I'm not a FEH owner yet, I'm concidering one when my Explorer payments end in August. As far as economic payback, my wife put 90k miles on the Explorer in 5 years so at $3.00 a gallon I figure I'll pay back the $5K difference in much less then that time. Better if a gov. kickback happens. I've been curious about the performace of a hybrid in a hot climate and I found this nugget via Google:
http://avt.inel.gov/pdf/hev/fact_sheet5881.pdf
Compared with the 17 MPG I get with the Explorer, 28.7 will do the trick.
Beyond than the economy, I like the technology of the hybrid idea. It's all about feeling good about what you drive after all.

Hi Jay, and welcome! Ask ANY questions you may have, and you will get prompt, educated answers on here. Whatever you do, don't go to a dealer for advice! They don't drive them every day, and don't know the ins, outs, and little tips and tricks the people here do.

28.7 MPG is a very conservative ( low ) estimate for what you may get.
It can only go up from there.

Hot Climate.
Well, this Hybrid has a small engine that aids in fuel economy.
As you know, running the Air Conditioner at home racks up your electric bill.
A/C takes a lot of energy, no matter how you look at it.
So in the FEH that energy must come from gasoline.
Over the highway, the % change in MPG will be pretty small.
In stop and go city driving, the MPG hit will be HUGE.
It is a quandry for sure, since at high speeds, you can open the windows and stay pretty cool under most cases, and when you are stuck in traffic and not moving is when you want to use A/C the most.

The A/C must run from the gasoline engine. So A/C on = gas engine on.
The best part of the Hybrid is ENGINE OFF anytime you are not moving.
The way I get the HUGE numbers below is, I trick the car to have engine off anytime I am COASTING... not just standing still.

The heat by itself will have a small impact.
The A/C use will have a huge impact on your MPG.

Hope that helps. But figure out, how many months a year will you need A/C?
For me, it's June-July-Aug. The rest of the year more than makes up for those 3 im my case.

Cold climate.
Below freezing is not great for Hybrids either. As you know with any battery, they perform poorly when really cold, and for emissions reasons, you have to burn more gas to keep the engine hot. I know, sounds silly, burn more gas to make less pollution, but it really does work that way. The tailpipe emissions from 1 gallon of HOT gasses is less hazardous, than emissions of 0.75 gallons from a cool engine.

So in 20'F to about 80'F expect excellent results. Results will taper off above or below this, but they will in any car actually.
If you love to "tinker" you will really love this car and will get better than 40 MPG. If you want the whole family to share the car, wife, teenage kids, etc... or just turn the key and go... 28 MPG will be the norm, if you are happy with that.
Many people are.
And I'm happy they are not driving an 11 MPG "tank" as well.

Any more questions/concerns?
You WILL feel good driving one every day. I guarantee it!
-John

John,
Thanks for the info. Actually the hot months here are May, June July August, September and part of October. It is REQUIRED to run the A/C then (at least for my wife who will use the car mostly). On the other hand, we will run with no air and no heat for most of the rest of the time. I figure if I get a moonroof, she will be able to open the roof and get some cooling for the months where it is warm, but not hot. My other part of the philosophy is that I pay for the car payment and she pays for the gas so the payment will be about the same, but the noise level about gas prices will be much lower

I got to believe with the volitile oil supply conditions that gas prices will be not going down much soon and have a chance to spike with periods of shortages based on political advantage and not necessarily reserves. A hedge against that is a useful secondary reason. I'm not much of a greenie, I drive a Mustang GT convertible. I am an engineer and really like the hybrid concept. A friend of mine worked at Ford in the 60s and told me about hybrid engines investigated in that period, so the concept isn't new, just the high gas prices making it a reality. Ideally the ICE would be an alcohol driven tubine for some real oil independence and effeciency. If and when I buy, I'll post the hot weather statistics.

Jay

There's also the question of how much AC and the type of driving you use.

There's essentially 2 AC settings, 1 is the max AC, and follows, as John pointed out, when the AC is on, the Engines on, and the AC stays on, eliminating most of the hybrid benefits at low and stopped speeds.

However, should you be able to live with the other AC setting, which is when the engine is on, the AC is on, and you can live without the AC being off when you're stopped or at low speeds for those moments, and with it running when you're moving, then you'll find you'll get far greater MPGs, and still stay cool.

