![]() (Kind of still am), but, mainly, I was presented with a good deal on a high mileage V6, because it needed work (that I knew I could do).Ģ005 IS pretty old.but if the body is good, for $500, there might be some potential. ![]() I'll confess that ~4 years ago, I shied away from looking at used Escape hybrids because of being ignorant about battery longevity/replacement cost If that’s not done, the pack won’t cool properly and IDK precisely what happens after that, but it definitely can’t be good.Īlmost any car is a gamble even some 'brand new' ones. The earlier battery packs have cooling lines that hook into the AC system (and I think that includes 2005), so you’ll need to give additional consideration to the cost of servicing the AC as part of the procedure. For comparison, clean good-running lower-mileage examples of these things are still cheap and plentiful on the used market.Īs for the battery replacement procedure, I’d try searching youtube and wrapping my head around some visuals to help me decide if I’m up to the job or not. If a lot of other things also need attention, I probably wouldn’t bother unless it was still pretty clean. If it’s free or almost free from trusted family, it’s in good physical condition, and the battery is known to be the only thing wrong, it’ll be worth it, it’s probably worth the gamble. The Duratec/Mazda-L series 4 cylinder is a good workhorse, and the hybrid drive unit (the “transmission”) is pretty trouble-free as well. In other hybrids, these displays can be a terrific incentive to drive with a light touch to achieve see-it-right-now savings.īut the Escape’s screen, roughly the size of two decks of cards, is too small to be safely monitored, and a separate battery gauge (the only indicator of power flow if you don’t get the navigation system) is similarly hard to read.įinally - and these comments could also apply to the regular Escape - the fuzzy headliner looks cheap in a $30,000-plus vehicle, the back seat is as hard as a frozen snowbank, and the metal innards of the front seatbacks poked into the knees of rear occupants, leaving us to wonder how long before they pierced the optional leather skin (the seats’, not the passengers’).If the maintenance history is good and the engine still purrs, the mileage isn’t that high for one of these. Article contentĪ lesser shortcoming is the tiny navigation screen, a $2,600 option on our tester that also functions as a display for fuel consumption and the operation of the various hybrid components. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. To others, our tester functioned like a regular Escape, with thrust from the dual power sources at least approaching that of a gasoline V-6 (and managed cleanly by the continuously variable automatic transmission), and with handling not noticeably hampered by the weight of the batteries below the rear load floor. ![]() Only someone paying close attention could detect these moments. Yes, there were times the four-cylinder gas engine kicked out to save fuel, and when the electric motor became a generator to top off the batteries with energy that would normally be sacrificed through braking. We also were buoyed by the simple manner in which this complicated machine functioned. With the next natural or political storm perhaps just over the horizon, owners of these vehicles gain some peace of mind.īut that wasn’t the only reassurance in the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid we tested recently. Add another reason why gas-electric hybrids are becoming more attractive: insulation from the effects of gas shocks. ![]()
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