Thanks goes to Brian, from Boulder, CO for letting me test drive his 1
month young 2008 FEH today. It was a lot of fun and we learned a few
things.

The day's weather was not ideal. 60 degrees was fine, but there were
constant winds of 30-40 MPH swirling in all directions, due to the
mountains, and some gusts were strong enough to tip over semis,
up-root mature trees, and even snap stop signs. The nightly news reported
a peak wind gust of 92 MPH. Since we both had time off today, we did some
test drives anyway, and did our best to dodge broken tree limbs in the street.

I had a ScanGauge and we took a drive in my FWD 2005 first. Brian,
being a new owner, was curious to see a few gas saving methods. After
a re-set on the SG we did about 4 miles of rural roads with 45 MPH
speed limits, and about a mile between stop signs. Then we got on the
highway toward town, and did 55-58 MPH for about 3 miles. Once in
town, we drove in city and residential areas with 25-35 MPH speed
limits, and stop signs or lights every 2 blocks or so, for about 5
miles worth. Then back on the highway at 55-58 MPH for 3 miles or so,
back to our parking lot.
It was about a 15 mile round trip.

In my 2005 FWD the Scangauge read 43.5 MPG after that mix of all
driving conditions, on roads I had never been on before.

Then we put the Scangauge into Brian's 2008 AWD, and he let me drive
over the exact same route.

I got 39.5 MPG in Brian's 2008 FEH. Which is very good, considering it is
AWD, and had only 825 miles total on the odometer. ( He had just put
in the 3rd tank of gas. )

We did this at 4pm in the heart of Boulder, CO in "rush hour" traffic.
Take away the windy weather, and this was about as "average" of
conditions as you could get. This was a good real life example, not a
controlled lab test under ideal conditions.

What else did I notice?

#1. The 2008 goes into EV much faster than a 2005. The tach "bounce"
just before going EV is still there, but happens twice as quick.
Blink, and you could miss it. Also, I did not need to "coax" the car
into EV as much. It did it on its own, much more often.

#2. Transition from EV to ICE was much smoother. Once, I was driving
in EV at 30 MPH, under light load ( very little gas pedal ) and was
talking to Brian. After a minute or two I was thinking, 'Boy, the
2008 can go for a long time in EV'. Well, actually the ICE had
started and was running for some time, but I didn't even notice it
start! At least at 30 MPH, there was no noise, or surge, or
vibration. Or if there was, it was much less than I was used to in
the 2005, and I missed it all together.

#3. I had a hard time getting up to 30 MPH in EV, but his
car is new, and that should improve with time (and miles).

#4. The 2008 has weaker regen in the L gear position. I would put a
number of 25% less on it. And I can say that because we measured it.
Shifting to L with foot off the gas at 45 MPH created a spike of
20kw, then leveled off to 11-12 kw of regen in the 2008. Doing the
same test in my 2005 creates the same 20kw spike, but mine will
continue regen at 15-16 kw, for quite a long time.

#5. Looking at the energy flow screen ( more like Toyota's for 2008 )
the battery icon is the same, but now on a white background. 2005's
are on a black background. The contrast of light green on white is
poor and difficult to see in afternoon sun. Also, during regen in L
position, the arrows on the screen got narrow, where as they stay very
fat on the 2005's. However, the 2008 slowed almost as much, but not
quite as much as the 2005 with L gear breaking. You have instant fuel
econ and energy flow on the screen at the same time in 2008. The 15
minute graph is on a separate screen, and is now a bar graph ( more
like Toyota's ) vs. the continuous graph in 2005. The "max" FE is
still 59.9 MPG, which is not much help to hypermilers.

#6. After 4 or 5 attempts with the 2008, I could never get the ICE to
rev up during L gear breaking... even while slowing from 55 MPH to 20
with a full battery. It seemed like the regen just got less and less
and I had to use brake pads to slow enough for road conditions. In my
2005, I could slow from 55 MPH to 20, without touching the brake pads.
My engine would rev up to provide the additional resistance.

#7. From the outside, the 2005 looks taller and higher off the ground.
The 2008 had side step boards, which may have made the ground
clearance look less, but the roof looked shorter than mine too.

Most everything else was identical. The 2008 did not have the word
"Hybrid" on the sides, just the road and leaf logo. IIRC it did say
hybrid on the liftgate. Under the hood was identical, except the
plastic "Hybrid" ICE cover was matte, unpainted grey. The 2005's are
painted metallic silver. That step probably saved Ford $1 per car.
The HV battery pack looks identical from the outside. The seats are
identical. There is now a green car "lamp" that illuminates like the
seat-belt reminder on the instrument cluster to indicate the car is
"started". Oh, the gear shifter is different. You need to press the
button to shift gears. In my 2005 I can shift into / out of any gear
except park without pressing the button in.

There was a mysterious read-out on the message center called "FUEL
RAFE". Yes, I spelled it correctly. RAFE ( not "RATE" ) His "RAFE"
was 29.3 MPG and did not change while we drove a short distance. The
Navi reported 37.x MPG after my 15 miles, and Brian's previous 13
miles before we met up. My only guess is "Rolling Average Fuel
Economy" but I have no idea what that would
mean, so your guesses are welcome also. There has to be a simple
explanation. I would think. ??? Maybe the message center "RAFE"
which cannot be reset, is a lifetime average for the car? I just
don't know. Maybe I'll have an epiphany in the middle of the night.

Thanks Again to Brian for taking time out of his day, and letting me
drive his new 2008. Brian, I enjoyed the opportunity.

-John

 

A great read, I've been meaning to get to really test driving the new FEH.

 

I believe RAFE is Running Average Fuel Economy.

I would venture a guess that it is mpg for the ICE only, and only when the ICE is running. Possibly an attempt by Ford to show off the pseudo atkinson cycle engine over the otto V6.

 

John, Thanks for the great comparison!

 

John, it was a pleasure learning from one of the pros! Thanks for all the tips and insight. I had a great time.

Brian

 

I bet you that #3, #4, and #6 are all due to its "newness". I'd wager that after about 3,000 miles it all changes.

 

How do you cause the "RAFE" to show up on the message center?

 

Thats interesting. I don't have anything in my message center that says RAFE on our 08 MMH.

Jayson

 

John,
Are you sure about the shifter in your '05? In my '06 MMH I can 'upshift' from L to D without pressing the button, but to 'downshift' from D to L I have to press the button. I can shift from N to D and from D to N without pressing the button. Shifting to R requires the button press as well.

 

I just tried all combinations, and my '06 FEH is different than John's '05. It requires pressing the button for shifting N -> R, D -> L, and, of course, P <-> R.
No button press is required for R -> N, D -> N, and L -> D.