My opinion also goes with the view that the FEH'06 AWD are not as well insulated compared to any other vehicule. You can easily hear the traffic and engine on the hwy. However, you can and do get used to it and I just increase the radio volume to compensate. My prevous lexus RX300 was much quieter and so is my girlfriends honda civic. Perhaps by not insulating it as much they wanted to save on weight and therefore fuel? I'm not even sure that little amount of weight would make a difference. Sounds like you like the ride better in the MMH and therefore you might want to consider that as your new hybrid.

 

I'll admit my range of experience is limited. Our '06 FEH FWD 'tis quieter than my '92 Corolla, but most of the noise in that case is from the engine when under heavy load (75+mph or 45+ with A/C on). And it's quieter than my husband's 2001 Ford F-150 Supercrew 4x4, but that's probably due to the 4x4 terrain tires he has on his truck.

 

Anyone tried "Dynamatt" or one of the aftermarket spray on sound deadener products out there? That might also be an option if the noise is too much.

Frankly... it seems pretty quiet to me, but I've always bought cheap cars.... I mean one of my cars was a Dodge Omni!!! That thing was sheet metal with wheels.

 

Well ... My DH and I drove both cars on Saturday. He didn't notice any difference in noise. I still liked the Mariner better, but it's about $2500 more than the FEH 2WD and I don't think it's worth going for the slightly nicer car. If we decide on an AWD, the Mariner is only about $700 more and in that case I would go for the Mercury.

FWIW, we currently drive a Saab 9-5 wagon which is very quiet, but it's a lemon .

 

I priced out the Mercury and Escapes and my numbers always showed the difference to be about $200 for a similarly equipped AWD version.

 

We can buy with the X-Plan and we plan to order a 2007 vehicle from the factory. The Mariner is exactly $657 more than the AWD Escape.