I've had the Escape Hybrid now for just over two months. On the whole I still really like it, but there are a few annoyances. The interior has plastic panels which tend to squeak and rattle a bit, and after driving an older and lower car the rear visibility is a new challenge for me. The graphics on the built in nav unit are pretty cheesy, and the buttons on the steering wheel could have been thought out better (some of them are just useless). Here's another guy who has pretty much the exact same issues I do with the nav/buttons/etc. I don't have the satellite radio, but pretty much everything else he notes are my thoughts exactly: http://www.priups.com/riklblog/feb08/080204-ford-escape-display.htm. Also, the rear cargo space is less than expected, and difficult to utilize well with rectangular objects because the seat backs are slanted and the side walls taper in at the bottom.
My biggest beef is with the climate control system, which is more like a home thermostat than the typical auto climate controls. I'm used to a knob with blue on the left and red on the right and you set it to the temp you want. This system uses a digital display of the desired temperature, which is usually more information than I really need. Although even that would be fine if it wasn't broken. Apparently the "blend door" is a common problem on all Ford models. Just search for "temp blend door" or similar on Google and you get all sorts of do-it-yourself fixes like this one: http://www.blenddoorfix.netfirms.com/. In my case if the temperature is set anywhere between the two extremes (60°F and 90°F) there will be continuous squeeky sound coming from behind the dash, the temp may or may not be what you set it too, and there may be a bubbling sound coming from below the glove box. I looked into the fixes long enough to verify the bubbling wasn't related to any liquids, but rather was just a solenoid or value throbbing back and forth, and the cost to repair is quite high. For now I've just been setting the temp to the extremes, no using the separate passenger control, and only turning on the fan periodically. No noises and no need to take the dash apart or pay someone else to do it. Eventually I'll probably try one of the fixes myself, though in this case the door does appear to work, but I'm guessing the control module is not stable or oscillating as it tries to regulate the temperature to the exact degree the user has specified. A standard hot/cold knob would have resulted in a much simpler system which would not need to rely on complex electronics to open and close blend doors to achieve the desired temp.
Now on to the likes! First, the fuel economy is much better than expected! This is huge since I drive so much these days. I was hoping to match the MPG of my old Honda Accord, but have been getting 20% better, which is fantastic. The hybrid system is also pretty fun to drive, but almost in the exact opposite way a sports car is fun to drive. I find that I don't mind getting stuck in traffic with the hybrid, because the engine turns off and I then focus on seeing how long I can keep it off. Yes, it's silly little game, but it contributes to the great fuel efficiency and keeps me sane every morning and evening. The seats are comfortable and the interior is nice and clean. The outside rear mirrors are large which helps make up for the limited rear visibility (compared with a 1985 Volvo 240 and 1984 Honda Accord). The driving experience and fuel efficiency were two reasons I wanted the Escape, and both have been better than expected.
Several things have been great that I wasn't expecting: My Escape has the premium interior package which is really awesome. The leather seats are great, and I use the seat heater pretty much every time I get in the car (hey, 50°F is cold for us here in California...). The built in 120V AC outlet is also a really nice touch. I have appreciated the reverse assist beeping, and I love the rear view mirror that darkens itself when driving at night. The lower fog lights and auto headlights are also very like liked. One thing that I think all newer Fords do is when you are squirting the windshield it will wait a second or two after you stop and then do one more wipe to catch the drips. I am the sort of person that was ALWAYS doing this manually in my other cars, so this thoughtfulness is very cool to see.
The nav unit by itself isn't best in class, but it's a huge upgrade from the dash toys of 1985. The sound system is good to great and has some unexpected features that really do it for me. First, there is a built in 8" sub in the back. It doesn't compare with the subs in my last car, but it's enough to keep me from needing to add one externally. I was really excited about the direct 1/8" plug for ipod/mp3 player, until mine busted about a week before I bought the car. However, not to worry because the in dash 6 disc changer also reads rewriteable mp3 cds (CD-RW). My ipod was only 1Gb, so a 700Mb disc is roughly the same size. It's great that now I don't have to worry about someone breaking into the car to steal my ipod. The biggest upside though is there is an audio compressor built into the cd player, which is a HUGE deal to an audio guy like myself, and a feature I have wanted on the ipod forever. I listen to a lot of spoken word material in the car, sermons, audio books, etc, and having the compressor actually makes it listenable without constantly turning the volume up and down. I'm sure many people would have replaced the ipod rather than using CD-RWs, but for me this solution is much better.
So in summary, I am very pleased with the vehicle; it's perfect for me and I love it.
