There was no test driving of the 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid on Saturday. Toots Caboose was a little consumed with the Amtrak Cascades Character Clown Corps making their major appearance in the Grand Floral Parade for the Portland Rose Festival.
With my allergies kicking in big time there was little hope for my participation today as a judge for the "pirates and princesses" costume contest at the festival's Waterfront Village. Instead, my partner Ed and decided to run a couple Sunday errands in the Escape. It was a beautiful day to drive with the sunroof open as we went to the local home improvement store to pick up some storage bins, to a bookstore for a copy of the Sunday New York Times, and to the home of some friends to borrow their pressure washer. Ed, being a total technology geek was checking out the GPS system, toying with the digital display screen, and testing the vehicle's Bluetooth capabilities with his Blackberry. All seemed to meet with his approval.
By folding down the back seats there was plenty of room to haul what we picked up along the our morning drive. Ed commented that he was surprised there were not more strategically located hooks in the back to secure the pressure washer from moving around.
His comment made me realize I haven't mentioned that my only complaint about the Escape was that the emergency brake release latch seemed to a little more difficult to reach than most cars I've driven - and I have long arms. Being reminded of that issue made me consider that I had not yet checked out the roominess of the back seat. I was pleasantly surprised that, with the front seats positioned for the driver and passenger to be comfortable, my 6' 1" frame - with long legs - had plenty of room as a passenger in the back.
Ed found it very humorous that I was so pleased with the hook on the driver's side floor that kept the floor mat in place. One of my biggest pet peeves about my Ford Ranger is that the floor mat sometimes finds its way up under the clutch, gas and brake pedals and it can really be a safety and driving hazard.
We both agreed that, as outfitted, the MSRP (including vehicle, options, destination and delivery) of $33,725.00 was very reasonable for the Escape.
Sadly, late today the Ford Escape was going to be picked up and my test driving experience was coming to an end. Feeling less handicapped by my allergies, I decided to run a few more of the errands I hadn't completed yesterday.
At the gas station the fact I was test driving a new 2010 vehicle created a lot of conversation from the employees. They hadn't seen the latest Ford Escape Hybrid and they were quite impressed.
I then stopped by the Arbor Lodge New Seasons Market (above) to give the Escape a test of major concern in my neighborhood - maneuverability in a very crowded parking lot with small individual spaces. There was absolutely no problem getting around the lot, which was filled with morning delivery trucks (and the usual large number of Volvos, BMWS and Subarus), or parking in a space designed for a small car.
Following a stop at the Kenton Post Office, to pick up my business mail from my P.O. Box, I decided to swing by the Peninsula Park Rose Garden (above) - an annual pilgrimage during Portland Rose Festival time. The spectacular garden has over 10,000 rose plantings.
With gardening on my mind, and a birthday gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket, I headed over to one of my favorite retail therapy locations, Marbott's Greenhouse & Nursery (1808 NE Columbia Blvd; 503.285.2106), to pick up some more annuals for my own garden. On the heavily traveled industrial area roads the Escape held its own. Again, with the poor condition of the streets, I was pleased with the relatively smooth ride.
Arriving back home with my purchases, my five-day test of the 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid came to an end. I suppose the best review I can give is that, if I was in the market for a new vehicle, I would seriously consider buying an Escape. I'm not "clowning around" at all when I make that statement.
I would like to thank the Social Media Group and the Ford Motor Company for the opportunity to test drive the Ford Escape Hybrid.
Read the other bLog-oMotives entries about my Ford Escape Hybrid test drive here.
© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
1 comment:
Hi Jeff:
I too thought this was a great car, it was on my list to consider… until my coworker ran into trouble with it.
She does drive a lot, and put 100,000 miles on over three years. Mostly highway miles-- she drives to sell. At 102,000 she ran into trouble with the battery. Ford’s warranty is 100K, not 102 on the battery. Replacing the battery is an expensive proposition, $7-9K.
Now, she loved the car, but Ford was adamant that no replacement could be had, and no fudging was possible on the warranty. I won’t trash Ford here, they followed the letter of the warranty. But do you want to buy a car that needs $7,000 worth of repair 2,000 miles after the warranty expires? On technology that is still new and undergoing improvements?
I live in Michigan, I’d love it if everyone bought Fords. If someone buys this SUV, my recommendation is to get the car thoroughly checked out as you approach warranty expiration.
Ford, you may hope to get good word of mouth from this blog, but a dead battery at 102K won’t sell many cars. You should have made my coworker right, with some kind of deal, or break on a replacement. I’m just sayin’.
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