skip to content

"flavor" of discussion about hybrid SUVs

Created February 21, 2006, at 11:34 pm by Anonymous

OK. I'm a bit "warm" here, because I cannot believe this site's treatment of the hybrid SUV discussion. Ford Escape was first--fine. But to say that Toyota's "marketing" is the difference just BLOWS me away! Ummm... hi... Ford has built ONE relatively reliable car in its ENTIRE HISTORY (the Focus). Toyota, in contrast, has built an entire LINE of incredibly reliable cars since its inception.

Does no one *consider* this in their evaluation?!

I don't get it.

I wouldn't buy a Ford if it were the ONLY hybrid in the market...

Am I really, truly alone in considering reliability history of the brand (the entire line)? Or are people really completely swayed by the mere existence of a hybrid?

I look forward to others' views/evaluations of this aspect of consideration.

Anonymous

5 years ago

I would agree that considering the reliability history of a car maker is good idea, but I think you've got Toyota overrated, and Ford underrated. And you need to consider the current reliability ratings as well. Just because a carmaker used to make junk doesn't mean they haven't improved. And just because a carmaker has a good track record doesn't mean they can't take a turn for the worse...
From what I've read, the quality of product produced by domestic carmakers has vastly improved in recent years, but for some reason the general public isn’t very aware of that. Of course, the articles I read could have been misinformed...

Anonymous

5 years ago

I believe that you overstate your case. I do not doubt that Toyota has good reliability and that there were some problems with Ford in the past, however, I do feel that Ford is putting out reliable products. I purchased an Escape Hybrid and after 3 months have found it to be reliable. Three months is a short period of time and I will wait to see how the car holds up over the years. I based my decision to get the Ford hybrid on two things. First, I wanted a hybrid SUV and the Escpae was the only one on the market at the time. The second was that I just sold my Ford Explorer, which was 13 years old and had 208,000 miles on it. It was quite reliable. I am betting that the Escape will be as good to me!

Anonymous

5 years ago

I came from a Toyota (and all foreign cars before that), and I shared your opinions - though maybe not as extremely.

I was waiting for a hybrid that would fit my lifestyle/needs. The Prius was too small, and lacked 4WD. Ford happened to be the first to offer pretty much exactly what I wanted. I waited to hear about how they performed and if any problems would arise, wary to buy a Ford and knowing that the Highlander was also on the way.

But after they had been on the road for many months with no issues, and I found out that the Highlander was going to be somewhat of a "muscle" hybrid and was larger than what I really needed. I started considering the FEH more seriously. The more I looked into it, the more I liked it.

I decided to reward Ford's efforts in bringing the first American hybrid and first hybrid SUV to market... I bought mine a year ago and couldn't be much happier with it.

Anonymous

5 years ago

I admit I was concerned about purchasing a Ford (had an Escort long ago, went thru 4 recalls...) but the Ford Escape HEV fit all my needs, and after a test drive and extensive research, I was sold. I did have a mechanical problem within the first month of purchasing the '05 Escape (squeaking in the rear passenger side tire well, documented on the site from late 2004) but the service dept. at the dealership solved the problem by replacing faulty rear rotors. That said, I LOVE my SUV, and it's been terrific since. I get 30/32 mpg, can carry anything inside or on the roof rack, load up kids, dog and husband and get 460 miles to a tank of gas.

I liked the idea of buying a hybrid car made in the US (Thanks, Kentucky!) by union labor. I hope the big 3 will get on this bandwagon and make hybrids to fit all lifestyles. But we shouldn't jump on Ford. Toyota and Honda have had their share of technical glitches in the start up of hybrid technology...

Anonymous

5 years ago

Add me to the list of happy FEH owners. I owned a Bronco and Bronco II in the past, as well as a Toyota 4WD pickup, a Toyota Landcruiser, and a Honda Accord (my ex-husband liked to buy a new car every year or two). I owned the Bronco II after my divorce for 10 years with no problems.

