My second Escape

Previously I owned a 2003 Escape that I bought new in 2003. As the warranty was shortly to end I decided to look around see what was available. I'm pretty much a confirmed Ford customer having bought about a dozen new ones and virtually all have been essentially trouble free with few exceptions. As my local Ford dealer is only about a mile up the road it makes good sense to continue to go there and they have treated me exceedingly well.

After driving the other vehicles on their lot (I also own a 2005 F-150), I saw this candy apple red 2006 Escape hybrid. I had long been interested in this technology as I thought it offered the potential for substantially improved mileage. What concerned me was that the drivability would suffer and that I was not willing to tolerate. My 2003 Escape was a true pleasure to drive although it was not as economical as I would have liked. The Hybrid is rated at 36 city and 31 highway. I didn't expect to get that much but here is what I can say after about 450 miles thus far.

First of all, it is the same lovable vehicle as the old one was. It is totally practical, handles like a car and feels like the comfortable old pair of shoes that you just can't improve upon. There were some minor differences outside. They now have four wheel disk brakes although the old one stopped fine. However, this brings it completely up to date on the braking technology. The headlights wre "prettier" than the old model and the fit and finish seemed fine to me. It did seem a little "tighter" than the old one. (BTW,the old one was cleaned up and put on the new car show room by the dealer so it ages well.) On the inside, the shift lever has been moved to the floor, which was no big deal as I didn't have any problem with the column mounted shifter on the column. The center console has been changed slightly and for inexplicable reasons, the handy-dandy little cubbyholes for the garage door holders and other knick-knacks is missing. (I fixed that problem with a little velcro) In its place is a 110 volt outlet to plug in AC items (but don't expect to power your house with it.) They now have a center head rest for the third passenger in the back seat. The instrument gauges are very easy to see and understand and the "information" button is quite handy, giving instant mileage figures and miles to empty. The radio is slightly different.

Now to the good part. The fuel economy is at least 75% improved over the conventional model. My first tank returned 35.43 mpg and the second (highway with full load) was 29.71 mpg. I can live with that. What is neat is watching the rpms drop to 0 as it runs on electric power. And the silence at stop lights is very welcome. No noise at all.

The power is more than adequate. In fact, I believe it is more powerful than the conventional model. When I put my foot on the gas, it went and fast. It was tight, with no rattles, and handled every bit as well as the old model.

What's not to like? Well, oddly enough, the horn didn't work but I didn't know about that until I was in town and someone pulled in front of me. I took it easy on the way home and the dealer immediately repaired that item. That's a new one on me. The new horn works fine and is very loud and noticable. A relative pointed out these very small scratches on the back window. I hardly noticed them, but the dealer will replace that window anyway. I'm not a big fan of the original equipment tire brand but these seemed to be an improvement over the original equipment tires on the old model. I'll leave them be for the time being as it may be that they play a part in the superior fuel mileage.

The 330 volt battery is located in the back cargo area where the spare tire used to be located. The spare is now underneath the vehicle but the space is still the same. The battery is waranteed for eight years or 100,000 miles. I've done a lot of reading up on these batteries and from all reports they are completely reliable. I'm not concerned.

Do I like this vehicle? You betcha! I liked the old one exceedingly well and it was as reliable as one could reasonably expect. The size is great -- big on the inside and small on the outside. It fits nicely in my garage alongside my F-150 pickup.

In the engine compartment, there is a great amount of room. I'm 6'6" tall and 265 pounds and I think I could climb in there. In the old model there was almost no working room. I don't expect to be working on it but it is nice knowing it is again possible to actually see and work on an auto engine. If I am not mistaken, it has 10,000 mile oil and filter changes (but don't hold me to that.)

As an added inducement there are some tax considerations. There is a $2,000 tax deduction this year although it is reported there will be a tax credit for next year although I wouldn't be so sure that will find its way into the final tax version. And it now came with the "simple" pricing package. That and a decent trade-in sealed the deal.

Finally, I didn't buy this solely for the fuel mileage. I bought it because I WANTED it. So far as I can tell at this early stage of ownership, there is only an upside to these hybrids. And it doesn't look like it was beat by the ugly stick either. I think it is downright beautiful and certainly practical in so many ways.

Update: 12/25/05

Because it is more often than not NOT running when you are sitting still or parked, please be sure to remove the key before exiting the car. I did something I seldom have done the other day and left my keys in the ignition ignoring the bells and other alarms. I was figiting with my glasses and cell phone and forgot to do the most basic of things. Remove the keys first. Just a FYI. It is a new experience being in electric mode much of the time at low speeds.