CometFlash

If you do a lot of highway driving, you may very well get better MPG buying a conventional gas fueled car than a hybrid. Hybrids do great in city driving, but they don't have lots of ooomph if you like to get up & go for the sake of the feel or speed of it. Plus on the highway you won't see any added benefits from the hybrid powertrain since it'll never be able to go into EV mode. If 50% of your commute is city & 50% highway, perhaps then I'd consider it. But if it's mostly highway I bet you'll find cars out there with a lot more ooomph and great highway MPG. I love my FFH, but if I was doing a lot of highway driving I'd rather be in an all-new 2013 Fusion w/EcoBoost, or all-new 2013 Taurus w/EcoBoost, or even the newly redesigned Focus if it isn't too small. At any rate, you're right about waiting a few months for the new model to hit if you do decide to go with the Fusion or Taurus. The hardest thing for me to get used to in my FFH was the lack of luxury. I mean, it came with everything there was possible to add. But it just felt very ho-hum compared to my F-150 Platinum, and yet they were both the top-of-the-line for their respective model lines. Huge luxuriousness difference between the two. Looks like the new Fusion takes this in to consideration, if that's a selling point for you. If you go with a current model soon, the MKZ does look & feel more like you'd expect for a top-of-line model to be, although the price differential is substantial. I bought my FFH to pay off my mortgage faster, and in 1 year after buying my home I've already paid off 6 years of the mortgage, so it's working very well. But 97% of my driving is city not highway. I fill her when she is at half-tank, which is every 3 weeks or so. 44.4 MPG in summer, 39.6 MPG winter. If you find a preowned FFH you could try it for awhile and if you didn't like it trade it back in at not too much of a loss. That was my plan when I bought mine. But surprisingly, it's been the most fun-to-drive vehicle I've ever owned. It's not close to the sheer majesty of any of my F-150's over the years, but it truly is actually fun to drive for maximum efficiency. :dogwalk: <-- I don't know where this smiley came from, but it was too cute not to post, even though it has nothing to do with anything I'm talking about. :D :P

I'll try to remember to watch mine to see if it's around the same. One thing I have noticed is that with the ICE running, the car gets much better MPG when it's going along at like 40-45 up to maybe 50-55 or so; compared to driving slowly like 30 or 35. I was always under the impression by all the articles & stuff I read that driving the speed limit, or slowly, got you better MPG than speeding around. But that doesn't seem to be the case according to how the MPG gauge fluctuates as I'm driving around. I still tend to go slower as opposed to faster just so that I can get in EV whenever possible. Another thing I noticed is that the Ford engineer's were correct. I get better MPG by accelerating up to speed with ICE, then kicking into EV; compared to trying to accelerate slowly to stay in EV and then having the battery almost depleted by the time I'm up to speed, so then the ICE has to kick in.

Thanks jim, good read/info. I came from an '09 F-150 Platinum with every option imaginable, so stepping down from that to an FFH was def an adjustment in terms of luxury. And you're right, not only are memory seats nice, but my Platinum had a cool feature where every time you took key out of ignition, the seat would go all the way back and the steering wheel all the way up, for ease of exit. When you got in the truck, as soon as you put key in, everything would automatically move into your perfect position again. VERY cool feature which not even the MKZH has, unfortunately. The Platinum had it over the MKZH/FFH in every way imaginable, except fuel economy. So I agree it's a big adjustment going down, but then again, it's all about $aving with a hybrid purchase. That's part of the reason it's hard for a lot of people to justify the price premium of the Lincoln over the Ford, since it has some nice features, but is it truly worth that much more? Hard question to answer. I will also throw my 2 cents in and say that the A/C seats are nice, but certainly not a game changer. I had them in my Platinum, and while nice, in no way will I miss them when the hot weather hits as I hardly used them, in fact felt like I used 'em more because I had them than because I needed to for any reason. And I've had leather in all my vehicles since 1997. Never been an issue, and I always get black interiors. (Strange having grey in my FFH, but it was a "preowned" great deal, not a special order like I have always done before with all my new trucks. Recently I've noticed a squeek in my FFH that I can't find the source off that's driving me crazy. When first looking at both vehicles, one thing I always talked about was how the reviews said the MKZH was much quieter and how important that was for me. Well, looks like those reviews were correct, and now I'm wondering if I shouldn't move in that direction, although with the rumored all-new 2013's around the corner now, I may wait and deal with the noise until I see what the changes/improvements are and maybe snag one of those when they hit. Plus my USB port isn't recognized anymore either, which is pretty ridiculous too, though the squeek is what will drive me nuts and force my hand at some point. Hopefully for 2013 they'll get a lot more luxury items involved, like the Easy Entry/Exit Feature, MyFord Touch, Heated Steering Wheel, stuff like that.

