My 2003 Prius has had it. At 230,000 miles it was time to trade it in. It served me well and we went places I had no business taking it (read “some pretty nasty dirt roads”). But it wasn’t really a good car for landscape photography. Nevertheless, it never complained.
So around the end of last year I started thinking about a car that would be great for the kind of photography I do. I had some basic requirements:
- Cargo space (to carry all my gear including the stuff I need for workshops)
- High clearance (for those nasty dirt roads)
- Good gas mileage (I was addicted to 45 mpg from the Prius)
- 4WD (again, to go those nasty dirt roads)
A survey on the internet turned up several makes and models but the Ford Escape hybrid was at the top of the list. I visited the dealer and none were to be found in all of Southern California so on January 11th I placed the order. The decision looked good on paper but would the actual vehicle measure up?
Well, it took Ford a while to get around to building it and finally six months later (to the day) I finally got my hands on it on July 11th. Now, I have to add very quickly that patience is a virtue and pays off. And this experience only served to reinforce this notion. Here’s why….
- I saved 1% in sales tax as the temporary additional tax expired on July 1.
- I saved on the vehicle registration because there was a two week period the first of July where the legislature couldn’t decide on what rates to charge.
- I got a 2012 model
- Ford gave me 3 years of free scheduled maintenance as thanks for my patience.
So far, so good.
The car is really nice looking. It rides well and as a small SUV has somewhat limited cargo space., But drop the back seats and then there’s more than enough. It has SYNC and XM satellite radio so I jokingly call it the largest computer I ever bought. The ride is firm as you would hope for heading out on, yep, you guessed it, those rugged dirt roads.
The big question in my mind was what kind of gas mileage I’d get. Ford claims 30 mpg but other sources said it was more like 26. I was really hoping for 30.
Initially, driving in city and on freeways to and from work I was getting 30-32 mpg. Hey, not bad. But I wondered how it would perform on an actual workshop.
Well, last week I got to try it out up in Big Sur, California. I drove up on a Friday afternoon right through downtown LA (yes, I’m going to schedule an appointment to get my head examined) and got 32 mpg but there was a lot of stop and go driving (DUH!) which is something the Escape excels at. So, while I was pleased, I still didn’t know how it would actually perform on long distance freeway driving.
And while the workshop itself had a lot of driving it was along highway 1, the spectacular Cabrillo Highway, where average speeds are between 35 and 40 mph. And again I was getting 32 mpg but that wasn’t the real test.
It was on the drive home this past Friday that I was able to put it on a freeway, set the cruise control at 65 mph and just go. And I was not disappointed. Again the mileage came in at 32 mpg. OK, I admit. I was driving 65 and not my usual 75. But I wanted to do kind of a best case scenario. I’ll get it on the road and see how it does at 75 one of these days,
Oh, and I got it on a dirt road. It wasn’t a bad one at all, nothing close to where the Prius and I went but it was a start. It laid a good layer of dust on the car and that felt right (although I’ll admit I got it washed just as soon as I got back home).
So we’re off to a really good start. I’m very pleased with this choice. I’m looking forward to many good miles together. Oh, and the XM radio – how did I ever get along without it. Now I can drive the Cabrillo highway with the moon roof open and the classical music cranked way up (yes, classical music lovers like to crank it up too)! Perfect.
We do photography workshops. Come on out and join us. Click here to check us out.
You can also check out our photography. Click here.
(552)
