I was ready to buy a Mercury Mariner Hybrid today until I test drove one and everytime the ICE turned off, the A/C quit working effectively here in S. Florida. I understand the Toyota Synergy Drive Air Conditioning is electric and doesn't have to have the ICE to work. If true, how well does it work? Also anyone getting good lease deals?
Thanks.

We don't use the A/C much (still rather chilly right now), but the times I've used it, I don't recall any significant shortcomings whether the ICE was on or off, except that it impacts MPG. Of course my fiancee would prefer the heat on full-blast 24/7. :-)

In Fla the A/C is a MUST. Perhaps you can find a HiHy to test drive to see?

Rick

I haven't had a lot of days where I am at where I needed the A/C, but on the few days so far this spring that I have I have not had any issues at all. Got close to 90 for a few days and everything seemed just fine.

Classact,

First, the engine does not need to run for the vehicle's a/c to work. It is totally electric, just like the brakes and power steering. I have been sitting in the car, say at a stop light, and the a/c is blowing cold and the gas engine has shut down. This was of huge importance for me since I live in Phoenix where it can get into the 120s in the summer. Since I just bought my Highlander LTD Hybrid I haven't had a chance to see how well it works in the high heat, but so far it works great. I like the auto function, all you do is adjust the temp you want and it takes care of the fan speed and location.

I did buy it used with about 14k miles on it, so I got it for a good price. I bought it from a lady that leased it in FL and she lost about 10k on it because of the buy out of the lease. We looked at a new base model with the AF package #1 for about 33000 before sales tax and dealer add-ons using our Costco auto buying program, but spent less than that and got a loaded LTD with DVD Nav. -Good Luck!!!

AZJet

AZJet:

As long as the batteries are fully charged the ICE does not need to be on to run the AC. I sat in the car waiting for my wife for something like 30 minutes or more with the AC on full blast before the ICE finally kicked in. I clicked over to the battery monitor and it was low. BTW it did not take very much driving before they were fully charged again either (even with the AC running).

Kace

Thank you. I test drove one and noticed how effective the A/C was during the electric power, that is a big difference between Toyota's system and what Ford uses with the Escape.