gocargo

Uhh yes, I have the OEM non color-cordinated and ugly sensors. They look friggin aftermarket and cheap.. something self-installed that anyone could buy on eBay. Overall the one thing that almost kept me from buying the MMH.

Uhh, Not according to FuelEconomy.Gov

I seldom to never use my energy flow monitor.. mostly Nav or Sirius channel surfing. Although I would want to have the ability to know my battery level in case I run out of gas and need to limp to a gas station in EV mode. If the MMH-FEH is anything like the Prius, completely draining the battery could void its warranty. The Prius energy flow monittor is 10 times better IMO.

Reviewed the several '09 MMH's on eBay and I see a phone button on the steering wheel.. so does the new Nav come with cellphone Bluetooth? What about a Backup Camera? What about Homelink? Can this new Nav swap into my '08 with Nav? How much better is this new 2.5 liter engine over the older 2.3.. fueleconomy.gov post nearly identical milage. Overall it looks nearly identical to the '08 model.

I have loaded '08 MMH with all goodies and seldom to never use the flow monitor. BUT I imagine that if I ever ran out of gas that I would want to know the charge level of my battery so I could EV mode to a gas station. Yes, I ran out of gas once in my Prius and drove EV to a gas station. AFA the Navigation system in the '08, I would prefer to buy my own since No Bluetooth for cell Phone. No Backup reverse Camera. No HD Storage. I will say that of all nav systems my cars have, the MMH is the best of all mine for user features and ease of use. I can actually set destinations while driving, as long as it's in the nav's address book. If it were an option, I would replace mine with one from an '09.

My MMH AC works as you describe.. but then all dozen of my other non Ford hybrid and non hybrid vehicles work as you describe too. ie: when AC on, the climate control always has air movement thru the vents regardless if the desired temp setting has been reached. If your cabin cooling is "freezing-you-out", then you may have a cabin thermostat problem.

I'm about to pay off my mortgage with all the money I'm already saving by using less gas now. Making plans to buy a vacation home once gas hits $7.

I've seen a light-metallic green Ferrari and thought it was the ugliest car in the world, whereas the same model in red gave me a hard @n. Maybe you haen't seen all the colors that the Prius is offered in, such as the hard to find black, dark burgandy and dark blue? IMO the baby sh*t green, the silver and the light metallic tan colored Prius's are pitiful and make the shape appear ugly... I would not want to own one in those colors. But me thinks that if we see $7 per gallon gas, or another New Orleans hits and gas temporarally goes above $10 per gallon (people seem to forget that gas reached $6 per gallon here in Atlanta after New Orleans), your hate might just turn to love.

2000 miles on my '08 Mariner Hybrid and no problems to report. 31 mpg avg with AC on here in Atlanta summer weather. I have the fully optioned Mariner and fully optioned '08 Prius with which to compare. 3500 miles on Prius, 42 mpg avg. Mariner Negative's.. must use a key for everything. Drivers door lock knob annoy's my arm when resting on the sill. Does not have auto window up. Maximum 6-foot length flat objects interior storage (versus 8-foot in Prius). No Homelink. No BiXenon headlights. No Bluetooth. $4,000 more expensive than fully optioned Prius. No Backup camera. Very much less glove compartment storage space. Rear passanger cup holder is in my elbow way when in use, so expect to elbow rear hot coffee in back carpet. AC compressor is connected to ICE engine, I see an immedate 2 mpg drop when in use and seldom is the ICE not running when AC on even when in economy mode, never in non-economy. (whereas the Prius AC compressor is electric and I see only 1 mpg drop and ICE runs less with AC on). Emergency brake foot pedal release is very hard to reach.. down low nearly under the dash (whereas Prius is foot push release/hands free). Unattractive backup sensors in rear bumper, why couldn't Ford have painted them to match the bumper color? Positives.. nicely appointed midsize suv and very attractive with very few seen on the roads and square fog lights are unusual (whereas the Escape Hybrid is a step down cosmetically with black plastic appointments, plain grill and rear bumper and everyday round fogs). Seats 4 very comfortably. Front seats heated. Sound system is better than Prius and 6 mos free Sirius satellite radio is a huge plus. Electric and multi-adjustible drivers seat is ok. Nice moonroof. Genuine SS grill and rear bumper protector. Chorme exhaust tail is cute. Front wheel drive for suv is ok. Large outside rearview mirrors ok. Rear back up beeping sensors. 110-vac on dash is nice too. Dual climate control. Very nice and shiney wheels, appears to be Teflon coating. Higest MPG for any sized SUV on the market. The MMH is nice for driving on my ranch and for visiting my construction sites. Has very good ground clearance and saves my Prius for a long life for paved road driving only. I drive the Prius as often as I can and enjoy the sporty feel around town and use the Prius when on long trips and while on vacations. I also have small and large pickup trucks to take up the Slack when needing to haul large loads. Overall I would trade for MMH again, I recommend.

