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Well, I've had my XLT Hybrid for a month and a half and have put 6K km on the clock.
Overall, I am quite pleased with it, pleasantly surprised, to be honest!
My driving is almost 100% highway, mostly 400-series divided highways around Toronto, with a bit on two-lane mixed in. Not the best environment for hybrid mileage, but every bit of traffic increases fuel economy. I started out in mid-winter temperatures (as low as -23C), but as its been broken in and the weather warming, every tank seems to be getting better mileage. My last tank averaged the best yet at 6.9l/100km (34 miles per U.S. gallon to our friends south of the border), with a range of 738km. Most of my driving is between 110-125 km/h. Overall average since new is 7.5 l/100km, according to "trip 2"; I reset "trip 1" every fill-up. I should add that I replaced the original Continental all-season tires with Falken Wildpeak AT3s before taking delivery, so that likely costs a bit of mileage.
I have had no issues with the truck, it drives well and feels very solid. I think they got the balance between ride and comfort just right. It takes winter-heaved railway crossings with ease. The seats seem comfortable, the the driving position good. Complaints are few and minor in nature: the side mirrors could be just a bit wider (but not taller), the side widow defoggers seem to blow a bit too high on the door glass, a bit above the line of sight to the mirrors. Annoying is the seat belt diagram that pops up every time I start the vehicle, I use my seat belt all the time and don't like having to hit the "OK" button every time to get rid of that. It does eventually go off on it's own, but it takes too long. Another thing I don't like is that the center screen displays my volume or temperature for several seconds every time I adjust them. I use my ears to judge volume and the climate control already displays the set temperature. Like I said, minor complaints.
Stupidest feature: Since the early 1980's, Fords had a good, intuitive setup of buttons on the steering wheel for the cruise control. Now they've gone and replaced the "set" button with a little toggle that is a bit too stiff to move comfortably and too small to operate with gloves! Change for the sake of change.
Other stupidest feature: Every car I have owned with steering-wheel mounted (I see a pattern here) audio controls has had them mounted on one side and the cruise control buttons on the other. Some genius decided "let's split the audio controls and put half on one side and half on the other side"! So the volume buttons are on the left side and the preset/skip buttons on the right. Or is it the other way around? That's the problem, I always have to look now to see which side, left or right, are the buttons I need to push; so much for intuitive design!
I think the truck is quite quiet in most driving, other than when accelerating hard, then it revs like a snowmobile. But that is short-lived, of course and I don't find it bothersome. Just the nature of a hybrid.
In driving I mostly use "Normal" mode, but I have found that using "ECO" in traffic is great, as it gives more regenerative coasting that helps slow you down just by taking your foot off the gas.
I have never used remote start, so I have never had the surging issue. I just start and drive.
Oil consumption has been zero so far, Ford has done a good job with the hybrid powertrain, in my opinion. Occasionally there's a minor jerk when the engine restarts, but it's mostly seamless. The heater output seems average.
I haven't hauled anything heavy or towed with it, so I can't comment on that. But it is nice to be able to load smaller items over the side of the box, which can't be done with full-sized trucks anymore.
The Maverick I ordered last summer has finally been built and is on the way to the dealer, I bought this one late January out of desperation as I need a car NOW and the one I had ordered was delayed a few times. I was lucky to snag this one! I'll be trading it in on the new one in a few weeks; hopefully it will be as good as this one has been!
Cheers!
Overall, I am quite pleased with it, pleasantly surprised, to be honest!
My driving is almost 100% highway, mostly 400-series divided highways around Toronto, with a bit on two-lane mixed in. Not the best environment for hybrid mileage, but every bit of traffic increases fuel economy. I started out in mid-winter temperatures (as low as -23C), but as its been broken in and the weather warming, every tank seems to be getting better mileage. My last tank averaged the best yet at 6.9l/100km (34 miles per U.S. gallon to our friends south of the border), with a range of 738km. Most of my driving is between 110-125 km/h. Overall average since new is 7.5 l/100km, according to "trip 2"; I reset "trip 1" every fill-up. I should add that I replaced the original Continental all-season tires with Falken Wildpeak AT3s before taking delivery, so that likely costs a bit of mileage.
I have had no issues with the truck, it drives well and feels very solid. I think they got the balance between ride and comfort just right. It takes winter-heaved railway crossings with ease. The seats seem comfortable, the the driving position good. Complaints are few and minor in nature: the side mirrors could be just a bit wider (but not taller), the side widow defoggers seem to blow a bit too high on the door glass, a bit above the line of sight to the mirrors. Annoying is the seat belt diagram that pops up every time I start the vehicle, I use my seat belt all the time and don't like having to hit the "OK" button every time to get rid of that. It does eventually go off on it's own, but it takes too long. Another thing I don't like is that the center screen displays my volume or temperature for several seconds every time I adjust them. I use my ears to judge volume and the climate control already displays the set temperature. Like I said, minor complaints.
Stupidest feature: Since the early 1980's, Fords had a good, intuitive setup of buttons on the steering wheel for the cruise control. Now they've gone and replaced the "set" button with a little toggle that is a bit too stiff to move comfortably and too small to operate with gloves! Change for the sake of change.
Other stupidest feature: Every car I have owned with steering-wheel mounted (I see a pattern here) audio controls has had them mounted on one side and the cruise control buttons on the other. Some genius decided "let's split the audio controls and put half on one side and half on the other side"! So the volume buttons are on the left side and the preset/skip buttons on the right. Or is it the other way around? That's the problem, I always have to look now to see which side, left or right, are the buttons I need to push; so much for intuitive design!
I think the truck is quite quiet in most driving, other than when accelerating hard, then it revs like a snowmobile. But that is short-lived, of course and I don't find it bothersome. Just the nature of a hybrid.
In driving I mostly use "Normal" mode, but I have found that using "ECO" in traffic is great, as it gives more regenerative coasting that helps slow you down just by taking your foot off the gas.
I have never used remote start, so I have never had the surging issue. I just start and drive.
Oil consumption has been zero so far, Ford has done a good job with the hybrid powertrain, in my opinion. Occasionally there's a minor jerk when the engine restarts, but it's mostly seamless. The heater output seems average.
I haven't hauled anything heavy or towed with it, so I can't comment on that. But it is nice to be able to load smaller items over the side of the box, which can't be done with full-sized trucks anymore.
The Maverick I ordered last summer has finally been built and is on the way to the dealer, I bought this one late January out of desperation as I need a car NOW and the one I had ordered was delayed a few times. I was lucky to snag this one! I'll be trading it in on the new one in a few weeks; hopefully it will be as good as this one has been!
Cheers!
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