Bought an Escape Hybrid

[vskid3]

I sold my GTO a week and a half ago and bought an Escape Hybrid a few days later. 2006, FWD, 132,000 miles. I haven't driven it yet (stationed in Korea), but my wife loves it and is getting 30-31MPG according to the factory instrumentation in mixed driving. It is mainly my wife's car, so mods will have to be hidden or approved by her.

Planned mods:
Replace the missing trim on the front left fender
Remove the roof racks
Sidewall max psi in the tires (probably down to 40psi while my wife is the main driver, if she complains)
Grille block and cover the fog lights, as unnoticeable as possible
Rear wheel skirts, if I can sell my wife on them
Full/partial belly pan, depending on how smooth it is stock
Small kammback/spoiler, similar to the BMX X3's

Anyone have any other ideas? I'll try to make good use of the hybrid system when I drive it, but I don't expect my wife to do so unless she wants to, so I want to maximize the efficiency at which it goes down the road. I noticed that there's only one Escape Hybrid in the garage here, and I haven't found much about aeromodding Escapes on Google. I might have to be a pioneer for Escape specific mods.

[nemo]

I see you are planning on remove the roof racks and pumping up the tires, good start. Two small things but if you don't need the front license plate mount remove it and the mud flaps.

[Daox]

By far the best thing you could do would be to learn (you and her) to drive it for the best mileage. I know a local lady who has one that tops 40 mpg all summer long.

[GRU]

My old v6 escape did realy good coasting to stop signs/lights in D which improved my fuel economy by alot without having to switch to neutral

[vskid3]

I was considering the front plate holder. I need a front plate, but I could probably mount it directly to the bumper (with some foam in between). There probably isn't much of a difference either way, I'll go with whatever looks best.
Mud flaps will probably go unless they're a pain to remove or the paint is damaged under them. I thought they were standard equipment and that Ford might have designed them to not be air brakes, but it looks like they were probably a dealer add-on.

I'm going to shoot for mileage whenever I drive it. My wife dislikes driving as it is, so I'm not going to pressure her to drive it as efficiently as possible. I will try to give her some tips if there is something easy she can change, though.

From what I've read, the hybrid will also coast in D. It will only regen in L or when applying the brakes. It does have the added advantage that it can kill the engine while coasting.


I have an Ultragauge, but I'll probably get a Scangauge II to see some of the hybrid stuff that's going on. It doesn't have the navigation system, so it only has the little display under the tach to show MPG info. I haven't seen anything to suggest that the average MPG is inaccurate, but the instant MPG display is just a bar graph from bad to good.

[vskid3]

To help fix its blockiness, I'm thinking of building a removable boat tail that could be easily attached for long highway trips. It will clip onto the liftgate. For ease of construction and installation, I'm planning on having the sides follow the liftgate between the tail lights and the raised parts of the bumper. It would then wrap around the bumper. I would prefer not to connect any lights to it, but I'll make sure the the 3rd brake light is still visible/relocated to the end of the tail so at least 2 brake lights are always visible.
I'm wondering, how much of the benefit of a boat tail would be lost to the fact that it isn't the full width of the vehicle for the bottom half?

[vskid3]

I'm back home for a few weeks and got to drive it. Filled it up when I got home, 29.5MPG with my wife driving is for about 80% of the time (me the other 20%), about 50/50 city/hwy. So not too shabby, about average compared to the others on Fuelly. I've been the only driver the last few days, about 30% city, even going 75MPH with the AC on for about 30 miles, it got 36.2MPG. I had a cardboard grille block slapped over most of the upper grille for that tank.
I see the Escape Hybrid as being a great option for someone that needs the size of an SUV, especially a hypermiler. I can go up to about half a mile in EV mode going about 25MPH. Overall, I'm very pleased with it. Can't wait to do some mods.

[UltArc]

Originally Posted by vskid3

I'm back home for a few weeks and got to drive it. Filled it up when I got home, 29.5MPG with my wife driving is for about 80% of the time (me the other 20%), about 50/50 city/hwy. So not too shabby, about average compared to the others on Fuelly. I've been the only driver the last few days, about 30% city, even going 75MPH with the AC on for about 30 miles, it got 36.2MPG. I had a cardboard grille block slapped over most of the upper grille for that tank.
I see the Escape Hybrid as being a great option for someone that needs the size of an SUV, especially a hypermiler. I can go up to about half a mile in EV mode going about 25MPH. Overall, I'm very pleased with it. Can't wait to do some mods.

Your main post had me seriously cracking up. No one else in my family approves of eco mods. "You work, and have a job, spend some money on fuel"

I know my better half will do the same, she currently has the base model of the 2008 Escape. I filled her tires for her before a trip, 400+ miles, and she didn't understand how she got there on one tank lol

I hope it all goes well for you.

[brohandy]

What's the advantage to covering the fog lights?

[F8L]

You'll never get her to ride in it with a boat tail on it. Hell I wouldn't even ride in it. LOL