Better MPG. Every one of my four F-150's, even my very first 1997 XLT, could handle anything I threw at them. Best built trucks ever, love 'em! But all four also sucked on MPG. I don't need hp, I don't need torque. All 4 had plenty or power and torque to do anything I could possibly throw at them. Hard to find a bigger F150 fan than I; spent over 150k on them in my lifetime; and my family & friends think I'm an F-150 nutcase. Everyone was shocked beyond belief when I drove up without my truck. But not blind to what they need to improve upon; #1 being MPG. :reading: 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid 2009 Ford F-150 Platinum 4x4 2004 Ford F-150 Lariat 4x4 1998 Ford F-150 Lariat 4x4 1997 Ford F-150 XLT 4x4

I wish they made an AWD Fusion Hybrid, myself. As for their pickup trucks... I bought a 2009, and was planning to buy a 2011 with the new EcoBoost engine. I was SO excited for the truck to finally get some decent MPG. Well, the EcoBoost will hit the streets very soon, and guess what... it only gets 1 stinkin' MPGcity better than the 5.4L Triton I had in my 2009. 14MPGcity vs. 15MPGcity. What a complete and utter letdown. Hence my months of looking elsewhere, such as the FFH, MKZH, Volt, etc. So no idea why no hybrid pickups, other than they are always playing the towing/hauling war, and it'd probably be impossible to win that war with a hybrid drive pickup. Lots of guys want to be able to haul around 8,000 lbs. of lumber while towing their house on wheeels uphill to the top of Mt. Everest it seems. Even though hardly anyone who buys an F-150 does anything even close to that, that's what the SuperDuty's are for! Stupid EcoBoost F-150. Goodbye. Hello '11 FFH. :headspin:

Like mentioned, I think everytime gas prices spike, or stay high for a prolonged period, you'll see spikes in hybrid sales. Part of the problem too is the prices of hybrids. It's hard to justify buying one to SAVE money, when they cost so much MORE than their gas counterparts. You have to keep 'em forever to recoup and then start saving, but most people don't keep a vehicle for 10 years or more. They need to get realistic pricing going on them first and foremost. And many people may have the same concerns I did before buying, such as battery logevity, long-term reliability, winter/summer effects on battery, will it always start & go like a normal car or will the battery act funny on cold/hot days and leave you stranded, etc. New tech can always be a bit scary for an early adopter at the cost of said adoption. I'd also assume that they sell better in warmer climates than in places like where I live, with brutal winters. Again, trepidation in performnace/issues with battery or other new hybrid-specific components in freezing weather conditions. Who knows, just my own personal random thoughts on the matter. I can tell you this: It feels fantastic to finally be the little hybrid car getting awesome MPG with a super-smooth ride, the ones I used to look at in my huge truck and envy as I got crap 14MPG with my truck constantly shifting up n down in the 9am and 5pm stop n go traffic. There's so far only 1 thing that I truly miss big time about my truck, and that's being able to actually SEE what's around corners, or other times when having that line-of-sight would be helpful in avoiding an accident or merging safer. I find myself coming to stops and then inching ahead to see around the massive 10-12 foot snowbanks and hoping no one is coming as my nose sticks waaay out to get a line-of-sight for myself. That's the one thing. I wish I could raise my seat to the roof and sit outside the moonroof so I could see again. Other than that, everything in the FFH is better and/or not a dealbreaker for all the benefits of the car over the truck. Being tiny while driving straight is actually better for better driving habits, as I just pay attention to myself and how I'm driving. But at turns/intersections/merges, man, to have that height again... I did my best yet the other day, 13 miles at 43MPG. B) I'll take my new elite FFH club over the massive F150 club, where everyone gets all pissy at each other, any day of the week. :grouphug:

