- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
The article mentions the Ford Escape Hybrid in passing. As the owner of a Mariner Hybrid, an Escape clone, I find the comparison interesting. I don't know what deals one could get these days on an Escape or Mariner Hybrid, but they're probably more expensive than the Outlander by five grand or more, which is hardly chump change even in these modern days. And hybrids feel a bit ponderous to drive simply because the battery adds a lot of weight. But the two wheel drive Escape gets 31 to 34 mpg, which is around 50% better than the Outlander. That's a nice feeling too. And the driving position and the interior appointments, as they say, are just fine.
Another part of the feeling in the driver's seat of a hybrid is the visual fun of watching regenerative braking charging up the battery icon on the visual display. Not entirely rational? Not really. Great fun though.
