Wandering Road

I finally test drove an Escape Hybrid yesterday.  I was impressed with it, and a little disappointed.  The good points:

• Much quieter drive than my current Escape.  They have really improved the soundproofing of the vehicle.
• Really smooth transition from running on electric only, to gas engine, to gas and electric.
• Great pickup.  It may be just 4 cylinders but the extra boost from the battery makes it comparable to my current V6.
• Nice instrumentation.  You can see your mpg, miles to empty, run a small system check, see when the battery is assisting the gas engine or being charged, and see when you are running on only electric power.
• Seems roomier than my current Escape.  Definitely more head room (like I need that), but also seems like more leg room and cargo space.

Now for the bad, or not so great:

• Very little storage.  My current Escape has lots of storage with 2 small and 1 large storage space in the center panel under the stereo, and a large flat storage area in front of the cupholders.  The Escape Hybrid has none of these.  It only has the glove compartment, door pockets, and center console bins.
• The interior is a bit basic.  I was hoping for more luxury along with the higher price tag.  I do like the touches of chrome, but I wish it had more bells and whistles.
• The stereo and speakers are not acceptable.  The stereo is very basic and there are only 4 speakers in the car.  Their options to upgrade the stereo/speakers end up costing too much because you have to get the navigation system (which even the salesman said was subpar).  I’ve asked the dealership to price out having a very nice Alpine installed and upgrading to 7 speakers instead of 4.  It will all be aftermarket upgrades, but if it is done at the dealership, it will be included in the warranty and rolled into the loan.

With all that said, the Escape is still in the running.  But, last night I discovered what could be it’s main competition.  I had considered the Toyota Highlander, but ruled it out due to its cost.  When I visited the Toyota website and dealership, I didn’t even look at the Rav4.  I was never impressed with the Rav4.  It seemed too cramped and ugly.  Well, all that has changed.  Toyota has done a complete redesign on it to make it much more competitive in the small SUV market.  Much more space on the inside (now equal to the Escape) and tons of bells and whistles.  Dual A/C zones, 9 speaker stereo system with iPod connectivity, tons of storage compartments, lots of technology around driver assistance, moonroof, and more!  Plus, I can get it tricked out with all the options I want (and more) for the same price as the Escape Hybrid.

Of course, the Rav4 is not a hybrid so I lose some gas mileage.  But the Rav4 is respectable. at 22 city/29 highway.  Better than my current Escape.  The Rav4 also causes more pollution.  According to fueleconomy.gov, the Rav4 puts out 2 tons more air pollution than the Escape Hybrid.  But it is still 2 tons less than my current vehicle.  So I lose some of that good-green-feeling of a hybrid, but I get a more luxurious vehicle.

Now I need to go take a look at the Rav4 - do a test drive, price it out with options, research incentives, etc.  And I may take a look at the Nissan Murano, Hyundai Tuscon, and Hyundai Santa Fe.  I had always heard bad things about Hyundai’s reliability in years past.  But they seem to be making a turn around the past few years.  Now I read that they need very little repairs.  And they put a warranty on the cars to back it up - 5 years standard compared to most companies 3 years.

So my search for a new vehicle continues.  It’s fun doing the research and going out to look at cars.  The only drawback is salespeople.  That and locked cars.  I remember when I was young that the cars on the lot were unlocked.  You could walk around the lot and open up any car to check it out.  Not so anymore.  The only unlocked cars are right in the showroom surrounded by 500 hungry salespeople.  All you can do on the lot is peer through windows.  You gotta put up with the salesperson to actually get inside one.

I’ll keep you updated on the new car search…

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