from autoextremist.com . .

And I agree . . (at least Ford is addressing the issue . . .)

Ford. According to an article in today's Detroit News, it seems that some owners of the Ford Escape Hybrid are frustrated because they're not getting the vehicle's stated mileage under real-world driving conditions (36CITY/31HWY). And so Ford has started a pilot program that would teach owners how to drive to achieve maximum fuel economy. After driving like they normally do on a prescribed route, drivers are given feedback, as well as "Ford's helpful driving techniques." They then drive the route again and see how much they improved their mileage number. Now, call us cynical, but this seems way lame - and a definite move to minimize a potential PR nightmare. (Similar mileage frustrations are coming from Honda and Toyota hybrid owners, but so far they are not addressing the issue with driver training, the News reports.) There are two problems at work here. 1. The EPA mileage tests were not designed for hybrid cars, so the mileage figures claimed for hybrid vehicles, which the manufacturers freely tout, are obsolete and have no bearing on real-world driving (your mileage may vary in all that). So hybrid owners are shocked when they don't get the advertised mileage. We chalk that up to the same mindset that had Hummer H2 buyers pissed-off at Hummer because their vehicles got terrible mileage - duh - and they marked down the vehicles accordingly in their J.D.Power Initial Quality Surveys. 2. People shouldn't have to "re-learn" how to drive a hybrid vehicle. It's supposed to be a seamless transition, and if it isn't, then the technology isn't the be-all and end-all that people insist it is. Hybrid vehicles are more a political statement than anything else right now, because the premium required to purchase one will never be repaid in saved gasoline in the first three years of ownership. The EPA is revising their city/highway test to account for hybrids, but this high expectation/low satisfaction ownership experience for hybrid owners is destined to continue for a while. And as we've mentioned many times before, wait until hybrids start flooding the used market and prospective owners have to "bake-in" a very expensive aftermarket warranty before they even consider a purchase - in order to account for the frightfully expensive systems at work in hybrid vehicles.

 

This is why I trust Ford, at least they address their issues unlike some other companies.

This hybrid technology to me seems very overrated. I believe they'll be great once they've been "perfected" to a degree. My buddy who is a mechanic has said that none of the hybrids he has driven have gotten the mileage that they claim (he has not had the chance to drive the Accord V6 hybrid yet).

Interesting article Jason I'll stick with my 4.6

 

Didn't Ford have some big publicity event right before the launch of the Escape Hybrid where they drove around New York City and achieved an average fuel economy of 41MGP or something like that? Or did they drive it for 41 hours? I don't remember, I just recall being somewhat impressed. Evidently, not that impressed...

 

Certainly I applaud the hybrid concept even if it falls a little short of performance and fuel economy projections. It's hard to justify buying one at such a price premium over a regular escape, especially considering how long it will take to save enough money on gas to make it worth while.

Maybe down the road we'll see prices drop as technology improves but right now hybrids aren't the solution they were hyped to be.

 

that test before the launch was done in manhatten. it drove all around manhatten for something like 36 hours straight.
ooh, here we go, 576 miles on one tank, averaging 38 miles per gallon.
Here's an interesting article: http://media.ford.com/article_displa...ticle_id=20516

They watched 5 hybrid escapes driving along the 5 worst commutes in new york city.

1. Route 78 leading to the Holland Tunnel (4.17 minutes per mile)
2. The New Jersey Turnpike and Route 80 – George Washington Bridge Approach (3.76 minutes per mile)
3. The Long Island Expressway (3.60 minutes per mile)
4. The Hutchinson River Parkway (1.47 minutes per mile)
5. The Connecticut Turnpike (1.03 minutes per mile)

"The Escape Hybrid had an average fuel economy of 36.4 miles per gallon and gave off virtually zero emissions. The miles per gallon ranged from 31.5 to 42.7 on the five vehicles. A typical SUV averages 16.5 miles per gallon in city driving and can’t match the partial zero emissions level of the Escape Hybrid."

So where these things really shine are in thick traffic, although 1.03 minutes per mile is just under 60mph. Whether your every day, aggressive driver, you probably couldn't get numbers this good, but this shows the potential of the technology for city driving.


People keep saying, "oh hybrids stink, they aren't the solution." Well of course they're not the final solution to all our problems. But the technologies involved, electric motors, regenerative braking, high-storage batteries... are all gonna be with us for a long time. Hybrids are a good way to develop these things. I'd definitely buy one if i was on the market now.

here's a cool little bit:
"New for 2006
The 2006 model year will come early for Escape Hybrid, along with a new premium package that introduces features that take the Ford SUV pledge of “no compromises� to the next level. Later this spring, customers will be able to select previously unavailable premium features – including heated seats, heated side mirrors, premium leather, audiophile navigation system and an available moonroof. Escape Hybrid also will be available in a sophisticated monochromatic color scheme, in addition to an elegant black. "

i'm still wondering why they don't offer the No Boundaries roof rack on the hybrid.

 

I do like that no boundaries package, it really brings out a more "rugged" look if you will.

 

ya, and the way you can pull that secondary part of the rack down over the tail gate... that's so sweet! a hybrid escape with that rack would be the perfect car for me.

 

Maybe it would be better if they don't address their issues in public. That way everyone knows their problems, people think its junk, and sales go down.

 

Addressing issues builds trust in customers. Especially if its an issue that people are already aware off, in this case being that hybrids don't get the mileage they claim. When you acknowledge issues and resolve them in a timely manner people tend to trust that company more so

 

That's true. I wonder if the people who are getting poorer mileage than they expected are doing a lot of highway driving. Hybrids do best in an urban environment where the elctric motor and regenerative braking come into play. On the highway they're just like any other vehicle.

 

The hybrid escapes four banger also runs on the atkinson cycle instead of the otto cycle, which sacrifices a bit of low end torque for fuel efficiency, so it should fair a bit better even on the highway.
i have a question! Don't all cars fail to achieve their EPA estimates for gas mileage? Isn't the general consensus on this site that most mustang owners do not get EPA numbers? If that's the case, then as long as the discrepancy exists everywhere, we can use EPA figures as a relative measure of fuel efficiency as a way to compare one car to the next.
That's how many other stats about cars work. I mean, if you didn't have a fair amount of hp numbers in your head already, hearing 300 hp wouldn't mean much. Like without knowing that such and such a car had this much hp and performed this well considering its weight and its colour and whatever, hearing the hp for another car wouldn't mean anything. Its just a relative comparison. Unless you got a calculator and you figure this many hp equals this many Watts (necessary metric conversion) equals this many Joules per second equals this many Newton-meters per second so that means my car which has a mass of this many kilograms and an air drag coefficient of.... whatever! you get the idea.

All that to say that a hp number doesn't mean much unless you have something to compare it to. It can be the same deal with an EPA mpg number, we could just use them to compare one car to the other. Except people would need to realize that EPA mpg doesn't mean you'll be able to get that many mpgs. So maybe they could get rid of the mpg thing. So the Escape hybrid gets an EPA highway rating of 36. woohoo!

end rant