Yup, you're right and I'm wrong. I havn't mastered the art of dealer website cut & paste as you apparantly have. Unfortunately I'm less technical and a bit more average. I only use the seat of my pants and the eyes in my head to compare both my fully optioned '08 mmh & prius side by side, package to package, option to option, owners manual to owners manual, window sticker to window sticker and price to price over the same roads and driving conditions anytime at my whim. Anyway, have a great day!

I was wrong about one thing, Escape/Mariner Hybrid AND Prius both have exactly the SAME warranties. Basic bumper to bumper 3 yrs / 36,000 miles Drivetrain 60 mos / 60,000 miles Hybrid unique componets 8 yrs / 100,000 miles

Woah there Critic, you're acting like a politician by mixing facts & fiction. First, I said 2008 vehicles. 2nd I said Fully Loaded. 3rd, MMH basic warranty is 3 years 36000 Directly From My Manual so REDLINE YOURSELF. Prius is sold in Packages 1 through 6 with 6 being fully optioned, $28,000 and it HAS all your redline "options". 2008 Prius Loaded: BiXenon Headlights, Head-Up style Guages, Backup Camera, Homelink, FULLY Keyless, Bluetooth, Voice Activated Commands, Larger flat area storage room, Can Haul twenty 8-foot 2x4's' Your CHOICE Sirius or XM satellite ($350 oem module), Steering wheel climate & bluetooth controls. 2008 MMH Loaded: None of the above, 10 mpg less and $3000 more cost, Sirius Radio only and 6 months free service, moon roof, beeping backup sensors. Can tow 1000 lbs total. Yes, the MMH is a average sized SUV and the Prius is a compact. Both have their uses, that's why I have both.

Today's figures of $4 for 87 octane and $3.50 e85 and using your figure of 20% milage loss with e85, then increase the cost of e85 by 20% and you get an equalivant figure of $4.17, so you will be loosing .17 per gallon using e85. I spent some time reading the fueleconomy.gov website comparing E85 vehicles mileage and determined that from a cost basis, that e85 is only viable if you live in the mid-west where e85 costs $2.85 per gallon. Furthermore, you loose more than 20% economy with e85 according to the gov website, so it has to be more than 20% less costly than 87 octane to break even.

I too have the 08 MMH, Loaded with all options. If I had to do it again, I would not have paid extra for the NAV and would rather have an aftermarket NAV that would include Bluetooth, Ipod integration & Backup Cam. Because for the cost of adding Bluetooth, Reverse Cam and the Ipod integration kit, I could have bought a nice aftermarket all in one unit. But, I love my MMH. I have the Prius too.

MMH is an OK vehicle if you have to have an suv, but the Prius is hands down a better altenative when comparing a "fully loaded" 2008 MMH to 2008 Prius, see below: Price: Prius $3 grand less Economy: 43 mpg vs 33 mpg Warranty: Prius wins Nav: Prius offers voice command Keyless go: Unavailable on MMH, standard on Prius Rearview Camera: Unavailable on MMH, standard on Prius BiXenon Headlights: Unavailable on MMH, standard on Prius Bluetooth:Unavailable on MMH, standard on Prius Homelink: Unavailable on MMH, standard on Prius Moonroof: Unavailable on Prius, standard on MMH Satellite radio: 6-mos free service on MMH, must buy module for Prius and no free service Resell Value:Prius wins again.