2007 Ford Escape Hybrid Consumer Reviews

Almost Perfect, Mileage Is the Winner!

Written by: Northern Lights on 11/04/2009

Vehicle

2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4dr SUV AWD (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Review

Good: 4th year of ownership. No repairs or rattles after 40,000 miles of mixed paved, gravel roads. Outstanding fuel mileage, electric mode at reasonable speeds for a couple of minutes, uses regular gas. Great road view, backup sensors, nimble steering feel, back seat comfort, storage, low wind noise, feels more powerful than it's wee motors add up to. Good 4WD snow handler. Dislikes: VERY bad rear wheel fender flare destroyed by gravel from front tires, paint almost gone there. Goofy CD player under seat. Tiresome on long drives from buzzy engine and "light" feel on higher speed turns. Awkward heated seat switches, hard to find and use. NAV system is ugly and inaccurate. No air temp display

Favorite Features

Economy! Road view and drive. Styling, interior space. "Light" 4WD in snow. Well built.

Suggested Improvements

Protect rear wheels metal, move seat switch and CD holder to dash, add air temp guage, replace NAV with 3rd party system.

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Ford Quality & Gas Mileage Too

Written by: BPjunkies on 08/20/2009

Vehicle

2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4dr SUV AWD (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Review

We bought this car new as it was unloaded from the truck. My wife loves everything about it and wants to trade it in on a new one since they changed the body style. At first we used to just go for drives to see how high we could get the MPG value on the screen. We have seen high 50s for short drives but average in the upper 20s. It provides everything my wife wanted; She sits up high, it is extremely reliable, it gets great gas mileage, and she likes driving it.

Favorite Features

If you get the Backup Sensors you will never want another car without them. The MPG Monitor is fun to watch and makes ownership more enjoyable when you see 30s and 40s on the display. Driving a low speeds in stealth mode - all electric.

Suggested Improvements

1. Automatic Heated Seats turn on and off even though we are still wanting more heat. 2. Navigation System is almost worthless. We put our Garmin on the dash. 3. AC turns off when you come to a stop and car gets hot fast in warm weather. 4. Stereo sounds cheap. Rear passengers flooded with bass.

4 out 4 people found this review helpful

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Best of the Best

Written by: Jim Roberts on 11/17/2008

Vehicle

2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Review

I am a true car person. I have owned way to many new cars over the years and this is truly the best. The first thing to do for gas mileage is to change the air filter to the K&N. Use Mobil 1 oil and my mileage has ran as high as 41MPG when trying. I get a constant 30MPG when my wife drives and that is great. She just drives and does not worry about mileage. She has never gotten any better than 17MPG with any other car that she has had both large and small cars of many makes and models. Thank you Ford for taking a large step for fuel. The others have a lot of catching up to do. Ford rules

Favorite Features

Fuel mileage, fun to drive, great styling and a good ride. It's a real head turner. You must also remember that this is not a top of the line luxury car. You are trying to get fuel mileage so forget about all the bells and whistles.

Suggested Improvements

For even better fuel mileage that rated change the air filter to the K&N reusable filter. I also us 0-20 Mobil 1.

10 out 12 people found this review helpful

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Love it!

Written by: Pirate on 04/06/2008

Vehicle

2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4dr SUV AWD (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Review

I now have over 15,000 miles on our Ford Escape Hybrid (4WD). The average gas mileage is 29.3 MPG which is within the EPA estimate for this SUV. My wife and I love the SUV. I did all the research at the time comparing the Escape with all the other SUV on the market in its class and am more than happy that we purchased the Escape Hybrid. The SUV has been great so far the only exception is I wish the door gaskets would be heavy duty as they can be damaged fairly easily just through normal usage. Both front doors show wear on their door gaskets. The driver's side was replaced several months ago. Other than that it's a great SUV. Actually it's fun to drive. Great SUV. Thanks Ford. Just love it!

Favorite Features

The Escape Hybrid is very reliable, fun to drive & well thought out in its design. Recommend a back up alarm (audible) & a camera (visual) this is money well spent, especially on us older folks (senior citizens). This SUV has been a joy to own and drive My wife and I both love to drive it.

Suggested Improvements

The door gaskets can be damaged very easily, just through normal use. They are poorly fabricated, this had to be a cost savings measure on the part of Ford. Expect to relpace a door gasket every few years. Replaced the driver's side once and am careful getting in & out but still shows wear.

17 out 17 people found this review helpful

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Don't believe the fuel estimate!

Written by: Mark on 10/27/2007

Vehicle

2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Review

The 2007 Hybrid FWD is rated at 36mpg in the city. Don't believe it! Almost all my driving is in the city. I get only 23-24mpg. Even turning the A/C off adds only 1mpg. The Ford dealer said it needed to be driven for 2,000-3,000 miles to be broken in before the mileage would improve. After 5,000 the mileage is still the same. I know you never get the rated mpg, but 30%+ less is fraud!

Favorite Features

Rear window opens.

Suggested Improvements

More interior holders, including cell phone and trash container.

46 out 57 people found this review helpful

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Ford beats Toyota on this one!

