Four Years of FEH Ownership, and at GH
#21
06-02-2009, 02:43 PM
Hybrid and Ethanol Expert
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: All over the Central U.S.
Posts: 3,616
Re: Four Years of FEH Ownership, and at GH
Hey Rich...
I'm at 4.25 years of ownership and close to 90,000 miles.
I'm on my second set of tires ( Now Michelin Lattitude Tour ) and second M/E coolent pump, second Air Conditioning Condensor, and the first of everything else!
(1st K&N air filter, 1st K&N battery air filter, Oil & Filter changes every 15k after the first two which were done sooner )
I have towed 3000 pounds.
I have added a ski rack for winter.
I have driven in Las Vegas in July ( 114'F in the shade ).
I have driven in Nebraska & Minnesota in winter ( -21'F in the sun! )
I have driven on pure gas.
I have driven on 85% ethanol ( and many mixes in between ).
I have been "off road" at 12,000 feet above sea level.
I have driven through 8" of snow on the "road" with FWD only.
My worst tank was 17.1 MPG when I was towing 3000+ pounds at highway speed.
By best tank was 54.4 MPG under nearly ideal conditions and much slow going.
My best 50 mile segment was 121 MPG which was coming down out of the mountains into Denver.
This has been a wonderful car.
I too have saved more than the "hybrid premium cost" many times over.
I love my FEH!
Cheers,
-John
I'm at 4.25 years of ownership and close to 90,000 miles.
I'm on my second set of tires ( Now Michelin Lattitude Tour ) and second M/E coolent pump, second Air Conditioning Condensor, and the first of everything else!
(1st K&N air filter, 1st K&N battery air filter, Oil & Filter changes every 15k after the first two which were done sooner )
I have towed 3000 pounds.
I have added a ski rack for winter.
I have driven in Las Vegas in July ( 114'F in the shade ).
I have driven in Nebraska & Minnesota in winter ( -21'F in the sun! )
I have driven on pure gas.
I have driven on 85% ethanol ( and many mixes in between ).
I have been "off road" at 12,000 feet above sea level.
I have driven through 8" of snow on the "road" with FWD only.
My worst tank was 17.1 MPG when I was towing 3000+ pounds at highway speed.
By best tank was 54.4 MPG under nearly ideal conditions and much slow going.
My best 50 mile segment was 121 MPG which was coming down out of the mountains into Denver.
This has been a wonderful car.
I too have saved more than the "hybrid premium cost" many times over.
I love my FEH!
Cheers,
-John
#22
06-02-2009, 02:55 PM
Re: Four Years of FEH Ownership, and at GH
A HUGE THANK YOU! to all of you for being the first to discover the
good and bad of FEH technology. Its a great help to those of us for
whom cars in general are baffling, not to mention our "special" ones!
Thanks for the info to the ignorant, and patiently explaining everything.
I LOVE my FEH, would buy it again tomorrow!
good and bad of FEH technology. Its a great help to those of us for
whom cars in general are baffling, not to mention our "special" ones!
Thanks for the info to the ignorant, and patiently explaining everything.
I LOVE my FEH, would buy it again tomorrow!
#23
06-03-2009, 07:18 AM
Re: Four Years of FEH Ownership, and at GH
Nice job, I got mine in December of '05 and have had just as much fun with it.
Having spent many years in submarines, where we can shift propulsion modes from geared turbines to an electric propulsion motor and from a battery to a diesel to turbine generators...
Driving the Escape Hybrid almost makes me want to say "Prepare to snorkel" when I start it up and watch it shift back & forth from engine to battery and back.
Neat car, elegantly engineered, and, at least around town, saves gas. A real jewel in stop & go traffic!
Having spent many years in submarines, where we can shift propulsion modes from geared turbines to an electric propulsion motor and from a battery to a diesel to turbine generators...
Driving the Escape Hybrid almost makes me want to say "Prepare to snorkel" when I start it up and watch it shift back & forth from engine to battery and back.
Neat car, elegantly engineered, and, at least around town, saves gas. A real jewel in stop & go traffic!
#24
06-03-2009, 12:17 PM
Active Enthusiast
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: New Jersey. Land of high auto insurance and pollution.
Posts: 127
Re: Four Years of FEH Ownership, and at GH
Congrats and thank you! It was reading all the information you and Gary provided that solidified our desire and eventual purchase of our FEH.
After 7 1/2 months of ownership I can say that we love our Black Pearl Slate beauty. 32.7 MPG average. Best tank 38.57, worst tank 27.06, 7764.6 miles traveled as of last fill up. Total fuel cost 438.39, and 299.27 saved over what we would have spent if we still had our Santa Fe.
