Escape Hybrid - Great mileage in a SUV body

I bought a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid 2 months ago. The main reason that I purchased it was to support the only US manufacturer of hybrid vehicles. I also recently bought a home, and I thought it would be nice to have an SUV that gets good mileage.



MPG
I love the car so far. I have driven 2000 miles of mixed city and highway driving, and I've averages 30 MPG. That's a 50% increase from what I averaged with the 2000 Ford Taurus that I traded in. I doubt you could find a similar size SUV that gets better mileage.



Features
I enjoy a car that is completely loaded with features. The 2005 Escape Hybrid didn't have options for a moon roof or heated seats. These are just two of the features that are on my 2006 Escape Hybrid.


It has some fairly standard features like power windows, power locks, anti-lock brakes, 6-disc CD, and a navigation system. It also has a unique feature to a hybrid. It has a screen that can show instantaneous mileage, history of mileage over the last 15 minutes, and average mileage since last reset. You can switch to another mode that shows whether the gas motor or electric motor are powering the car with cool graphics. It's probably not that useful, but when you have a car with new technology like this, it's fun to play.



Hybrid Technology
The basic idea behind the hybrid technology is that the gas motor is shut off when you are not moving and that an electric motor helps you accelerate. The engine is a less powerful engine that gets good mileage, but the performance is enhanced by the electric motor. I find that the acceleration is fantastic when I need it for merging on the highway. Of course, to get the best mileage, I generally accelerate slowly.


Getting the best mileage out of the vehicle may take a change in driving habits. If I accelerate quickly, the gas engine kicks in quickly. If I accelerate very slowly, I can get to and maintain 30 mph completely on battery power. When I'm in slow, stop and go traffic on the highway, I can go several miles solely on battery power.


My main disappointment with the technology is that it sometimes takes a while to kick in. The user manual says that it can take a few minutes after a cold start before the car can run on just battery power. This means that I sometimes sit with my engine running at 3 or 4 stop signs before the gas engine shuts off. It's also a little frustrating at times how slow I need to accelerate to prevent the gas engine from kicking in at low speeds.


The A/C doesn't run when the gas engine shuts off. You can override this by choosing Max A/C, but then you lose some of the efficiency. Also, the engine won't shut off if the defroster is on.


However, at 30 MPG for a decent sized SUV, I can't complain too much.