I have been looking at buying a FEH, and still need to test drive. (We live very rural so I need to get somewhere to find one to drive) . My dealer here has tried to talk us out of a hybrid saying that where we live the savings in gas isn't there. My husband is listening. 4wd is a must and we live in a town with no traffic lights-only stop signs, and it is 5 miles from one end to the other. We live 3 miles out so a short 55 miles zone. and it is cold here in winter avg's mid teens and 20's at night so warming my car up in the morning is a must. Can you give me insight to my MPG and some arguments for my husband? I can't think of any more info I need to give. Oh.. also we test drove a 2007 regular Escape-the seats weren't great (I drive a yukon XL now with great lumbar controls and heat) I know I can have heat installed but have a bad back and love the lumbar-any comments on this?
thanks so much for all the help.
Krista

 

Krista your always welcome to ask questions. I'm not sure where you live but you do not want to "let your vehicle stand still and idle" as part of the warm up period in the am. You want to install an engine block heater (almost instant heat with this option) and heated seats to cope with what is perceived as cold. Letting the vehicle warm-up prior to driving it will significantly depress the gas mileage.

AWD option--I have it (weekly ski trips and frequent early 5am drives in rural areas) but ask why do you need it? If it snows, do you wait until the plows clear the road?

Seats? I'm not sure if the Mercury version has an inflaitable lumbar section or not? Only you and your body can determine the comfort level.

Mileage?-MPG will drop in cold weather anywhere from 5-15% due to a variety of factors including your driving style. If you look at the data from various posters on this site and others, you will see a range from somewhere between the low to mid 20's to upper 30's. There are individuals who do obtain mileage figures in the 40's but most of us can not duplicate this in our hometown environment.

Salestaff?- I actuall went to four different dealerships prior to obtaining my vehicle and the salestaff at the first three went thru the routine of "hybrid to non-hybrid vehicles comparisions". There are only so many FEH vehicles and once you are in the door of the dealership that does not have a FEH, they will try to convice you to purchase a non-hybrid vehicle. You need to ask yourself why you need a SUV instead of a car based hybrid. The Ford Fusion Hybrid will arrive later this year and should/could produce higher fuel economy figures than the Escape Hybrid.

Driving the Escape Hybrid has a different feel than non-hybrid vehicles. You may want to do a search such as in Cars.com and attempt to locate a used one for test driving.

 

I would actually strongly disagree with that point. As the owner of a 2008 which has been test driven by the whole family (including the lead foots, dune buggy enthusiasts, and GM retirees) the number one comment was that it was a very unremarkable drive. They really didn't notice the hybrid system.

Of course, both we and they drove it like it was a normal car and didn't try to hypermile or otherwise extend the fuel economy. We figure owning a car is about convenience and riding the bus is about saving money.

To the OP: In my experience, I got better gas mileage driving in rural Kentucky than I ever have driving around Detroit. Those 45mph & 55mph roads are a lot better for the mileage than the freeway assuming you follow the speed limit or 5mph higher. I could easily get 33mpg per tank while cruising around Frankfurt and Bardstown. Compare that to our average 31mpg per tank in a more congested environment.

Winter impact was rough on us. Days when the daily high was 20F and we only drove 5 miles or less fuel economy dropped to around 22mpg. Roughly the same as the inline 4 engine. If we drove it for 30 minutes or more at a stretch, it would climb to around 27mpg. That has a lot to do with our roads and driving on ice because our Saturn drops from 28mpg down to 24mpg in the winter as well (it only drives on the freeway).

 

I want to add, but it's basicly miminicing everything all ready said. I love my 08, and we test drove a v6 08. It was the first time either of us has even been in an escape. Then we drove our trade in 250 miles to buy our FEH sight unseen, and it drove much like the v6, except quiter when the engine cut out!

Here in OK we have all 4 seasons, sometimes in the same week, and rarely in the same day (can you say snow in the morning and 80 by dinner?!) and the worst we did this last winter was 17 (according to the scan gauge) on 1 10mile round trip to pick up the kids from school when it was like 10 out. left the ICE on for the 20min wait from arriving at school until they got out. I think my worst tank was only like 22-25 can't recall now.

Rural I feel I get better mpg's! I live about 5 miles from work. I have 2-3 ways of getting there, all take 10min. 1) is 3 miles of 45mph country miles, and 3 miles of highway 60mph. I avg'd 27-30 on that route. option 2) recently re-opned after many months of construction, and many more to finish, is all country miles (you know stop signs every 1-3 miles) and avg 45mph speed limit. Still takes 10 mins (a tad shorter drive) but can EV more (to/from stops) and the 45Mph vs 60Mph, I think my avg is up to 32 now, havn't been keeping close track recently, just using the on board computer.

 

And just who is this authority on hybrid paybacks and how did he come to this magic conclusion? Gas prices aren't likely to go down anytime soon and the higher it goes, the faster the payback. In fact, I've already recouped the entire "hybrid premium" in fuel savings, years ahead of my projected date when I bought mine.

