Ford Drive Experience
Ford Motor Company gave me a Ford Escape Hybrid to drive for a week. Before I got the car, I spent some time thinking about Ford.
- Old Impressions
- In high school, Brian had a red Ford Escort. I hated that car. To me, it was a very, very ugly car. Plus, it always felt junky. Naturally, I never told my friend this, but I always thought it. As far as I know, my friend never had any problems with his car so maybe it wasn't as junky as I thought. Being a typical high schooler, he ragged on that car a bit.
- In college, I was designated driver one weekend and drove a friend's Ford Explorer. The overwhelming experience was that the vehicle was incredibly under-powered.
- More Recent Impressions
- Ford is currently more financially stable than the other major US car makers. Ford has not taken any loans or bailout money from the government. (That get them big points in my book.)
- Keesha drives a Ford Thunderbird and she loves it. Keesha is planning to get a new car in the next year and is planning on buying another Ford.
- Preston drives a Ford Ranger. He dislikes it and doesn't plan on buying another Ford.
My first impressions of the Ford Escape Hybrid:
BIG - This vehicle is a lot larger than my Civic. Of course, it's an SUV! It took me awhile to get comfortable driving something so large. The first couple days I felt like I drove like a grandma.
ELECTRIC vs. GAS - When I first drove the car, I would become disappointed every time the gas-powered engine would come on. I felt really satisfied when the electric engine was powering the car. I had read that people needed to drive hybrids a bit more conservatively in order to get the full benefit. So I tried to only accelerate slowly. Though I felt like I failed whenever the gas engine kicked in. It was fairly obvious that I couldn't completely control what the car was doing.
NEW - To me, the interior was very nice. Of course, it was new! And comparing a new interior with the beat up, 10 year-old interior of my Civic, isn't really a comparison at all.
Reading the Manual
The first night I had the car, I read the manual. I definitely have not read a car manual since I first bought my car ten years ago. I was impressed with how this one was easy to read and immediately answered my big questions.
- What I learned from the manual:
- How to drive a hybrid - I shouldn't try too hard to control when the car switched from electric to gas-powered engine. The manual clearly communicated that the engineers made the car to be as efficient as possible. It said the driver didn't need to change their driving habits.
- A/C Settings - The air conditioning has an extra button - the "econ" button. When the economy button is on, the a/c will run more efficiently and is compatible with the electric engine. However, the a/c might not get as cool as quickly as it would if the gas engine was powering it. We were lucky to have a fairly cool week in Arizona the week that I had the hybrid. So I never had a problem with the economy a/c setting.
- Folding the back seats down - One of the advantages of an SUV is the cargo capacity. The back seats fold down to make one large platform. The manual showed that you had to take the headrests off the seats before you could fold the seats down. This struck me as weird, but after doing it myself, I realized it wasn't a big deal. The headrests fit nicely under the front seats and the back seats fold down well. This feels like a little bit of an extra step, but I imagine the designers were just trying to make as much room as possible.
After the first day of driving, I tried to not make any quick judgments about the car. However, if someone had asked me at the time what I thought, I'd summarize it into two things. One: the car is just too big. Two: I wanted the electric motor to be on more often than it was...preferably all the time.
#Ford #FordDrive
Comments
about erica
- Blogging since 2001
- Thirty-two years old
- Married to Chris Altman
- Lives in Phoenix, Arizona
The Small
Karen sent this link thinking it would be perfect for Mac or Stewie. It would be!
A brilliant, brilliant music video and AWESOME Rube Goldberg Machine.
Based on a study of Census data, Pew found that in nearly a third of marriages, the wife is better educated than her husband. And though men, over all, still earn more than women, wives are now the primary breadwinner in 22 percent of couples, up from 7 percent in 1970.
Awesome!
Google reviewing how they do business in China or if they can continue doing business.
"We believe this report strongly supports our view that the biggest problem for cyclists is bad driving."
Monthly archive
- March 2010 (5)
- February 2010 (13)
- January 2010 (8)
- December 2009 (19)
- November 2009 (13)
- October 2009 (21)
- September 2009 (20)
- August 2009 (15)
- July 2009 (10)
- June 2009 (9)
Search
categories
Theme design by Matt Gist.
Content by Erica Lucci.
© 2001 - 2008 All rights reserved.
Interesting perspective, can't wait to hear more. I was most curious about your 'big' comment as the Escape is one of the smallest in this class of vehicle (we have a Honda Pilot)...I could imagine what you'd think driving an actual SUV (Expedition, etc)! :-)
I share your same old impressions of ford. They've come a long way in their design and reliability reputation. I recently bought an F-150 and wouldn't have considered any other truck.
Working for Microsoft, I wished the Microsoft Sync system was available for any car, but right now it is exclusive to Ford. I am curious if the model you drove had that system and what your thoughts are on that. It was impressive when we released it and I saw it in a test car.
Thanks for sharing Erica!
I miss having seats that fold down to fit against the back of the front seats like my Cherokee did. The Prius seats come nowhere near it, leaving 2-8" gaps for the dogs to step/fall through. I keep meaning to have a piece of plywood cut to bridge the gap so I feel safe letting the dogs ride with the seats down.
"I wanted the electric motor to be on more often than it was...preferably all the time."
But it's a hybrid vehicle, not an electric vehicle. No hybrid uses its electric battery all the time, because that's not what hybrids do (hence the name). I agree that consumers should have more and better all-electric options, but judging a hybrid based on the criteria that it's not an electric isn't a valid argument, IMHO.
What kind of power did it have? What did you average on MPGs?
Ford company is a great one. But i hope that this company already save their crisis against bankruptcy.There is a case for walking away from enormous debts, as there is always the option of filing for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy isn't something to be taken lightly, as it isn't like buying postage stamps and you will have be consulting with bankruptcy attorneys and determine whether or not filing would be good for you. Unemployment is one of the biggest causes for filing, and foreclosure is one of the usual precursors. If you file for chapter 7, the most common filing, you will have to undergo a means test, to determine whether a person can pay all or a portion of their debts. If considering bankruptcy, make sure you have some quick cash for emergencies and talk to bankruptcy attorneys.
Excellent article, it's pleasure to read your blog ?
I have surfed the net more than three hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It's worth enough for me. Thanks.
have never read anything more interesting! thanks for sharing! I mean, it's so interesting and unusual to read about driving experience written by a woman:)))
Post new comment