That is exactly why we bought the Mariner Hybrid. At the time, our son was just starting daycare and was around 5 months old. Trying to lift his car seat in and out of the back seat of the PASSAT was killing me at 6'7". We needed something that could fit me, that didn't require all of the bending and leaning to get the carseat in and out, and had ample room in the back for all of the baby gear. The MMH was perfect and gets far better mileage than our Passat ever could.

It won't get quite the mileage of a Prius or Camry Hybrid....but its nothing to sneeze at. The FWD Escape gets 31/36 City hwy, which for a 3,000lb SUV is quite impressive. Your mileage will vary greatly depending on your driving style. If you drive conservatively those numbers are definitely attainable. My MMH is AWD and I was getting almost 30mpg in mixed driving. Living in a major city results in lower city nimbers because of all the stop and go driving. Hybrids need some driving and coasting time to recharge the batteries and really shine. Living in a suburban environment or even more rural areas would be ideal. My in-city numbers are probably around 27-28mpg with the AWD. On the highway I easily get 31-32 mpg by cruising at the speed limit. (of course, the new winter blends are now ruining everyone's good fuel economy....but that is true of non-hybrids as well).

Do yourself a favor and track down a FWD Escape Hybrid. Neither the Escapes nor Mariners are selling that well and you can actually get one for far less than sticker price. We got our '06 at the end of may and paid almost $2000 below sticker with 0% financing for 5yrs....you'll never get that from Honda or Toyota because they don't need incentives to sell their cars!

-Tim

2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid AWD
Black with Pebble interior
Premium Package with Nav & Moonroof



Current ODO: 26,152
Typical Drive: 20 min crosstown in heavy traffic (3.5mi there and back twice a day)


532 Gallons of gas saved
That's 10,642 lbs less CO2 emitted