I've had my 2006 FEH for about 2500 miles. I traded a Suburban for it, so the difference in gas mileage comparatively is so huge, I haven't gotten to the point of worrying about it, though this site's tips of driving habits have helped me do better with the car than my husband. Considering I was paying $400 per month in fuel costs, I think Ive died and gone to heaven. If all goes well, I should get 395 miles on this tank. I will admit I never use Max AC eventhough it's been hotter than hades here in Richmond.

I bought the only FEH on the lot which has cloth upholstery. It leaves marks on my legs and catches dog hair like magnets. My husband offered to upgrade me to leather for an anniversary gift ( $1400) per our Ford dealer. I am interested to know from those with leather if the seats are comfortable. Mine feel like benches and Im using pillows for support.
Thanks,
Anne

I find the leather in my 06 FEH very comfortable. I traded an 03 Chevy Colorado with bench seats so the leather buckets are a big step up for me.

My 4WD
Wife's 4WD

A dealer offered to upgrade one of their Escape Hybrids to leather for $1400, then for $900. The front of the back seats on the upgrade are leather instead of cloth - but other than that they looked very similar (albeit they had a few wrinkles).

We obviously didn't go for it. I also think the seats are slightly different - which would explain why the seats are trimmed differently (because you're not just getting new covers).

Before paying Ford to do it - I would check with an upholstery shop about converting them to leather. You might also consider padded cloth seat covers for the front seats. They can be custom made to what is comfortable to you - and they can be easily washed.

We have 3 dogs - so we wanted leather to be able to clear the dog hair out also. We considered paying Ford to upgrade it - but I found a similar Escape with factory leather 100 miles away.

Whatever you do be careful to ensure if you have the Safety Package that provision is made for the side airbags on the front seats...