I've started noticing that between the fun of working towards driving even better for increased MPG, and between the fact my new car is so tiny compared to my trucks, that I've really been focused more on myself, my driving, and enjoying myself while driving. My truck was so huge that I could see everything, and felt as if everyone could see me, so I always drove paying attention to everything around me and with such a wide field of vision I always wanted to keep up with everyone else, so I'd drive with the pack. With my little car, I can't see much of anything, so I just concentrate on driving safely and for great MPG. I never considered that switching from my truck to this car would change my driving experience so much, making it so much more enjoyable and less stressful for sure. I don't care what anyone is doing behind me or in other lanes around me unless I need to - I just do my own thing now. :) I did a 6 mile trip today, got 33MPG. That's the best I've done so far in one trip. :) Looking forward to better weather more n more. Another thing that's surprised me is that going from a die-hard F-150 fan for 15 years, I thought the first time I saw one near me on the road I'd have major regrets. But surprisingly, even though I do notice them (especially '09+'s), I don't even them or regret my decision at all. Unless you actually NEED a pickup truck for work or whatnot, the only thing they do better than my car is with visibilty and 4x4 in winter. And the visibility actually causes worse driving habits and increases the road rage frustration. In a pickup, people are always trying to cut you off, cut in front of you to slip into your lane, etc. They know you can't accelerate worth a crap. I am SO glad I'm done with that. Arriving at my destination happy is a nice thing, and can actually help start your day off right when going into work, and rubs off on your co-workers and customers as well. :) Oh yeh, she's also WAY easier to park and maneuver in tight spots. She also heats up faster than my truck, which surprised me considering she's a hybrid and I wasn't sure how well things like heating and A/C would work. My truck did have a MUCH bigger center console, although the glove box seems bigger in my FFH than it was in my truck. Then again, the FFH has the USB port INSIDE the console, which is awesome! The F150 has it in the center stack, which sucks. She's a lot quieter than my truck, and I had the top-of-the-line PLATINUM edition with every option possible. Think that's all for now. :headspin:

Nice. Other than what rfruth pointed out, very well put together. I liked how you kept it light with a bit of goofiness thrown in around all the factual stuff, made it a lot more enjoyable to watch than a lot of the boring stuffy videos out there for sure (I've seen practically every one in my research the past many months). I have been more than pleased with the acceleration of my FFH, in addition to the absence of any shift points, which makes the ride so much more comfortable and enjoyable. In the F-150, not only does acceleration suck wicked bad, but the shifting happens fairly frequently and is very much noticable. Gets very tiresome. The hybrid is the same color as mine, so that was just some icing on the cake for me. :D

I'm pretty sure I came across this in the manual as well. You can look up the manual online and download it if you don't have one. I think I recall reading that you shouldn't worry about charging up the battery before letting it sit, that it's better for the battery life to just re-charge it naturally with the ICE once you start driving her again, but I could be wrong. just breezed through that section since the most I'll ever be gone is 5 days once a year.

Got my phone synced and a bunch of other things calibrated to my liking today. A lot of the stuff is very similiar to what my truck had, so pretty easy there. What's crazy, is the guy who owned her for those 6 weeks or so, didn't take out any of his personal information. Not only did I find some forms with his info in the glove box within the manual, but also in the NAV system and his phone still synced up. I deleted it all, but if someone of poor morals had bought the car, they could have driven to his "Home" address and then used his universal to open the garage door and have at everything in his house. :fan: Not smart. I made sure everything was deleted and back to defaults before I traded my truck in you can betcha. I know I've only had her a couple full days, but she's been great so far. The biggest thing is learning the best displays to use and then how to use those to help me drive better for increased MPG. I will say that when traffic is moving along, I find myself just driving normally so as not to piss anyone off. But in the bumper-to-bumper crap, or in the bad times when everyone is inching along due to snow & ice, I've been trying to keep her in EV mode and seeing how best to drive her to do that. I'm not one of those people who will shut off my heat just to save an eighth of a tank, so I won't go there. I've found keeping the LCD on the 4th option, Empower I believe, is the best option for optimal driving. The gauge that shows the EV and Engine, with the moving red line, is the most helpful. That way you can see what you may be doing to ask for too much power, causing the ICE to kick in. Keep it below that line, and only the EV goes. Green for EV, brown color when the ICE is going. I found with this Empower mode, you don't need to use the HEV screen on the NAV screen, since you can use that gauge I just mentioned to see if the ICE or EV is in operation. As I am getting used to her, I get more excited for the good weather to truly see what I can pull out of her. :) She sure is a lot easier to get the snow off than my F150 was, that's for sure. She feels tiny compared to my old girl. I also can't wait for the good weather to hit so I can give her a proper once-over, wash, polish, clay-bar, wax, etc. It'll take no time compared to my truck! I like how the console bin has the top portion that snaps to the cover, allowing you to open the bottom portion for other stuff. That way any pens, gift cards, whatever stay in the top bin where you want them while you go searching for something in the large bottom bin. Good forthought there, Ford. Surprised they didn't put an ambient LED in the glove compartment. I also think the aqua blue color is probably the brightest, the white color doesn't seem to illuminate as much as the aqua blue or the yellow color either. Just an observation. Not sure what else for now. :happy feet:

For what it's worth, my father has worked as the assistant auto manager for Sears for well over 35 years, and he says Kia's have to be the worst pieces of metal on the road he's ever seen. He refers to them as the "throw-away camera" of automobiles. No reason you have to trust him, but I do. Just thought I'd throw that tidbit out there. Like myself, he won't ever buy a toyota; but doesn't have anything particularly bad to say about them. But the Kia's... :unsure: Just starting to get the hang of some of the FFH driver info stuff on mine. I got her to a 33 avg MPG drive today. Not bad considering the heater seems to keep the ICE going most of the time in this weather.

