A review: The Ford Escape Hybrid
I used to own a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid. It got over 50 miles per gallon, and was pretty zippy, although, lacked the room needed to cart around three large dogs, a 6′ tall 15 year old, and a husband.
This week, I thought it was time to investigate another hybrid, the Ford Escape. I test-drove the 4×4 basic edition.
First thing I noticed was it’s pickup speed. The battery assists the engine, and thus gives it a ton of get-up-and go. It was hot evening, so the air conditioning was going. This did not effect any of the zip, however, when I was noticing the gas/electric gauge, it was always running at about 1/2 electric, 1/2 gas. Once I turned off the air conditioner, and slowed to city speeds, I could see it moving towards battery (and more efficient) power. One nice thing about the Escape, was that the engine and air conditioner did not shut off when I came to a stop (as my 2004 civic hybrid did).
I took the Escape on the highway, and it’s “continuous shifting” was smooth. It’s hard to get used to not shifting, as most drivers have been shifting all their lives, but this was nice. It was hard to tell if I was being efficient with gas though, because one thing the Civic had which this edition of the Escape did not, was the fun gadgets that showed you how many miles/gallon you’re getting. The dealer said that was an upgrade. In my opinion, if you’re going to get a hybrid, you should be able to know at a moment’s glance how much you are saving in gas.
The interior of the Escape was just like a Ford. Nothing fancy, just the basics. The seats were cozy, and the back seat seemed to fit the 6′ 15 year old just fine. The back seats flipped down to give you a roomy hatchback trunk for moving things. The battery was conveniently tucked away underneith the back deck, so it did not get in the way of storage (unlike the Civic, in which you could not fold down the seats as the battery was behind the seat).
Did I buy it? No, I didn’t. The real decision was based on the fact that the 4 x 4 Escape only got 6 miles per gallon more than my Audi A4. And, the maintenance was quite a bit more as well. The battery needed to be maintained every 5000 miles, and the trips to the dealer within the first 10,000 miles seemed to be around 4. That is a bunch. So, if I am only driving 300 miles per month, and that equates to 12 gallons of gas, I would only get 72 more miles out of the Escape per month. 72 miles per month x 12 months is 864 miles. 864 miles/29 miles per gallon (as estimated for the Escape) = 30 gallons of gas per year. That’s only $90 of gas at $3.00 per gallon. So, in essence, I would save $90/year if I bought this the Escape. That wasn’t enough to sway me to make the purchase.
I know we should all be moving towards Hybrids, and that is my direction. IMHO, if American manufacturers want the US dollars to come their way, they should start looking at how they can make their cars stand up to the Hondas and Toyotas in the miles per gallon arena.
Bottom line, nice car, not there for me yet.