I don't really agree with this statement & think it's very misleading for most normal drivers.

I have driven both vehicles rather extensively & while I routinely get in the high 40's for mpg in my Mothers Prius, I have never gotten close to that in the FEH except for very short stretches.

It is rather easy to drive a Prius to get super mileage WITHOUT driving in such a way that an 80 year old lady following behind you will be annoyed at "the idiot in the Hybrid" or doing stupid/dangerous/illegal "hypermiler" tricks like I read here at times.

Don't get me wrong, I employ a bunch of the tricks listed here on a daily basis (neutral coasting, L advantage, fake shift etc etc). That has helped me improve my mileage quite noticeably, but it is still well below what I (or any other normal driver) is going to get in a Prius II.

~John

 

well it looks like I will be trading my 08 FEH for a 07 Black prius with the touring package, and all the extras. They offered me 27,500 for my escape so that only $500 shy of my payoff! Not to shabby. With the extra gas I will be saving its not a bad deal. I also was able to get the Prius for $800 over dealer invoice! it took the better part of a day dealing with them but all seems to be good. Just have to wait until tomorrow for them to dealer trade the Prius. So I guess now I will have to split my time here and in the prius forum! I am going to miss my sunroof but as a realtor the electric a/c will be well worth it, since I am driving on electric so much going thru neighborhoods.

 

That sounds like an awesome deal & you're gonna love the car.

I drove my Mothers car again over last weekend & every time I drive it I love the thing.

Here is an interesting story; When my Mom wanted to buy a Prius there where NONE available & dealers all had long waiting lists for them. She wanted the pretty rich metallic red color that was available at the time & for some reason that made it even harder to get. She ended up waiting 14 months on the list to get hers, but said the wait was well worth it because the car was everything she hoped it would be.

Well, she had the car for 6 weeks & an old lady (my Mom is 80 years old & this women was older than her) made an unsignaled left turn directly into the path of my Mom & she t-boned her. Both air bags went off & basically the car was totaled. She got paid by the insurance company & immediately went right back to the dealer & ordered the EXACT SAME car again (she told them to duplicate the original order & not change one single detail).

~John

 

We own both an '05 FEH and an '06 Prius. The Prius has more toys (bluetooth phone, nav system, voice command, Aux input jack for iPod, etc.) and of course much better fuel economy.

The FEH is a more comfortable riding vehicle, has more front seat leg room, and a lot more cargo space (e.g. before I had my hitch installed for a hitch-mounted bike rack I used to load a pair of mountain bikes in the back of the FEH by folding the seats flat, and I had a 1x4 board which had a couple of front fork-mount clamps for bikes which were bolted to the board. I would lay the board (my home-made bike rack) in the back, take off the front tires of the bikes, and then load the bikes in and clamp them to the board using the fork-mount. I could probably load 4 bikes into the back of my FEH this way (I only ever load 2). There's no way 2 bikes would fit in the Prius without some major dis-assembly. I suppose I could use one of those bike racks designed to mount on a hatch-back, but I loath those things and cringe at the thought of what they're doing to my paint job -- esp. since they rattle & bounce when you hit bumps.

That said, we still drive the Prius more than the FEH.

Basically the FEH is for bad weather, winter months, and cargo. Otherwise the preference is to drive the Prius because of it's electronic toys and better fuel economy.

 

hi alex!
i really hope your still not considering the Prius... granted it does get some better mileage (08 EPA tests show 45mpg, NOT 60 as previously thought) there are some downsides compared to the 08 FEH... on my 08FEH i have got 44.2... most of the Prius's on Green Hybrid get around 45.... im getting the mileage of a Prius and all the added benefits of below... read on


1) Head Room for Escape is 40.4 / 39.2 in
Head Room for the Prius is 39.1 / 37.3 in

2) Ground Clearance for the Escape is 8.6 in
Ground Clearance for the Prius is 5.6 inches...
A 3 Inch difference can come in handy during rain storms, snow, whatever the situation...

3) Cargo Room for the Escape is an astounding 66.0 Cubic Feet (w/ 2nd row seats folded) ... With Second Row seats inplace it is still nearly double the Prius, at 27.8 Cubic Feet
Cargo Room for the Prius is a dismal 14.4 Cubic Feet (no option to fold down rear seats according to Toyota's website... )

4) The Length of the FORD Escape is 174.7 Feet, and the Wheel Base is 103.1...
The Length of the Prius is 175.0 and the wheel base is 106.3 ...
This makes the Escape easier to park than the Prius in all enviornments

5) Prius lacks 110 Volt plug
Ford Escape has such a plug for convenient usage

6) Prius is produced in Toyota City, Japan
The Ford Escape is produced in Kansas ... BY AMERICANS

7) The Ford Escape has remarkable styling, new, innovative, American, and rugged, yet not TOO futuristic (meaning it has a shifter, not a stupid ****)
The Prius looks like a weird space ship and as you drive it you are automatically labeled as a liberal hippy who drives a Prius... Those are some of the pre - concieved notions people have about the car... it stands out too much

8) and i think the biggest thing is what is the Prius's warrenty? i read there was an "extended'' 6 / 60,000 mile warrenty, and the regular one was a 3 Year 30,000 mile warrenty... i know not the entire vehicle was covered on both warrenties... different parts had different warrenties...

FORD ESCAPE HYBRID has 10 year 100,000 mile warrenty, or if in one of the 5 qualified states, 10 year , 150,000 Mile warrenty BUMPER TO BUMPER...

this would be my biggest concern, especially after the JD POWER report showing Ford beat out Toyota in its 2007-2008 Quality reports... as odd as it may sound to some people an AMERICAN company beat out a foriegn one in quality (per 100 per model were brought in w/ problems)

Please read the link below for the proof of the Ford beating Toyota story
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19073071

those are alot of reasons

Buy American ... Buy a Hybrid

 

Eric, well you will be happy to know that i am still the proud owner of my 08 FEH. the toyota dealer tried to jack me with the interest rate at the end. I think they were trying to make up for the deal they gave me and thought I would be dumb enough to take it, but I walked out. You are right I do like all the things that the escape has. I really like that it is built here!

 

The FEH has a 3 year/36000 mile bumper to bumper warranty.

~John

 

& if you drove the Prius in the same manner, you would probably get over 60 mpg.

I love my FEH, but my Mother drives an 06 Prius (that she absolutely LOVES) & I can tell you after driving both vehicles that the Prius gets a lot better mpg than the Escape.....

~John

 

I think he might have been talking about the hybrid warranty. But I think that is like 8yr 80,000miles.

 

in RI the hybrid warrenty is 10 year 150,000 Mile Warrenty on the Hybrid powertrain... sorry about the mix up...

however, i still point to the MSNBC article of JDPower ranking Ford higher than Toyota as ANOTHER selling point for the Escape Hybrid... and the Prius does get some better mileage, but i would go w/ the Escape anyday because it is American, it is a Ford (which my family has owned since 1928), its better looking than a Prius, the quality of Ford i believe is now better than Toyota (Source: JD Power) and the Escape is easier to park, yet so much more interior room

God Bless the Ford Escape Hybrid