I've owned my FEH for 13 months and 15,000 miles. I made the brash statement a few years ago that I'd buy the first Hybrid SUV on the market, and I couldn't be happier with my FEH. I had two problems that were covered under warranty -- an ABS brake light that would come on and affect the braking system in cold weather and a hairline crack of the oil pan. Both were fixed without muss or fuss........and not by the dealer I purchased from, but by my local dealer (who didn't have an order list going when a dealer 30 miles south did have one).

Suffice it to say, I'm VERY happy with my decision!

Anonymous

5 years ago

Well I just traded in a 97 Ford Explorer that had 160,000 miles on it for a 2006 HiHy. We are getting 28-29 MPG combined on 1000+ miles. I picked it because it will tow 3500 lbs so we can tow our pop up camper with it, and my wife wanted 3rd row seats. Otherwise we would have had no problem picking the Escape because we had outstanding reliability on the Explorer.

Anonymous

5 years ago

Steve,
Too back Ford did such a lame job with integrating the electronics in the Escape Hybrid and took up the rear cargo bed where a 3rd row of seats could have gone.
I hope you're happy with your HiHy. Its the only reasonably high capacity hybrid on the market today.

Anonymous

5 years ago

Ex EV1 Driver --

Not sure what you're referring to regarding "integrating the electronics in the Escape Hybrid". And, there's no way, IMO that they FEH has enough room for the 3rd row of seats! Also not sure what you mean by "high capacity hybrid". If it's the 7 passenger seating, you're definitely correct. If my 14 year old had been 4 years olds instead, I might have waited for the HiHy.

Whatever the issues you have with Ford, after 14 1/2 months, I still am THRILLED with my FEH!

Anonymous

5 years ago

Yeah ev the escape is a little small for a 3rd row seat, and we have 4 yo twins.

Anonymous

5 years ago

Unfortunately, Ford put the battery pack under the deck of the cargo compartment instead of neatly squeezing it into voids outside the cab. This means there appears to be no hope of putting in a row of seats back there. I agree that perhaps there might not be enough room anyway though.
Too bad a good hybrid mini-van isn't available. For people who need more than 5 seats, the Highlander is the only choice today.

Anonymous

5 years ago

This is absolutely silly. a third row seat isn't even an option on the Non-hybrid escape, so what does battery placement have to do with it?
It's a COMPACT SUV, there wouldn't even be room for a seat for one person sitting sideways!

Anonymous

5 years ago

The highlander hybrid's third-row seat is a joke. Actually, almost every third-row seat in an suv today is a joke. Only the suburban has a real third seat. Why don't they make a suburban hybrid? They already make a silverado hybrid (the suburban is mechanically identical and is built on the same platform). They could also make an Escalade esv hybrid (that is the same thing as the suburban) that way all the hip-hop videos could also promote hybrids as well as their big cadillacs. Pimpin' out and bein' green...

How about the old oldsmobile custom cruiser diesel or mercedes-benz diesel wagons? They have real third seats.

Anonymous

5 years ago

I have kids back there on beach trips,it's fine for them. And now instead of taking 2 explorer's we take 1 HiHy.

Anonymous

5 years ago

Granted the rear seats are small, however, I was able to put my 6'4" into one and could certainly ride in it for short distances. For kids, however, they should be fine, even for longer trips.

I agree that a real hybrid station wagon such as the Custom Cruiser would be great. That was probably overall the best car I've ever driven as far as practicality goes. Applying hybrid (or maybe even hybrid diesel) tech to it to get 40+ mpg (I exceeded 22 mpg on a few road trips in the early '80's in the regular gasoline version) would make for an awesome family vehicle.

Anonymous

5 years ago

The mythical hybrid Sienna is reported as getting into the 40 mpg range and is a great people mover, I just needed something that could tow as well.

Anonymous

5 years ago

A better application for a minivan would be onto the flex-fuel Chrysler minivans.

Post a new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.