You fail to mention your commuting habits, or is that it? What's a "long drive" day and a "short drive" day for you? If you're only going to go 3-5 miles, you're never going to get great MPG in any vehicle, and it will be a while before you see significant savings due to the better fuel economy.


No offence, but LOL, no it's not. Here in MI I've had days were it's -10 or colder and I've got heat pouring into the cabin before I'm on a main road. If heat really is that vital, there's as mentioned an engine block heater.

You didn't mention where you live or how warm it gets there, which plays a big factor.

Are you looking to merely have a convayance that gets good MPG or are you willing to alter some of your driving habits and do a bit of research to find out how you can maximize your performance?

During the winter (-15 to 20) I tend to average about 30 MPG with my 2006 AWD FEH. During the summer (65 to 90) I tend to average between 37-40 MPG. Will you get performance like that? I don't know, but it should be possible unless you have a confiningly short commute or a lack of warmer weather.

Lastly, if I'm coming off as rude or confrontational, that's not my intent, and I apologize if that's the way what I've "said" sounded.

 

Thanks for all the input.
I live in Oregon and you are correct it really isn't "COLD" here what i meant was that my car warms up now for 15 minutes to heat it enough to be able to put my 1 year old in comfortably and have the windows cleared of frost but it sounds like with a heater block the air would warm fast and heat the interior and defrost quickly.
4wd: I need a 4wd because I have a longer drive I am a nurse on call at night and need to be able to get down it and also because our roads aren't always plowed in a timely fashion and the ones in town aren't usually plowed at all plus I just feel more secure in a 4wd and my husband will not even entertain a conversation on fwd-which leads to the next answer he will also not entertain buying a car at all-need the space, don't want car...blah blah blah.

I don't know how much I will be able to alter my driving habits-I avg 35 around town now and in a 55 mile an hour my rule (and I follow) is to keep it just under 70. I don't know that I can tame it down to 60 or under but I have been taking note of tips to maximize mileage and believe I can institute at least some. I live 3 miles from town and probably avg 10 to 20 miles a day 80 % of which is under 45 mph. But we live 100 miles from anywhere that you can buy socks etc (we have only a groc store) so in order to shop I must go 100m miles-been doing a lot less of this lately due to it costing so much to drive. Winters avg teens at night and 20 to 30's days and summers hottest is usually 90 more like 75 degree days so it is actually a mild place to live.

I am (at this point) not obsessed with the best mileage possible (although it sounds like after I get my FEH I may become that way) I am just tired of feeding the gas machine while it takes advantage of us, and even if I get the low end of the gas mileage it will save me tons (I get 15 now) also feel like I need to do something for my earth-for my childrens future and to set an example for her-and it will give me better griping rights if I am doing something about it. I guess those are my main reasons for looking at a FEH.
thanks for all your input
krista

 

The hybrid will be slightly better on gas in your short shuttle trips back and forth ( 5 miles or less ) but only slightly better than a regular Escape so don't get your hopes up there.

Long trips, the car will be great for you in almost any weather.
So will the longer trips make up for your short trips that will be so-so?

The fact it is a hybrid does not make it wierd to drive.
The fact it has a eCVT ( no gear shifting, at all... ) takes a little getting used to.
The fact that the engine can be at almost any RPM at any speed is a little wierd.
The RPM's tend to run faster than a regular car, but that's no biggie.

The car heats up REALLY FAST to 100 degrees to give you cabin heat.
( Like in 1 minute from a 25 degree start )
It takes about 5-10 minutes for the engine to get fully warm for best gas mileage.
A plug-in engine block heater will help with both.
You won't need a plug-in heater for cabin heat, if a 1 minute wait is quick enough for you.
I use the plug-in heater so my gas mileage in winter is about the same as summer.

I will tell you the 4 wheel drive is pretty close to useless. It's just not needed in this car.
I drive between Colorado and Minnesota and see lots of snow and ice.
If there is enough snow to stop my FWD, there's enough snow to stop any car.
The only thing the 4 wheel drive version will do is lower your MPG year-round.
I will be happy to talk to your husband.
The FWD will save you $1000 up front, and probably $300 a year in gas.

 

You have to find your own comfort level on the 4WD but I have a long driveway and we had 135 inches of snow this year and never felt the need for 4WD in the Escape. I've driven 2008 V6 Escapes (rentals) a good bit and I really don't see a big difference in the driving experience. There is a difference in brake feel that takes a day or two to get used to. I have to think about it to notice the transmission difference.

Based on our experience, I think you will see a significant savings with the FEH. (If you can get one.)

 

Remember too that regardless of gas savings, hybrids have less impact on the environment than full gas vehicles. So, even if your savings on gas is minimal (which I'd find hard to believe), it's good to go hybrid. Even minimal gas savings will offset the extra cost associated w/ the hybrid if you keep it at least 5 years.

 

Very good point. Like 1 oil change per year for most drivers in most conditions.
It is safe to go 10,000 miles or 12 months with a blended oil like Ford or 'Motorcraft'.
It is safe to go 15,000 miles or 12 months with a fully synthetic oil like Mobil 1.
The oil filter canister is permanent ( reusable ) on this car also.
Just to name a few "other" benefits.
-John