Only cons I can think of are:
Engine won't shutdown if coasting over 39 MPH
Armrests uncomfortable
Cold weather fuel economy
...and the biggie..110v outlet not powerful enough to handle my grind n brew coffee pot. lol
Its shocking just how much cold weather can affect any vehicle.
Can't wait to see what our chart looks like after a summer of warm weather drivings wooooo hoooo big mpg's big mpg's, no whammies no whammies!
After 7 1/2 months of ownership I can say that we love our Black Pearl Slate beauty. 32.7 MPG average. Best tank 38.57, worst tank 27.06, 7764.6 miles traveled as of last fill up. Total fuel cost 438.39, and 299.27 saved over what we would have spent if we still had our Santa Fe.
Only cons I can think of are:
Engine won't shutdown if coasting over 39 MPH
Armrests uncomfortable
Cold weather fuel economy
...and the biggie..110v outlet not powerful enough to handle my grind n brew coffee pot. lol
Its shocking just how much cold weather can affect any vehicle.
Can't wait to see what our chart looks like after a summer of warm weather drivings wooooo hoooo big mpg's big mpg's, no whammies no whammies!
#25
06-03-2009, 02:29 PM
Re: Four Years of FEH Ownership, and at GH
Yeah, I hear ya on the armrests...
And as to the cold wx performance: get the block heater. I can't confirm yet how much difference it'll make but I believe it will. As I see it the issue is the extra gasoline that the system must burn to heat up the block and such. The smaller the block (& this is a four cylinder!) and the smaller the heat capacity of the block (it is aluminum!) the more gasoline must burn to keep it at temperature.
Still I believe it is quite elegantly engineered. If my bet is right and Ford put the money into the fine machining of the transaxle gears & bearings they should have, it'll last forever.
You know, I once spilled hot(!) coffee on myself while driving and pouring. Guess where it landed? No fun at 55 (then). So now I don't fix coffee in the car, I buy it with a lid!
As to the engine shutdown at speed: remember there is an engine braking effect that Ford probably programmed in. Without the engine running there is only the brakes & regenerative braking (& if the battery is fully charged there is only the brakes). Although they should handle nearly all situations the engine braking effect should not be discounted.
Black Pearl Slate... sounds nice!
And as to the cold wx performance: get the block heater. I can't confirm yet how much difference it'll make but I believe it will. As I see it the issue is the extra gasoline that the system must burn to heat up the block and such. The smaller the block (& this is a four cylinder!) and the smaller the heat capacity of the block (it is aluminum!) the more gasoline must burn to keep it at temperature.
Still I believe it is quite elegantly engineered. If my bet is right and Ford put the money into the fine machining of the transaxle gears & bearings they should have, it'll last forever.
You know, I once spilled hot(!) coffee on myself while driving and pouring. Guess where it landed? No fun at 55 (then). So now I don't fix coffee in the car, I buy it with a lid!
As to the engine shutdown at speed: remember there is an engine braking effect that Ford probably programmed in. Without the engine running there is only the brakes & regenerative braking (& if the battery is fully charged there is only the brakes). Although they should handle nearly all situations the engine braking effect should not be discounted.
Black Pearl Slate... sounds nice!
#26
06-03-2009, 03:38 PM
Re: Four Years of FEH Ownership, and at GH
Blind Mike, my mileage is starting to get hard to maintain in my '09 FEH as the heat here in South Florida is getting up in the high eighties and low nineties. The A/C compressor is now running to cool the battery and I'm just holding on to a 50mpg tank right now. There was a sudden drop in my last tank to ~50.9mpg and I could tell the hot days were the problem. Still can't complain because E10 is the only gas available here. I've got 4 months of higher heat ahead of me and I know I'm going to drop below 50mpg tanks if I don't improve something.
One thing I don't regret was pumping up the improvements in the '09 FEH and I'm glad you are a happy new owner as a result. Like my '05 FEH I continue to learn how to improve my mileage in my '09. If I can manage to improve my MPG and fight off this summer heat to balance at least 50mpg tanks, I will be very happy with this vehicle.
GaryG
One thing I don't regret was pumping up the improvements in the '09 FEH and I'm glad you are a happy new owner as a result. Like my '05 FEH I continue to learn how to improve my mileage in my '09. If I can manage to improve my MPG and fight off this summer heat to balance at least 50mpg tanks, I will be very happy with this vehicle.
GaryG
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