Escape secure storage and other question.

[rjm1]

After years of Ford CARS; going back to the Galaxie 500 and Gran Turino, I am finally taking the plunge and will be ordering an '09 FEH within the next week or so. It will be my first SUV type vehicle, and wonder about secure storage; the autos had trunks where cargo was completley out of sight and locked away. It appears that the only way to "hide" items would be with the leather package's cargo cover? I have not been able to locate any aftermarket covers that do not say " Not for the Hybrid."

 

I have read about the air conditioning limitations in stop and go traffic, but am also wondering how heat (for wintertime) is generated at slower speeds, when the ICE is not running. Does the vehicle take longer to warm up ?

 

Thanks for any advice/comments from the group.

 

Ron

[jgATL]

After years of Ford CARS; going back to the Galaxie 500 and Gran Turino, I am finally taking the plunge and will be ordering an '09 FEH within the next week or so. It will be my first SUV type vehicle, and wonder about secure storage; the autos had trunks where cargo was completley out of sight and locked away. It appears that the only way to "hide" items would be with the leather package's cargo cover? I have not been able to locate any aftermarket covers that do not say " Not for the Hybrid."

 

I have read about the air conditioning limitations in stop and go traffic, but am also wondering how heat (for wintertime) is generated at slower speeds, when the ICE is not running. Does the vehicle take longer to warm up ?

 

Thanks for any advice/comments from the group.

 

Ron

Ron

The lockable storage unit in the non-hybrid Escape becomes the battery compartment for the FEH, so no luck there. The FEH limited also comes with the cargo cover. I've also seen some posts in this forum that indicate that the FEH has an A/C unit in the back that requires a special fit cargo top.

 

I can't comment on the A/C. I've read on this forum that there's a new electric powered A/C motor in the MY09 FEH, but can't validate that for sure. Recommend you search this forum (escape & mariner) for "A/C" to find some additional details.

[wchain]

Unfortunately, the 09 Escape soldiers on with Gas engine powered AC.

Edited July 1, 2008 by wchain

[65fairlane]

In winter, the ICE runs when you cold-start the engine for several minutes to warm up the catalytic converter. So you get similar warm-up for the cabin heat as if it were a non-hybrid. I found that I had some heat after just two minutes of driving from the garage. If it's bitter cold (below zero) there is an "econ" disable switch that will force the ICE to run constantly. You would lose some mileage benefit, but the heat would stay on continuously.

 

In winter, electric drive times are substantially reduced because the battery performance isn't as good when it's cold outside. So for the most part the heater should not be much of an issue. Most complaints I hear about are for air conditioning in the summer, when in stop/go traffic the electric motor is running a lot, and there's less ICE time for the a/c. Once in a while, I am punching the econ switch in 100-degree weather. But for the 33mpg, it's worth the inconvenience.