Does anyone have a Ford Escape Hybrid?

[c_helwig89]

I am planning on buying 1 next summer...
It has the same gas mileage as my little Saturn (and they are notorious for having good gas mileage, when they run...) and was #1 on USA Today's "4 Small SUVs earn top marks in crash test ratings" article. Plus I would get a tax deduction for owning a hybrid, nevermind the fact that I would be saving gas money & I would feel a lot safer. I mean, I don't feel safe for myself in the Saturn, I certainly won't feel safe driving my child around in it.. This is probably because Route 33 runs straight through the middle of town & so I drive on it.. A LOT.
The only con I can find is that I will have a car payment (my Saturn is paid off, but I am always having to fix it...) and my insurance will go up because the Ford Escape Hybrid is 4WD.
All of the reviews I have read are good...

So my question is.. if anyone has this, what do you think of it? Would you exchange it for a different vehicle? Did it save you as much gas money as you thought it was?

[ktejmommy]

I don't have one of these, but I'd say if you like it (and you seem to know a lot about it) then go for it. Gas MPG has a lot to do with the kind of driving you do. MPG on the highway is called out by the manufacturer because that's where the vehicles do get the best mileage. If you're doing mostly around town or back road driving then your gas consumption isn't going to be nearly as well as stated, I drive a Chevy Malibu and my through town average and my HWY average makes a difference of about 6 MPG. (my average is about 24 to 30 MPG) but my car is not a hybrid.

Just my pesonal opinion.. whenever you go for a Ford, be aware of the mileage or how quickly you'll put on miles. Fords are notorious for not performing well with 80,000+ miles on them. I went through 3 different fords that all putsed out arount that point and the transmissions went out at 120,000.

If this worries you at all, I would suggest looking at Nissans (or do consumer research on other makers) - Nissans, I know, run well toward the 200,000 mark very well.

[c_helwig89]

I've never had problems with any Ford my family has ever owned, I didn't even know about the 80,000 mile thing! My Dad works on cars a lot so maybe he just took super good care of them so that they didn't?

The FEH is about 36 MPG highway and 31 in town, and I usually get pretty good MPG because of how I drive.

Thanks for the advice!

[ktejmommy]

The big maintenance/repairs come a lot earlier than with other vehicles... that's not saying they preform any worse than other makes... Fords are just good for requiring the big expenses earlier in their lives. If your dad was working on cars all the time, it would make perfect sense.

I'm not at all saying that they're not good cars, or that it's not right for you.. but for me, my DH puts an avg of 40,000 miles on a car in a year commuting to work - It's something that we have to look at when we buy cars.