Based on the Ford webpage, you appear to be right. But early last Dec., I saw an '07 FEH last year in redfire metallic with the pebble tan interior in leather. It was definitely an '07 model. And as I was strongly considering buying this vehicle, I saw it about three times, so I know I'm not mistaken in my memory. Maybe the leather upgrade has more options?? If so, maybe this is also true for the '08 model.

 

I was in a friends Explorer, they have "4x4 auto", "4x4" and "4x2" buttons. My guess (pure speculation) might be that 4x4 auto would be essentially AWD and 4x4 would lock up the differential making it run similar to a normal 4x4.

If that guess were right then the regular escape button could be a switch to go from 4x4 auto to 4x4 mode... and then the site would be correct in saying it is "always on" since there would be no 4x2 mode and you'd just be swapping between 4x4 and 4x4 auto.

 

AFAIK, the cloth interior (05-07) FEH was only available in flint. Since there were no drivetrain changes for the '08 model, the switch you saw was probably for something else. I've seen two '08 Escapes already that are in rental fleets, so I would expect that incentives will be available in short order. Since the MMH is a really slow seller, they should have awesome deals on leftover '07s in the coming months.

 

The MMH is a slow seller, and I'm not sure why. Does anyone know about the tax status of the FEH? I know there are all sorts of odd rules for this one time tax break, but one limitation is if there are over 60,000 vehicles sold. As far as I know, the FEH hasn't sold this many yet. But the MMH has sold far far less (probably because Ford/Mercury don't advertise it much). It may prove to be a nice alternative to the FEH.

 

Are you sure it wasn't a '07 MMH? I believe even the leather upgrades were all still in some shade of flint, on the '07 FEH.

Or, possibly, you saw an assembly error; a FEH with the MMH interior? I know that Mustangs have all sorts of assembly errors all the time (mix and match too... like the driver's seat and the passenger seat are a completely different color and quality control never even notices).

 

The 60,000 limit is per manufacturer. So, the FEH and the MMH sales are lumped together.

Now, I believe the feds consider Mazda to be an independent manufacturer. So, the '08 MTH sales would be considered separately. IMHO, I doubt Mazda would ever, independently, hit 60,000 MTH sold before the tax credit law expired.

 

It could have been, but if you compare the '07 to the '08 console design, it looks like they didn't make any good use of the space freed up from loosing the parking brake lever. I mean, on the '08 console, that space is just that thin black "thing" running next to the shift area. Possibly, a pencil holder?

 

I think there is some misinformation on this thread... Here is the stuff I think might be wrong...

The stearing wheel audio controls are only available as an upgrade on the Limited (non-hybrid) model. They are not available on the Hybrid.

The previous interior was the 'Flint' the new one is called 'Stone' and it is the only interior option available again. While Flint was more grey, the Stone is a blend between grey and Khaki. It actually looks better in my opinion.

As for the tax credit... the new tax credit for the 2008 FEH FWD is $3,000. As I understand it, the actual amount will vary somewhat depending on your tax catagory (though I have no idea how or why). You are right that some car manufacturers (Toyota) have hit the 60k sales mark and thus those car owners are only elligible for 50% of the credit value. However, Ford has only sold something like 8k and therefore is still eligible for the full credit until that changes. All the latter information is availble on the IRS website.

Two more things... the New Nav sys on the 2008 does away with the seperate CD change and instead is in dash like the non-Nav 6 Disc changer. I believe it also plays MP3 Cds now, though I have no tested this.

Also of note, the new Escapes have the Side Curtain Airbags as a standard feature now. This was an upgrade on earlier versions.

I ordered my 2008 FEH today and I do want to thank the people on this board who have been so helpful. This was the only place on the internet that really answered the question about MP3 CD compatability.

Oh, the new Green Color is pretty ugly. I didn't see the new Hybrid exclusive Ice Blue. I went with the Vista Blue.

 

Looking at the website pics (see attachment), it looks like the vehicles with the sun roof will no longer be getting the overhead console with the map lights. Instead, it comes with the same overhead console that was used on non-sun roof vehicles.

 

The Owners Manuals for both the FEH, on page 67 and the MMH, on page 68, describe the steering wheel audio controls. So, I assumed that with the right radio, it came with them. Maybe not?