Also, as mentioned at the FEH Experience, you're better off (if you can) to lower the windows than use the AC at lower speeds. At 65 MPH and above, you're about even between the increased drag from the windows and the AC usage.

So, if you do a lot of city driving, it depends on which AC setting you use, and if you do a lot of expressway driving, then it doesn't really matter so much.

As mentioned, you'll also have a few months out of the year where you'll get vastly better MPGs regardless.

First 4WD Hypermiler

Have you read the FEH FAQ?

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Read My Automotive Blog at Rich Rambles

I'm not so sure. In a very hot climate, one will need to run the air conditioner or have the windows open on the freeway. In a cool climate, one can often have the windows closed and the AC off during those same periods. I assume the FE hit from having windows open or the AC on at 65+ mph is substantial.

Jim, I think pravus (Rich) was just saying that the hit on the freeway is much less than in city driving with the A/C, and I agree in the general sense. If I have no choice but to run Max A/C and no EV in the city, I take to the freeway and draft when posible. With all we have learned with P&G, "N" gliding, drafting, tire psi at 44 etc., either city or freeway can yield >30pmg in the worst conditions with A/C IMO. Now if your planning on 75mph plus driving, don't expect >30mpg unless you have a decent draft.

GaryG

I realize it is pretty difficult to understand unless you live here, but running with no airconditioning in the hot months is not an option. Inside temperatures after sitting in the sun can be 150 degrees. What might be good for this climate is if there were thermionic cooling boost so some amount of cooling would continue when waiting for stop lights so the engine could shut down. I rode a motorcycle for a while here and it is interesting because when it it 110 outside the faster you go the hotter you get. You have to dress as you would in the cold to keep your body temperature low. When I first moved here I had cars that had no air. I don't wish to go back to those conditions and my wife has much less tolerance for temperature swings than I do. Anyway I figure if I get a 30% increase in gas mileage I break even. So I'd be happy to get higher measures in the non-hot months.

Jay

I live in west central Florida so I have a good idea of what driving in warm a climate is like. You can pretty much simulate in your current vehicle what driving the Hybrid is like in the non Max-AC mode. In fact, I do it every day on the way home in any of my cars that is to be parked in my garage. Merely switch from AC to vent mode leaving the fan on. I do it to allow condensation to either drain or dry out from the evaporator so I don't get puddles of water on the garage floor and to discourage the formation of mold in the system. The AC does not immediately start blowing warm air. There is still chilled refrigerant in the evaporator and its lines so you continue to get cool air. Obviously this air will get less cool, but I've found it very tolerable. Back to the Hybrid, when stopped at a light, etc. you will continue to get cool air in all but the worst combination of circumstances, i.e. hot day, stop and go traffic without reaching speeds where the AC compressor runs or runs enough and/or a really long traffic light. Point is you can pretty much try this with your current vehicle merely by shutting off the AC compressor (by going into vent mode with the fan on) at traffic lights and until you reach speeds of 20-25 MPH.

2006 FEH 4WD Dark Shadow Gray

Jason,

I thought about doing what you suggested last week, but one of my cars is in the shop (getting the air conditoner fixed ) so I've been carless. I probably could stand this, but the wife is a different story. Her thermostat has a much narrower range then mine. I'll see what it is like this week. The forecast is for 110. I think running on normal will work after about the first 10 minutes of driving on Max when the interior temperature gets < 100. I wish normal AC would still recirculate inside air but let the engine shut off. Starting with outside air at 105-115 makes the coasting on existing cool more difficult. Maybe Ford is watching this forum and will take this suggestion.

Jay

I've got an '06 so it might only be on the '06, however, here are THREE settings for AC. Low (engine shuts off and outside air is pulled in at all times--frankly not terribly useful in my opinion). Medium (engine STILL shuts off but the air is recirculated--notice the little arrow that goes in a loop). And High (which is red because it keeps the engine on at all times.

So at least on the 06 there already IS a setting that recirculates the air and allows the engine to shut down.

I was just driving around all day in it with the outside temp at 93F and the medium setting was fine. And I was getting 30.5MPG in a 4WD so its not too much of a hit (I usually get about 31 or so).