Written by: rwolf01 on 10/26/2007

Vehicle

2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4dr SUV AWD (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Review

I've owned Toyotas for 20 years and love my Prius, but Toyota blew it with the Highlander Hybrid. It's too big and the mileage just isn't good enough. In college I swore I'd never own another American car, but the Escape Hybrid turned me around. It's brilliant. With the 4WD it goes anywhere I want including rough dirt roads and deep snow.... and it gets 50% better mileage than my old 4- runner. I've tried to break it. I took it fast and fully loaded up a steep mountain highway to see if I could run the battery down.... no way. It just works. I get an honest 28-30 MPG average with the 4WD. Avoid the factory Nav system. Buy a Garmin instead.

Favorite Features

The price! The sealed battery pack. I can throw scuba gear dripping salt water in the back, and not worry about trashing the battery. Leather seats are nice and have held up well. (The cloth seats looked cheap to me)

Suggested Improvements

Rethink interior details. Little things like adding a sunglass holder make a big difference. A bigger gas tank would be nice. (The mileage goes down on dirt roads. That's not the car's fault, but you gotta plan for it.) Fire Kermit. It's not just for tree huggers... it's a very practical car.

25 out 26 people found this review helpful

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Good Performance, Fun to drive SUV

Written by: Dani B on 07/02/2007

Vehicle

2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4dr SUV AWD (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Review

I love my Ford Escape hybrid, it looks great, is fun to drive, and gets pretty good gas mileage. I usually get around 28-30 mpg, and I am usually in the 28 range. I wish the gas mileage was a little bit better. The inside is nice and it is a solid car.

Favorite Features

Navigation, hybrid technology, heated seats, 6 disc CD changer.

Suggested Improvements

Ford definetly is behind in the stereo department! I would have thought for a high end "top of the line" package, I would have expected at least an mp3 hookup, steering wheel stereo controls, and a bigger navigation screen. So, I am definetly a little bummed that the stereo is a little lame.

30 out 31 people found this review helpful

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Crazy if you don't buy one

Written by: 928s4t on 06/08/2007

Vehicle

2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Review

I am getting 35 miles a gallon, yet I am driving a SUV that is comfortable and looks good. It does not get better than that. I am looking to buy a second (used) Escape. No serious complaints, however, it would be nice if you could add the MP3 option to the factory Navigation/radio setup. The 2008 might be quieter, but I like the looks for the 2007 better.

Favorite Features

Great mileage

Suggested Improvements

It would be nice if you could add the MP3 option to the factory Navigation/radio setup.

7 out 7 people found this review helpful

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Great mileage from an SUV

Written by: BikerDan on 05/07/2007

Vehicle

2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Review

Bought this to replace a '95 Grand Cherokee and an '04 Grand Prix. Mileage has varied from 26mpg freeway to 33mpg city. Power from a stop is a little weak. Passing power is very capable. Ride is a little bouncy. Handling is a little unstable above 70mph. Below that, it's acceptable for an SUV. Cabin is a little noisy, but no worse than the Grand Prix. Headroom/legroom in both front and back are good. I'm 6'2" and even with the moonroof I still have headroom. 4 wheel disc brakes are very good, but have an odd, nonlinear feel to them. Any doubts about it? Ask for a 24- hour test drive. One day of commuting with it sold me on the Ford Escape Hybrid!

Favorite Features

With gas approaching $3.50/gal here in San Diego, it's almost fun to visit the gas station. Hybrid power status screen and 15 minute running mileage graph let you track how your driving habits affect your mileage. Car doesn't heat up the garage. Holds more cargo than my old Grand Cherokee did.

Suggested Improvements

Move heated seat buttons so the switch and LED are visible. Add a place to store a cell phone and garage door transmitter. Ship NAV system with up-to-date CDs. 2007 model ships with 2005 NAV CDs. Put a light in the glove box. Design open body rear head restraints to improve visibility.

18 out 18 people found this review helpful

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Save gas, save planet and looking good too

Written by: 4Mom 2go on 05/01/2007

Vehicle

2007 Ford Escape Hybrid 4dr SUV (2.3L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Review

I traded in my '02 Eddie Bauer Explorer for '07 Escape hybrid. I doubled my mileage. Love the NAV system and real time gas mileage gauge. Keeps me from being a lead foot. Avg 31 mpg in mixed driving. The key is no rabbit starts and using less brake and more coasting to get to a red light I like exterior of '07, but the interior of the '08. Buttons and gauges are placed better in the '08. Also '08 has better nooks for interior storage. But'exterior styling of the '07 is more to my taste. The '08 exterior seems like a throwback to the late '90s Explorers, especially with its grille. Overall very pleased with my purchase, including the mpg and acceleration.

Favorite Features

NAV system and real time mpg gauge. Love the purr of the electric engine. Every time I hear it I know that I am saving money at the gas pump.

Suggested Improvements

Better nooks for storage in the interior. Move the heated seats button to the dash. Get rid of the under seat mounted CD changer. Ford did all this in the '08, but then the ruined the exterior with the new front grille.

9 out 9 people found this review helpful

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