If you are like me then you have really grown tired of the price of fuel rising (nearly) as fast as Exxon’s profit margins. Have you gotten the weird feeling that maybe, just maybe, global warming might not be a figment of the scientific community’s imagination? Have you tried to dispel the start of yet another record-setting violent weather pattern that has begun?
I know, heavy stuff for an automotive review. But, nonetheless, relative to my latest tester, the Mercury Mariner Hybrid. You have heard all about those hybrids: they are expensive; they do not have a long track record of proven dependability; they still require trips to the gas station; and so on.
Mercury’s Mariner, in my opinion the perfect proving ground for the industry’s potentially largest hybrid growth market, is based on the extremely popular Ford Escape (and Escape Hybrid). I say potentially biggest growth because the industry says hybrids will have more than a 3 percent portion of the market in less than 10 years. The vast majority of those will be small to medium-sized vehicles: sedans, SUVs and crossovers.
While the Escape has already shown great promise for dependability as well as the acceptability of the consumer to spend a little more to help out a lot, there still are not enough hybrids out there to have an immediate impact.
I really like the Mariner’s approach to the whole SUV package. You get all the utility and space you expect with generous fuel economy (33 city/29 highway). All of this wrapped up in one of the sharper looking exterior designs in the class and a sophisticated interior design which is more sport than utility.
The Mariner Hybrid has already filled orders for the 2006 model year with orders currently being taken for the 2007 model year. The Mariner Hybrid starts with a $29,840 list price, which includes delivery fees. It comes as the most premium of the Mariner versions with a long list of standard features. Two option packages and four stand-alone options are offered.
A comparably equipped Mariner without the hybrid powertrain starts at $25,650. The Ford Escape Hybrid starts at $27,515.
And as much as I like the looks of the Mariner, that sales success has nothing to do with looks and everything to do with escalating fuel prices and concerns about the environment. Who said you cannot help your pocketbook and improve your conscience at the same time? Probably the same people who claim greenhouse gases are petty political banter.
Mercury's next hybrid will be on the midsize Milan sedan, which has made its 2006 debut as a non-hybrid, with a hybrid version due as a 2008 model.
If you have never driven a hybrid vehicle, you must test drive one if just to give you a point of reference. It will also thrill you to know you can drive a vehicle like the Mariner, surrounded in comfort and quality appointments, and enjoy the acceleration and power you grew up with in your former non-hybrid vehicles.
Propelling the Mariner Hybrid is a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, two AC electric motors and nickel-metal hydride batteries, mated to a continuously variable transmission. This combo delivers the Mariner to 25 mph on electric power. It feels a lot like a golf cart – with an MP3 option.
Delivering 133 horsepower, the engine automatically shuts down at full stops, while coasting and moving at slow speeds. It is a seamless transition inside the cabin and I never once felt like I could not keep up in traffic.
Hybrids in general are on the upswing. Consumer acceptance and their ability to pay premium prices hopefully pushes further growth. It could help all of our pocketbooks at the gas pumps, but maybe more importantly it can protect the fragile world’s climate for your grandkids.
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