windshield when it got pummeled by a stone on I-94, it's never been in for service. The taxi fleet is doing well, and there are 2 users here with over 90K and haven't had a single issue with the hybrid system itself.

First 4WD Hypermiler

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