My girlfriend currently drives an '03 Toyota Prius. She was recently involved in an accident where someone pulled out in front of her and she hit them. The damage was very extensive, but "repairable". She doesn't know if she wants to trust the structural integrity of the car once she gets it back from the shop and is thinking of trading it in on an Escape Hybrid. For those that own one, what is your experience with them? I know that the Escape uses Toyota's hybrid system and they offer a very good warranty. What else?

 

I got my 2005 Escape Hybrid in March of 2005 and liked it so much I bought an almost identical 2006 model in June of 2005.

Let me first clear up a misconception that is pretty common. Ford developed it's own hybrid drive system but due to the similarities to the Toyota system, they licensed it from Toyota rather than have a patent infringement problem. If she is familiar with the operation of the Prius, the Escape Hybrid would be an easy transition.

I have had absolutely no problems with either of mine. I get great mileage on my 48 mile roundtrip commute. In the warm weather I am getting 36-39 mpg and in the cooler weather I am getting 34-36. Highway mileage is a little less but still averages well into the 30's. I have heard the '07 models are slightly improved over the '05 and '06 models. My wife drives whichever one I am not using and she gets about 3-5 mpg less than me. She mainly uses it as a grocery getter so like any car, the short trips kills the mileage. We have a combined 32k miles on them.

The warranty on the vehicle itself is pretty standard. The extended warranty on the hybrid components is much longer. That includes the batteries, the DC/DC converter and some other components that would be expensive to replace. In Cailfornia emissions states (CA, MA, and others), the warranty is 8 years/150k miles.

As for the vehicle itself, I can't say enough good things about them. They drive exactly like a regular Escape and have good acceleration for getting on the highway, etc. You are limited to 1000 pounds if you want to tow a trailer but that isn't an issue with me.

Both of mine are the "base" model (front wheel drive) so I don't have the fancy NAV system and a few other bells and whistles but I am 99% happy with both of mine. Nothing is perfect but I have no complaints - just a couple "I wish it had...." kinda stuff.

I know I will sound like a cheerleader for the vehicle but I really think Ford did this one right. I had an '04 Escape with the V6 before I got the '05 and I loved it except for the gas mileage. Commuting to work I was lucky to get 17 mpg. I get the best of both worlds now.

Let me know if you want more info.

 

Thanks for the info so far. We went to a dealer today and looked at an Escape. I like it quite a bit. Very roomy for a compact SUV. Much more comfortable than the Prius. She likes it a lot as well. That is the most important part. The thing I want to know about them is the in dash nav system. Is it just nav and audio or does it also show vehicle information like the Prius does? If it doesn't show vehicle info then she can get a more base model and I can add the nav system later. Thanks!

 

I don't have the NAV system in either of mine mainly because of the close to two grand hit. I do most of my driving locally and know the area and, like you said, an aftermarket is better. Believe it or not, my PDA has almost identical (or better) Navteq software as the in-dash NAV in the FEH.

That said, I do wish I had the other part of the NAV, the hybrid information center. I have never seen the Prius information center but the Ford system shows lots more on the hybrid system than the message center. Have the dealer show you an owners manual for a hybrid - it is pretty well covered in there.

The audio system that comes with the NAV is also a big improvement over the P.O.S. stock system with the 6 CD player that I never use. When I traded in my 2004 Escape for the '06 I actually traded stereos because I liked the '04 system sound better. Not that you need a good system to listen to Red Sox baseball and talking head shows....

Hope this helps.

Ray