I've looked at, and employed many suggestions from this site. I learned to drive in an automatic, and in my almost 20 years of driving, I've drove automatic vehicles.
One thing I've noticed, is that the FEH has required a lot more shifting than a 'regular' automatic transmission gas car. If I want to glide, I need to be in N. If I'm on a downhill, the best advantage is to shift to L. When should I really be in D??? This is still unclear.

On one hand, this makes my usual boring drive more interesting. I now have to concentrate more on what the road ahead holds. This reminds me of the times that I can bicycle to work -- when you have to supply the power, you are more cognizant of the road ahead of you.

On the other hand, I have some confusion with my usual route. Some people on this site advocate the L drive for any route <45mph. Others advocate using L 'low' drives only on braking.

Although, I'm up to testing both theories, since this adds interest into a usual dull drive, some new owners would like a more definative primer on when to use the Drive vs. Low setting.

So, in summary, I would love to see a primary for how to drive a hybrid car to the best of its ability on city streets (30-45mph) as well as the freeway/highway (50-70mph) added to the Learn section of this website.

 

I would leave the transmission in "D" at all times and let the computer sort it all out for best fuel economy. Driving in "L" will only make the engine rev too high if you're going over 5-10 mph and cause you to burn more fuel. "L" would be a good choice for severe downhill grades and only when you don't want to use the brakes to keep the vehicle under control (mountainous roads etc). Key to good FE is to get to the highest possible gear as soon as possible and the auto transmission will take you there with little or no input from the driver.

 

I agree with you that "D" is better on uphills. I've been experimenting with the "L" drive since a number of people on this site have touted it. I found that it is great when I want to slow down when approaching a stop, or on a downhill where I'm not worried about slowing traffic. I have one steep hill on my usual drive to work that I used to have to brake on. Now, I just switch to "L" at the top and coast down. But, for accelerating out of the stoplight, or on a hill, it seemed to kick the ICE in sooner than the "D" drive.
For the flats and downhills, I've been using "N" more and more. On the way home, I can coast about 6 blocks in "N" to the next stop without a problem. For flats or downhills, I'm finding this is better.
So, still doing a fair amount of shifting, something different for a person trained on an automatic!

 

The difference with the Escape transmission is that it is continuously variable. It has no "High" or "Low" gears at all. For accelerating, driving at low speed, or cruising on the highway, you can be in L or D and the engine will be at the exact same speed. The shifting simply changes the strategy the computer uses for regen/deceleration. There is some discussion that L causes a slight increase in battery charging during steady state driving but it is minimal.

So, the short version of what you are asking is: if you are looking for minimal workload, stay in D all the time. You NEVER have to use anything else. If you want a little extra regen or if you want to slow down or hold your speed on a hill, use L. I never use N so I can't speak to the advantages or disadvantages of it.

You can safely drive (or shift into) L at any speed. I have driven probably thousands of miles in L and my mileage is great. Not sure how the '07 is but I would imagine it is more like the '06 so you don't get the real strong regen/decel as the '05 has but you also don't get the high RPM bleedoff.

Go with what makes you comfortable and makes your life easiest. I always liked driving a stick so I don't mind the shifting. When I need my right hand for coffee or the phone, I am in L in most cases except interstate driving.

Hope this helps.

Ray

 

From all the reading I've done here and on other boards, I would say you should drive in D. There are reports that due to the regeneration process of "L" (in other words, the resistance of the motors), that driving in L will slightly reduce your fuel economy. Personally, I drive in D and shift to L when I want to slow down and/or regenerate battery power. I treat L as a downshift as if I were driving a manual. N is great for gliding as others have shown that N gliding results in a longer glide than D or L. I especially glide in N on downhills because it will actually allow the vehicle to accelerate whereas D seems to offer some resistence.

 

That has been reported and repeated often and for that reason, once you are one the open road or anywhere you don't have to slow down at all, D should be used.

That said, in about 25,000 miles total on my two Escapes, I have never seen a difference in one over the other. In fact, some of my best tanks were when I was using nothing but L. It's a matter of driving preference. I still like driving in L over D anywhere except the interstate. Around Boston you are either in traffic, approaching a traffic signal or intersection or you are about to be cut off (and flipped off). If I need to slow slightly, just easing off the gas does it. To reduce the regen, adding a little right pedal does that.

Like I said, it's all driver preference.

 

Like anything else, different driving styles can get similar results. I've been playing with D,L and N and found some preferences:


1. N seems to be best on rather lengthy glides. I can feel the resistance change between D and N. From experimentation, N has the least amount of resistance and will allow me to glide longer.

2. L recharges the battery more. When I approach a stop, or when I need to slow down on a hill (have one that most of us put on the brakes for) I switch into L. This seems to regen the battery better, even when the brakes are applied. Doing this seems to keep the battery up on my usual work drive.

3. for normal driving, I still like D. There are times that I need to have a quick response, and it seems like L is a little slow. Also, I've seen L kick the ICE in quicker than D on hills -- I have quite a few of those in my area.

I'm just at the 1000 mark for miles, and my mpg is still increasing almost every day. So, what I'm doing seems to be working. I guess there are several ways to skin this cat! (no offense to cat lovers, I actually have two myself.)