Escape Hybrid

[Lessgas]

Does any here have an Escape Hybrid? Is the performance comparable to the V-6 Escape? Does it take 87 octane or 91?

[electronhauler]

I just tookdelivery of an Escape hybrid. It will run on 87 Octane (per the handbook) Acceleration is better than the standard 4 cyl and seems slightly less stronger than the V6, although I have a 4x4 which may slow things down a bit

[debrey]

Hey, how do you like your electron hauler now after a couple of months? How hard was it to get your Escape Hybrid?

[electronhauler]

Originally Posted by debrey

Hey, how do you like your electron hauler now after a couple of months? How hard was it to get your Escape Hybrid?

It's running fine, I took it off-road and was really impressed how less 'agricultural' it is compared to my Explorer. Gas Mileage is running at 28.7 mpg after 2200 miles or so.
I chose a hassle-free way of buying it. I went to a couple of local dealers and they wanted to charge a $2000 premium over MSRP, so I went through a broker. I just emailed him exactly what I wanted (No premium) and he hunted around until one was available, and it was delivered to my house. I had to sign 3 or 4 bits of paper and it was a done deal in under 5 minutes. For me that is the way to go.

[Lessgas]

Is there any less cargo room in the back because of the battery pack?

[electronhauler]

Originally Posted by Lessgas

Is there any less cargo room in the back because of the battery pack?

The Battery pack does not interfere with the cargo space. I was referring to less cargo space vs. an Explorer which is what I replaced with the Escape.

[Lessgas]

Thanks for clearing that up. I had heard the battery pack to ok up some room, but as long as it's not obnoxious.

[IamtheLadyK]

Originally Posted by electronhauler

It's running fine, I took it off-road and was really impressed how less 'agricultural' it is compared to my Explorer. Gas Mileage is running at 28.7 mpg after 2200 miles or so.
I chose a hassle-free way of buying it. I went to a couple of local dealers and they wanted to charge a $2000 premium over MSRP, so I went through a broker. I just emailed him exactly what I wanted (No premium) and he hunted around until one was available, and it was delivered to my house. I had to sign 3 or 4 bits of paper and it was a done deal in under 5 minutes. For me that is the way to go.

I have had my hybrid for 7700 miles now and I am getting 31 mpg. It seems like with the hybrids (I own a civic also) the longer you drive, the better the mileage gets.

Lady K

[65comet]

The problem with the hybrids right now is that the initial cost is so much higher than the standard model that it will take 4 to 5 years before the gas savings becomes an economic savings. And that is about the time that the batteries may start to need replacing at a hefty cost. Plus if most of your driving is highway, you're running the gas motor versus the electric, and the gas has to work hauling around the extra weight of the electric motor and batteries. Definitely more in line for a city driver that is wanting to help the environment and not for someone trying to save money.

[ModMech]

Actually,

The Escape Hybrids get BETTER economy than even the 4 cyl models with a M/T both city and highway (FWD and 4x4), and MUCH better economy than the 6 cylinder versions.

With even a $3000 premium, the FWD Escape Hybrid getting 31 Hwy and 36 City would offer an advantage over the similarly powered Escape V-6 at 24 Hwy and 20 MPG city.

I drive about 25,000 miles/year. With the EH, I would need about 830 gallons of fuel costing $1875. Driving the V-6, I would need 1085 gallons costing $2445. The Hybrid "saves" you $570/year in fuel. Return is 6 years not counting that a typical Hybrid will ratain 80% of it's value over 3-5 years, while the V-6 would retain only about 50% of it's value.

Obviously, if fuel prices drop the Hybrids are not AS good, but should prices rise, they are even better. Which do you think will happen?

[65comet]

You exceded in proving my point by showing that the fuel return in your case is 6 years versus the 4 to 5 I mention. The Escape hybrids haven't been out long enough to know if they in fact will retain 80% value, when the batteries start going bad they might not retain 20% of their value. I guess we'll have to wait a couple more years to see who was right.

[ModMech]

If you want to know how a Hybrid will do over time, look at those that have been avaialble for a while... they retain nearly 100% (some OVER 100%) of their original cost.

Now, you claim that I "proved your point" about pay-back. I did nothing of the sort, because you only used FUEL cost, and completely ignored the single largest part - depreciation.

When you factor depreciation into the equation, the payback is MUCH shorter than with a fuel only calculation.

[65comet]

Seven years have passed since the last post. It is time to find out from the Hybrid Escape owners how they did with costs over the life of the vehicle, depreciation and battery life. I have 180,000 miles on my 02' V6 4WD that I bought new. Still average 27 MPG.

[65comet]

I did some searching. The 2006 hybrids average $4,000 less than the V6 used today. So with the original $3,000 premium, those owners lost an additional $7,000.

[65comet]

I was hoping ModMech would try and comment, but I now see he hasn't been to the site since 2006. I did some fuel usage calculations to compare the V6 4X4 and the hybrid if each went 180,000 miles. The hybrid saved $234 a year in gas ($19.50 a month, using average gas cost over the last 11 years). But it lost $636 a year more in depreciation than the V6. For a net loss per year of $402. Plus for that time I had a V6 to tow my camper. 4 wheel drive to get to the remote campsites and to get around in the 2 to 3 foot deep snow we always get in my area from lake effect snow. Until they can figure out a better battery, hybrid doesn't make sense. I see today several gas cars getting the same mileage as hybrids. And I've seen the studies on how the manufacture of the batteries cause more pollution than what the gas cars put out in their lifetimes. Yes we need a better solution and I hope we find it soon.