2008 Ford Escape Hybrid User Reviews

Pros

Fuel economy, interior room, driving position, convenience elect outlet, American made

Cons

Gas mileage suffers with A/C or Heater in use, no standard trailer hitch option

Purchased As New

I bought this vehicle in May of 2008, and I've been happy with its performance overall. One thing I have noticed is that with the A/C or heater in use the fuel economy definitely suffers. Of course, that's true of every car. However, it's still a bit of an annoyance to see one's gas mileage consistently fall below 30 mpg for half the year just because you want some cool or warm air.
The engine is surprisingly peppy for a 4 cylinder. Acceleration isn't a problem.
As for the lack of a trailer hitch, I don't expect to really be towing a bunch of stuff with a 4 cylinder, but it would have been a nice standard feature for a bike rack or a small load.
Sometimes when you haul messy things, you don't want to dirty the cargo area carpet. However, when you pull the carpet up in the rear cargo area, it uncovers the battery. There's no floor or rubberized surface on which to place cargo without resting them directly on the battery. So invest in a tarp or other cover for the back....read morehide

This is an amazing car. I'v had for over a year with 15000 miles without 1 problem. My gas mileage averaged over 35 mpg for 1st year. last 3 mos. my average is 36 plus. What a car !!!! Now why not let the world know Ford is building good cars and trucks. All I hear is negative. Don't just talk about rebates, tell the public it time to try a ford again and why !!!!!...read morehide

Pros

This SUV is great on gas I get about 34 mpg on the highway at 65mph and can get even better in town.

Cons

The only thing that could be better is the drivers seat, it's a little hard and not much lambar supp

This SUV is great I have not had any problems, Also In the rain the truck never loses tracktion I feel very safe driving in any condition. I'am very happy with my SUV and would not give it up for anything else

Pros

Great fuel economy, Comfortable leather seats, fluid design

Cons

The hybrid engine makes some odd noises... the owners manual says it's normal.

I have had the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid 4x4 for 6 months now and I love it! I have two LARGE dogs and they are comfortable in the back. The seats lay totally flat, great for them and cargo. I am amazed at how much cargo room this small SUV has. I have been getting about 30-32 MPG. The transition between electric and gas engine is smooth! It states in the owner’s manual that you only need to do an oil change every 10,000 miles. It can also run on 10% Ethanol if it were available. The noises were a little unconcerning at first, but again to quote the manual- It's to be expected....read morehide

Pros

Economy, navigation, CVT, comfort

Cons

Tiny spare, no hitch possible (even for bike rack), no passenger stability handle, lack of colors.

I love the vehicle, but mine seems to have a predictable squeak sound when gas engine is running. It sounds like a clutch kicking in/out. It makes the sound whether the AC is running or not, but NEVER while the brakes are applied. Dealership has no clue.

Pros

I get 35 mpg per gal and it has great acceleration on highways

This is a great value for the money, plenty of interior room and great
handling on the road.

Pros

Solid feel, good size, good mileage for a 4WD vehicle.

Cons

Interior fit and finish a biq sloppy, but not bad. Would have liked a more affordable Sirius radio.

This is a 2006 model and has only 15,000 miles on it, almost all city driving. We are averaging just under 30 MPG. The vehicle is a good size for 2 of us for most applications. We bought it when we could still get the tax credit and before the dealers began marking them up over retail, so it was a good deal, especially with 60 month, interest-free financing....read morehide

Pros

Sips the gas, especially in the city

Cons

Horrible to drive: slow, rolls, noisy

Tried one out, and thought that I was going to get run over by traffic getting onto the highway. Since I drive a lot of these roads, I knew immediately that this was not the right car for me.

Interior is decent - nothing spectacular. I have almost always preferred Japanese interiors since they seem more intuitive and I think they look better. The Escape just looks cheaper for some reason - maybe it's the metal looking plastic and rubber all over?

I did like the radio with CD changer, though. Not all was bad!

If you just drive in the city and need to haul people or things, you might like this car.

Otherwise, consider the CR-V instead. It's not a hybrid, but it still gets good mileage, beat the Escape hands-down in everything, and you will save $4000 up front. Not sure how the hybrid depreciates, but the standard Escape looses about $4000 in it's first year. There's a really good chance that the CR-V could cost you less to own a better car in the long term....read morehide

Pros

Great fuel ecomony. Quality vehicle.

I have owend this vehicle for more than a year. My gas mileage is actually above the EPA estimate. It has only required the regularly scheduled maintaince. The quality is wonderful.

It is very comfortable. The rear seat is a full size seat, which folds flat when extra room is required.

From the buying experience at the dealer to the owning experience thus far I AM QUITE PLEASED!!!!!!!!...read morehide

Pros

It gets great MPG for an SUV (38mpg!!!!). It's solid and fun to drive!

Cons

no complaints

I love this car!! I traded my BMW X5 for this car last year and I am so glad I did. It's comfortable, drives great and has lots of space in the back and the MPG is awesome (38!!!) . Also....don't forget about the IRS rebate for hybrid cars. I got $4000 back at tax time. The dealer pretended he knew nothing about it.......they just wanted to unload all the regular SUV's....read morehide