hammerhead
07-25-2024, 09:22 PM
This week the High Commanders beloved minivan bit the dust. The tranny has been slipping for about a year and the oil pump in it is not building much pressure. So it was off to the Ford dealer in Shelburne, Trillium Ford. Also located in Alliston. We initially went to look at the Bronco Sport. When we got there we drove three cars. Well the High Commander drove. Intrigued by the Escape plug in hybrid, we took that for the first test drive. It was very smooth and quiet. It has a 2.5 ltr engine and of course an electric motor. Front wheel drive because hybrid. The car handled pretty good but I felt a little understeer in the twisties. It was a pretty technical corner and the High Commander was going I bit fast. 210 hp you know. All in all a nice ride and way better looks then past Escape models, in my opinion. The electric motor is noticeable and does make noise, but not loud.
Next we took the Bronco. Even as the passenger I was not at all impressed with this car. Major road noise on smooth tires and very uninspiring to drive. I wasn’t even driving and I was completely board with it in 5 minutes. Would not want to commute in this thing. It did handle the corners pretty well. But the dud of a 1.5 ltr engine and fuel mileage comparable to a 5.0 anything, it did not turn me on at all. I’m truly glad I didn’t purchase this thing online because that is what we wanted.
Next we drove the Edge. Noticeable road noise but not a bad as the Bronco. Also had front brake chatter. Not too impressive when selling a new car. Didn’t like the feel of this car either and again I wasn’t driving. Mentioned the brakes to the sales guy but pretty much got a Meh!
At the end of the day and much discussion about electric cars and V8 ‘s and after keeping the sales guy at work until 10pm we purchased the Escape plug in hybrid. The car is pretty loaded up and gets great fuel economy. EV and Gas combined is 2.3 ltr/100k gas only is 5.2ltr/100k.
The High Commander is extremely happy and has quickly forgotten her beloved Caravan. The tech in this thing is pretty genius, but the most genius thing I realized about this car is with the High Commanders driving routine she will likely only buy fuel once a month. Unlike early hybrids this one runs on hydro until it needs to run on fuel meaning charging between short commutes may never see too many stops at the pumps. Why is this genius, because when people see how much driving they can do without having to rely on a tank full of fuel, it will make the transition into a full on electric that much easier. I think that is genius.
40075
Had to crop pic to make it work
Next we took the Bronco. Even as the passenger I was not at all impressed with this car. Major road noise on smooth tires and very uninspiring to drive. I wasn’t even driving and I was completely board with it in 5 minutes. Would not want to commute in this thing. It did handle the corners pretty well. But the dud of a 1.5 ltr engine and fuel mileage comparable to a 5.0 anything, it did not turn me on at all. I’m truly glad I didn’t purchase this thing online because that is what we wanted.
Next we drove the Edge. Noticeable road noise but not a bad as the Bronco. Also had front brake chatter. Not too impressive when selling a new car. Didn’t like the feel of this car either and again I wasn’t driving. Mentioned the brakes to the sales guy but pretty much got a Meh!
At the end of the day and much discussion about electric cars and V8 ‘s and after keeping the sales guy at work until 10pm we purchased the Escape plug in hybrid. The car is pretty loaded up and gets great fuel economy. EV and Gas combined is 2.3 ltr/100k gas only is 5.2ltr/100k.
The High Commander is extremely happy and has quickly forgotten her beloved Caravan. The tech in this thing is pretty genius, but the most genius thing I realized about this car is with the High Commanders driving routine she will likely only buy fuel once a month. Unlike early hybrids this one runs on hydro until it needs to run on fuel meaning charging between short commutes may never see too many stops at the pumps. Why is this genius, because when people see how much driving they can do without having to rely on a tank full of fuel, it will make the transition into a full on electric that much easier. I think that is genius.
40075
Had to crop pic to make it work