Greetings~

I recently test drove the escape & the mariner, I thought it was a V-6 hybrid until the sales man said no it only comes in the 4cyl. Well I drove both and did not like the fact that when you stop a traffic lights and the motor shuts off so does the A/C.
This could be a bad thing during the Fla. Summers also when I got out I kept tripping on the door ledge. The other thing I noticed was it took forever to cool the back seat down with the A/C on it was like the A/C was underpowered.

I asked the dealer and was told the A/C is the same as what they put in the ranger pick ups..

I owned the standard 03 escape V-6, and it spent more time in the shop than on the street ref. motor stalling out while driving, needless to say the dealer could not find the problem so I traded it in for a toyota..

 

Of course, there is the "Max A/C" option that both provides more "umph" to the A/C and keeps it (and the ICE) on continuously, for those 110 degree days when you can't stand to have it off even at the stop lights. Although I have found that my FEH usually gets, and stays, plenty cool, even with the brief shut downs at stops, there have been times (e.g., at the Jersey shore last summer) when even I have resorted to the Max A/C for a while. (And admittedly, living up here in cloudy and cold-ville, I probably enjoy the "sweltering heat" when I go down south more than someone who lives there all year round!).

Sorry to hear that about your '03; we've had no trouble at all from our '02 Escape V6. And we find that the FEH seems to have almost the same power and pickup as the V6. To each his own... and I can't fault your ultimate choice, as I myself just went out and got a Prius!