Hi Everyone-

You can see this is my first post but I've been lurking for several months already.

I've been a Ford Explorer Sport Trac owner since 2001 and am planning on buying a new car this year, partially to avoid the problems that come along with owning an "older car" but moreso because of skyrocking gasoline prices (I currently get between 14 and 15mpg). I'm looking at the 2009 FEH and MMH because the bells and whistles will meet my needs (yay Sync!) but also because I love driving SUV's (more on that in a moment) and I've had generally good experiences with Ford cars in my life.

We live in Central FL and the daytime weather is HOT a good 9 or 10 months out of the year. I have yet to test drive a FEH or MMH but was a passenger in a Prius when my husband was looking for his new car nearly 2 years ago. The car was nice (and the mpg was wonderful) but as a back seat passenger, I was literally dripping sweat in the back of the Prius, even after 15 or 20 minutes of the A/C being on full blast. That wasn't acceptable. Can anyone give a report of how strong the A/C in the FEH/MMH is?

Also, I am an extremely short woman (probably why I love SUV's...I get to be "tall" when I drive) and, when looking at the FEH/MMH at the local car show late last year, I discovered that not only could I not reach the hatchback door when it was open, but the area where your fingers go to close that door are made in such a way where I'm not sure it could be adapted (either with a rope/handle hanging from the hatchback or where I could use a molded stick to extend my reach to pull the door down). Does anyone know of an automatic hatchback door closer that either Ford offers or that I could get on the secondary market?

Thanks!

 

There is a lot to learn about new vehicles, especially hybrids. For the 2005 thru 08 models:

The FEH has the ability to keep one very cool during hot weather. However, if you run the air conditioner on full/max, you will engage the internal combustion engine all the time and suffer a hit in your gas mileage especially in city driving. There is an economy setting in which the internal combustion engine can shut off.

I can't remember if the upcoming 2009 version is designed differently. Sent GaryG (who lives in Florida) a Private Mail as I know he has just ordered a 2009 FEH and has information you are seeking.

 

Thanks Bill...so far so good. I knew about the economy setting and if the full/max A/C can at least cool the car off (unlike the Prius), I figure I can go back and forth between that and econ so I can recoup SOME of my mpg.

As for the hatchback, I did a few hours' worth of searching on the 'net and I think what I'm looking for is a "power lift gate," either direct from Ford or as a secondary market install. To be honest, i don't think the chances are good that there's something out there for me, at least without it being (as I saw it described more than once) "cost prohibitive" ('tho I don't know what "that" number would be...when I'm spending $30K on a car, a few extra thousand isn't going to kill me) but I figure if anyone out there will know for sure, it'd be someone on a car-related message board like this one.

Even if a power lift gate wasn't a possibility, I'd just be happy if there was some way I could attach a rope/strap to the lift gate, so I could pull it down. I'm not disabled at all and my arms are pretty strong...I'm just about a foot too short to reach it!

Looking forward to hearing what GaryG replies back to you. Thanks!

 

How about a "hitch" step? Could that get you enough of a boost to grab the thing and then jump down? Its likely to be a problem on almost any SUV don't you think?

 

A possible solution would be to have a hitch "step". Install a hitch on the vehicle and you can buy an accessory step to install into the hitch for this device. An expensive step!

 

Did you know you can open just the rear window glass without the whole tailgate opening?
That is an option for many uses.

Also, my 2005 came with a leather strap to pull down the tailgate.
Not a very long one mind you, but it would be very cheap and easy to make a longer one.
Of course you would need to close the gate slowly, and make sure you tuck it in when it gets near the bottom, so it does not get stuck in the door.

That is the simplest solution if you otherwise like the car.

 

Thanks BillyK and TeeSter. I never thought of using a hitch/step combination. That probably would work, if the step was high enough for me to reach the lift gate handle but low enough (or have 2 steps?) so I could "step" down (I wouldn't want to jump down...I'm 42 and not very graceful or athletic...I have visions of either losing my balance in the jump because I'd be so off-center or ripping my arm out of the shoulder socket with the full weight of the lift gate on my arm (grin).

I wonder if that would affect the (sorry...forgot the real name for it) "back up and don't hit anything" alarm. Or, for that matter, where to find a hitch/step setup?!?!?!

I still would rather have a power lift gate, though (grin).

 

Thanks gpsman1...I know that the rear window glass opens but I'm short enough where I wouldn't be able to functionally reach much of anything in the car. You'd have to be able to "reach down" to use the back storage space but the height of the bottom of the window is approximately up to my armpits (I'm only 4'7") so I could only put my arms "out", not "down".

We went to the car show here in Central FL a few months ago and the '08 FEH and MM didn't have a leather strap to pull down the tailgate. If they did, I could just put a strap on the strap and wouldn't have any problem. The molded plastic on the gate also didn't have any place where we could cut a hole and fashion a strap of our own and still be assured that (A) we weren't hurting anything and (B) it wouldn't eventually break from the stress of pulling on the plastic so much.

And yep, I'd have this problem with ANY lift gate. Welcome to my world (grin). I would consider the Honda CRV since its gate opens out, not up...but it's not a hybrid.

 

Any decent custom accessory car shop or mechanic ( maybe the Dealer too ) could/would/should be able to make a strap for you and attach it in a sturdy manner for a fraction ( $100) of the cost of anything electric, which I have my doubts, would even be possible. Plus, the simplicity of it means there is nothing to malfunction or wear out.

Maybe I got one cuz I got the "Leather Package"?
( Sometimes called premium package )

Good Luck. I say, keep it as simple as possible.

 

Thanks again. You guys gave me some good ideas and some other ways to try to fix the problem and I appreciate it!