Newbie question
Created October 24, 2006, at 6:23 pm by Wildseed
Hello everyone,
Well, my wife and I just picked up our new 07 Escape hybrid this past Saturday and so far we are loving it. I have a question though and wonder if anyone may have some input. I drive mainly in the city. My commute to work is a short one, at under 3 miles. I was excited about the fact that the Escape can run solely on electric at speeds of up to 30 mph, with us anyway. However, it seems my commute of 7-10 mins is too short to charge the battery enough to switch to electric because it never seems to switch to all electric until I am just about turning into the parking lot at work. Does this seem normal in your collective experience? I was really hoping to get more use out of the all electric feature of the full hybrid.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Gary
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5 years ago
Congrats on your new FEH!
However, your commute is about the worst possible in terms of fuel efficiency with the FEH. Though it's still going to be better than a conventional Escape.
The issue is not with battery charging, it's with warming up the catalytic converter (as well as the rest of the system). The hybrid's main focus is emissions reduction. That's achieved, of course, by getting maximum fuel efficiency. But before that, it's got to get the catalytic converter up to operating temperature so that the gas it does burn, results in the least amount of emissions.
Longer trips are where the FEH excels, so if you have errands to run, try to string them all together into one trip, and do the farthest one first. It will make a big difference.
The vehicle will break in, and you should see quite noticeable gains in efficiency through the first 3000-5000 miles. This may be less dramatic for you as the weather gets colder - dropping temps mean dropping MPG.
As for a 3 mile commute... would a bicycle work?
5 years ago
Thanks for the input. About the bicycle, under normal circumstances the bike would be a great idea. However, I have a yet to be explained neurological issue that has messed with my right arm and leg that makes riding a bike (and my motorcycle :( ) pretty much impossible. Oh yeah, plus winter will be hitting soon and we usually get lots of snow!
Would it make any sense to let the car warm up a bit before I leave in the morning?
5 years ago
Congrads also Gary
No, it is best to back-in your parking space (face out they call it) and get moving ASAP. The elec motors will provide most of the power while your engine (ICE) warms up and circulates oil. Watch your Assist Gauge to tell when your back to ICE only power and you should see the needle in the Charge area at that point.
Randy is right on and gives great advice.
GaryG
5 years ago
Thanks for the tips. I do watch that assist gauge and it seems to be right smack in the middle most of the time. I notice it drop into charge when I hit the brakes and I see it go up when the tach drops down into the green zone.
The reason that I am concerned is that I am showing an average mpg of 27.0 right now which I think is low. Granted, 343 miles of my 382 miles came from the dealer driving it from a dealer in PA to the dealer I bought it from in Central NY. I think that may have an affect on the overall average mpg at this point.
5 years ago
27.0 sounds fine for the first tank of a brand new FEH, in semi-cold temps, with that 3 mile commute. Don't worry too much, just learn how she likes to be driven and give her time to break in, you'll see that number increase... and you should see a nice boost next spring with the return of warm temps and summer gas.
You can reset the average mpg calculations to see what you are getting (without whatever the dealer got earlier). It's also a good way to see exactly what certain types of driving will do for your mileage... reset it, drive a certain route/style and see the results. Reset again, drive differently, and learn a lot. The FEH can return a vast range of fuel efficiency depending on how it's driven, and there are lots of great techniques you can learn about here, as well as on other boards (one of the most active is GreenHybrid).
Also, is yours a FWD or AWD? What's your tire pressure?
5 years ago
I have a FWD and I'm not sure what the tire pressure is. I don't believe the pressure is low though because of the way it handles. Ya know how it can feel sort of spongy when the tires are a bit soft?
I did notice today that as I drove around more it ran electric. I got it up to 35mph without the ICE kicking in and may have gotten fsater but had to stop for a light. I also noticed that it went from 388 miles til emtpy to 437 miles til empty. That was a nice surprise :)
Thanks for the link, btw.
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