Hi, I'm new here. Thinking of buying my 1st hybrid, maybe an 08 Ford Escape

I have a feeling gas prices are going up so I want to add something thrifty in my garage besides my carbon fiber K2 bicycle

I'm into sportscars but driving around town blowing big $ on gas is no fun so...

 

First, welcome to GreenHybrid.

Between now as March 2009 would be a great time to find hybrid buys. With credit tight, gas relatively cheap, and 'the boat came in,' hybrid prices should soften until March.

Don't over look used hybrids, often an excellent deal. I'm partial to Prius in part because we can get excellent maintenance manuals for self-maintenance. However, the Honda hybrid is a good car too.

I bought my current, 2003, in 2005 via Ebay. If you like a puzzle, there are salvage Prius that show up and though a lot of fun, they can be a bit of challenge. The hatch-back has a lot of room for the size.

Let us know and folks with real hybrids will be able to answer any questions.

FYI, my 2003 mods:

• 1 kw AC inverter for emergency and in-car power
• tow receiver
• 4-wheel alignment
• Type WS (latest) transaxle oil instead of Type T-IV
• thermistor hack
• transaxle vent tube
• larger diameter tires

I have some other projects in progress but nothing to share outside of the technical groups.

Bob Wilson

 

Warhorse,

One BIG item with the Escape hybrid. The AC will not run when in EV mode. The compressor on the Escape that I test drove is run by the ICE and not from an electric motor powered by the traction battery like the Toyota's are. A similar problem exists with the Honda Civic but the engine will only shutdown on the Civic while stopped so that is not as big a problem as with the Ford Escape.

This might have been changed as the last Escape that I drove was a 2006 model. Perhaps one of the Escape drivers will chime in on this discussion. I know that it stays nice and chilly in Miami year round so you might not even need the AC

 

That issue in the Hondas expired with the introduction of the 2006 model. It now has electric AND conventional compressors, and the AC stays on if the ICE is off. Not sure if this is true for the Escapes yet or not.