Quick update: I go for a test drive of an FEH tomorrow after work. I can't wait. I just hope the deal on my trade-in is good enough to make buying the FEH work for me. I'm afraid the recent increase in gas prices might make them disinclined to give my trade-in any extra worth.

-Augie, with fingers crossed

 

There is a driver "message center" (it's an LCD at the bottom of the tachometer). It'll tell you average fuel economy and you can reset it at any time. It also has a very simple bar-graph to show you current economy -- but as it's nothing more than a graph it doesn't translate into MPG (basically you can see that you're economy is "high" or "low" -- but you have no idea what sort of fuel economy that represents).

As for headroom, that wont be a problem. I'm 6'4" and my partner is 6'6". We both have headroom to spare in the Escape. Sort of surprising since most Ford cars don't tend to give me enough headroom and I have to adjust the seat & seatback to compensate.

As for new options available on the '06 that you couldn't get on the '05, there is one that I really wish I had. I have the common roof-rack (to which I could attach a bike carrier on the roof, etc.) but I'd really prefer a rack system that lets me put the bikes on the back of the car -- not the roof (roof is a horrible location for aerodynamics and just kills your economy). Ford makes a special roof rack which is mounted on rails. The whole rack slides back then hinges down and snaps into a couple of catches in the rear bumper (they put a different bumper on if you order this rack). I'm _told_ that this rack is an orderable option ot the '06 FEH -- but sadly it was not an option on the '05. If you own bikes and like to take them with you on trips, you might look into the rack.

I couldn't find a picture of the rack on an Escape Hybrid, but here's a picture of the rack on a regular gasoline powered Escape so you can see what I mean:

 

Good luck on the test drive. When you drive it, I wouldn't worry about trying to get a feel for how it does in electric mode or worry about how the mileage is. All that will come once you have owned it and gotten it broken it. What you want to see on the test drive is how it CAN accelerate, how it handles on the road, some hills if you are in a hilly area, check out the options, the a/c, etc.

As an owner I can tell you 100% that these cars handle beautifully, have good acceleration (especially from a standing start) and are more than capable of great gas mileage.

The biggest deciding factor should be what you want it for, how you will use it and does it suit your needs.

I enjoyed the test drive but I enjoy owning it more and more all the time.

 

As an owner with the GPS system I can give you a few insights if it is not too late.

First of all, it works fine and sounds good. However, there are some "features" that I would change.

You cannot enter a new destination while moving, unless it is a location you have previously been to. It does save prior destinations for some time. I believe that is to keep you focused on driving instead of button pushing when underway. Probably a good idea.

One really neat thing you can do is to put in a destination, then NOT follow its directions to the letter. It will automatically recalculate the route to your destination while underway. With this, you can explore and still not get lost, or take detours and not get it confused. Around here in the D.C. area we have the 'mixing bowl' that is currently under construction. The new roads are not correctly noted in the GPS database so once in a while you are on your own so far as navigation goes. Just do what you think is correct and let it recalculate when you are back on known territory.

The map mode is good for exploring, since it shows lakes and roads. Zoom in and out as you like.

Use the "home" button when in a strange city to save your current hotel location, then you can explore and not get lost. It is also good for finding destinations like airports, which I am a fan of.

The map updates are $200 and are not date/time stamped or available for a specific area. This is bad, bad, bad and I blame the vendor for that. I am sure I will never drive from D.C to Seattle, so why do I have to buy the whole US set of 10 disks to updated info for my area? Roads are often updated or new and the database gets out of date in a year or so. You also don't know when your last update was, since the disks are not labeled. There is no way to add your own corrections, you have to contact the vendor's website and they do not reply. Many neighborhood streets have generic address ranges. My street does not have a 2399 address, but the database does not know this. You could thus enter an address that does not exist as a destination.

It will count down to the foot when it comes time make a turn. That is pretty impressive. The zero point on a freeway turnoff seems to be where you would actually run off the road onto that little point or hit the guard rail if you did not make the turn, not way back where the lanes divide and you can start easing over.

I wish it would give an arrival time estimates or average speed calculations. I fly airplanes with a GPS and they can do this easily, why is the auto GPS sort of crippled in comparison? It does not need to be light and FAA approved.

Hope this helps. We like the sound from the audio system (although I wish it had an input jack for MP3 players or would recognize MP3 CDs). For the amount you are paying, it is not top of the line, but it it works well and the sound is good.

The update policy sucks.

 

Well, here's the update: I went for the test drive on Friday. That went well. It'll take a little getting used to, but it's not nearly as dramatic a difference as I thought it would be from my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Oh, the Jeep is a much smoother ride, for sure, but the Escape is surprisingly smooth for what it is. The acceleration is, indeed, v6-like. That's important to me as I do a lot of getting on/off the highway driving.

I'm ready to buy it, but I'm working out the finances. I've been spoiled in the past, I guess. The worst APR I've ever had was 3.9%. I can't get Ford to go any lower than 5.9% My credit rating is fantastic, but the difference in those two percentage points right now is the difference between buying the car and not buying it. It doesn't look good, but we'll see. For now, I play hard to get. Dangerous game in this economy.

-Augie

 

But it does. On the bottom bar, by the compass, in any mode, there's a time estimate, which direction the destination is from where you are with a little arrow, and how far away that destination is in miles.

 

I have dual Garmin 430's in my Archer and if Ford would get together with Garmin for their Nav system, then it would be worth having. If they could couple it to an "autodrive" it would be even better.....someday maybe.