A few days ago I got a marketing packet from Ford about the upcoming Escape Hybrid SUV. I have to say that the packet is quite nice with an easy to follow multi-fold brochure. Within the last fold is a CD that's quite slick and includes a ton of information along with multiple videos of the Escape. I think this SUV is going to be as huge for Ford as the '04 Prius has been for Toyota. It is well thought out. I like the 2 analog dials--One is just a tach, but obviously can show when the ICE is or isn't running. The other is a guage that shows if the battery is charging or being drained (a needle deflects upward or downward depending on the state). It has a LCD display similar to the Prius, but the graphing of the "consumption screen" is continuous instead of every 5 minutes...I kinda like that idea. There is also a 110v outlet right in the front/center console that would be extremely handy. I didn't see anything touting any optional features such as SS/SE or VSC or anything like that so I think they're a little behind on the geeky gizmo side of things. But I don't think that's the market they're shooting for. To be totally honest, if I were just now starting to look for a new car I'd probably lean toward the Escape over the Prius just due to the increased cargo capacity and size as well as the available 4WD which would make this a lot more versatile vehicle for me and my lifestyle. I could suffer the mpg hit for the benefits. I sincerely hope the Escape does spectacularly. I want every soccer mom in the country begging for a hybrid mini-van or SUV and the Big 3 clamoring to make the hybrids the industry norm.
Did they have any details on the LCD screen? I thought that I had seen that it is only available as part of the navigation option and not standard.
I believe I read somewhere that the display screen would be offered only on the navigation/fully loaded package.
The Honda display works that way. I hope they do well. Word of mouth spreads and tends to encompass things not directly related. My neighbor told me "they" (I'm guessing he had read articles on hybrids) don't get the mileage they are supposed to. He claimed 25 mpg. So, to him, all hybrids are the same. Another person told me that they heard on "Car Talk" that hybrids have "engine problems". If Ford flops, meaning they have problems with any part of the vehicle for any reason, "the reviewer" doesn't get the mileage Ford claims, etc, we will be hearing that hybrids suck and are unreliable. I, for one, would be far more wary of the Escape as a first year vehicle than I was of the 2004 Prius. I shy from first year redesigns, but this for Ford, is a first design. They do not have the good history Toyota does with hybrid models going back many years in Japan and 4 years here with the gen 2 & 3 Prius. And, though it is supposed to be humor, Found On Road Dead and Fix Or Repair Daily most likely have some basis in historical problems with Ford products.
Way back when first announced I signed up for 'additional information' and 'updates'....guess this is the result. Not sure if you can get it by going there now or not.
I checked out the Ford web site and got to the Hybrid Escape pages. The hype brags about their full-hybrid design and makes is sound as if the other hybrids are all mild-hybrids.
The materials they sent essentially call their technology equal to Prius but did call the civic a 'mild' hybrid. I don't really think of it that way, but they seemed a bit more fair.
Sucess of Escape might not be as good as some seem to think. If hybrid SUVs become succesful, most people who want hybrids( after hearing about them) would continue buying SUVs needlessly as at present, thinking these SUVs are great as they are hybrids. GM and others will take advantage of this by creating dubious hybrids which improve mpg by 1(one!!) mile per gallon. This would drive attention away from beter cars like the Prius which give much beter mpg. Escape for example doesn;t have any changes at all. No reduction in size, compromise in power, no lighening of weight, nothing at all. Yet, everyone believes this to be a great development. Most people here just want the hybrid technology to be promoted. One must ask the question: why was a hybrid invented? It was to get better mpg and reduce emissions. ICE has been around for over a 100 years and can be used in a Hummer(8-10 mpg) or in cars widely used in Europe and the rest of the world to get over 50 mpg without them being hybrids. Similary, a hybrid system is better used in a smaller but functional vehicle like the Prius than in a SUV.
Even one mile per gallon adds up with enough cars. People will buy SUVs. People have the right to buy SUVs. Why not give them a little bit of an alternative? Any improvement is better than none.
I actually agree with both you and Gurmail Unless there is pressing need (how often is THAT in SUVs?) for more power in a given vehicle, I see no reason to "hybridize" it to gain 1 mpg, even if that is a 10% increase. IMHO, Toyota and Honda have proven they can get equal or better performance AND 45% or more increase in mpg.
People do have a right(today) to buy an SUV but, the government must do all it can to disuade them. SUV are the cause of our dependence on imported oil. If everyone could switch to smaller cars, we could actually start exporting oil and everybody could still have a car. In addition, SUVs are extremly dangerous and pollute a lot more. No person should have the right to waste precoius resorses needlessly and the government can esily curb it by demanding they meet higher mpg and adhere to more strict pollution standards and not be more than a certain weight.