Yep, you certainly get a lot for the price. And I wouldn't suggest putting the Rain-X on the reverse camera, I'd be afraid to muck it up with anything. I had my '09 F-150 since March '09 until a day ago, and in all that time never had any rear camera troubles at all, in any type of weather condition, and all I did was avoid the camera while waxing & cleaning, so basically it never got touched by me 'casue I didn't want to smudge it or mess up it's visibility in any way. Looks like tomorrow will be even worse than today, so another test of crazy winter driving with the stock tires tomorrow morning, & late afternoon after work... :burnout:

Thanks everyone. :) Had her out today in the snowstorm. Is ok, but thinking hard about a set of winter tires. Without 4x4 it's scary worrying about getting stuck and looking like an idiot. Almost got stuck getting out of a parking lot with several inches of snow on the ground at the exit. Would rather have all the tools to drive safely in this crappy NE weather I have to deal with all the time. So far the only thing I miss about my truck, other than 4x4, is the field of vision. It was so easy to see things in the truck, be it at a stop sign or in traffic or parked with vehicles on either side of me. Strange not having that wide field to see everywhere. Got to be a lot more careful in a car. Hopefully the CTA will help with one of those issues, the others is just slowing or stopping, and inching out to see what's around the bend. But I love how smoothly the car drives, the quick 'n easy acceleration, no back n forth with hard shifts, and of course just starting to look more at the MPG & HV displays to see how to drive her even more efficiently. So far I've only had time to program the radio presets and the homelink. It's too cold to spend time out there messing with everything in this horrible weather. I'll have to fiddle more with the seat, as right now when I get in my right knee/leg always hits the steering wheel when I get in. And I shut off the HD Radio function. I don't know if it's the weather or what, but it gets very annoying when the volume goes up & down all the time switching between HD and standard signals when it loses reception with one. I know, it probably sounds more negative than I intend, just in this weather and with such a major switch for me (been driving 4x4 F-150's since 1996) it's a lot to take in; and the weather on my first day of ownership is a complete disaster e.g. 4x4 pickup weather. :P Crazy timing, I guess. But there was no way I could pass up the deal I got, and I am sure she will save me a ton of money. It's also the first time I've ever walked away on Day 1 with a brand-new vehicle completely paid for. No way I can possibly knock that! :woohoo: I know I've seen some complaints about the seats, but I find them to be comfortable. Perhaps if you don't have power seats and can't adjust them to your liking? She warms up fast, and I haven't noticed any issues with heating not coming on as necessary, and she goes into EV mode on occasion, though not often with the cold and heating requirements. Doesn't bother me, to be expected this time of year. I think the avg. MPG is like 24 or something right now, between the previous owner's 1.5 months of driving and my 1.5 days of driving, all of it winter of course. I know it's not the right weather for it, but after my drive the first thing I did after getting home was squirt a crapload of Rain-X all over the windows, especially the front and rear. I do not understand how anyone in their right mind would drive a vehicle without it. The ice/snow buildup is just terrible without it, nevermind how ineffective the wipers are without it. Hopefully it will take, as I was doing it in the freezing weather with heavy snowfall. But there was ZERO chance I'd drive in inclement weather again without it on there. :rant: Pure insanity. How do people see without it? I was in a friend's car a couple weeks ago in the rain and she didn't have any either, and I told her straight out I'd sneak into her work parking lot and Rain-X her windshield and she'd see the night & day difference. Crazy. Hmmm, what else. I have the manual inside with me, so I'll go thru that as I usually do with each new vehicle. Will have to get my cell synched to this car like my truck. Will check out the 4 diff display modes, see what I'd like best, all the other LCD options, etc. Anyone else have issues with the HD Radio, or was it just the insane weather today wreaking havoc with reception? All for now, shall report back later as my exp with this car increases!

It's official, she's all mine now. Goodbye F-150 @ 14MPG, hello FFH @ 41MPG. :party2:

:hysterical2: