... but only in my dreams.

This is one s-w-e-e-t vehicle. 100% electric. Check it out. Tesla Roadster.

Or how about this? An electric Mini Cooper that goes 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds with a cruising range of almost 1000 miles?!?!

Back in the waking world....

My wife and I bought a 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid back on July 5th (could have bought 3 for the price of one Tesla!).

We bought it for a couple of reasons: full economy and reduce our carbon footprint. So far, we're both very pleased with our CUV. We're still under 2000 miles (we own a Mustang GT convertible which tends to get used a lot during the warmer months).

One really cool feature of the MMH is instant heat. It will come in handy after sitting in the open parking lot at work on those cold winter days (we're in the Hartford CT area).

 

Glad to hear you like your Mariner. My sister lives in Hartford - ya getting any snow?

Gosh, I hope my new car has instant heat. I had to pass on the heated seats.

 

Actually, the forecast for this Saturday morning is a snow and rain mix... but nothing like what the folks in Buffalo got Oct 13 - 2 feet!

We discovered the instant heat quite by accident. I'll have to go back and re-read the owner's manual to see if I missed something. And yes, I really did read it.

 

Tell us more about the instant heat in the MMH. Does the manual give any specifications regarding wattage or how it interfaces with the traditional coolant based heating system? Does the electric heat kick off somehow once the coolant is hot enough to provide heat?

In both my FEH I get heat quickly and even after shutting the engine off and turning the ignition back to "RUN", I get heat for quite a while but I have never heard any mention of the '05 or '06 having any sort of auxiliary heat system.

Thanks

Ray

 

I discovered this quite by accident. We normally set the ventilation system to "off" on those chilly mornings to avoid cool air blowing on us. Well, one morning I forgot to do this. Fortunately, the heat control was set to full heat. I'd say within 30 seconds there was warm air coming throught the vents. Not hot, mind you, but not cool either. It was quite a pleasant surprise.

I have no idea if this is standard or if this is really a feature. I need to go back through my manuals to see if it's mentioned.

On a side note, this morning I did notice the exhaust temperature coming out the tailpipe was quite warm. The truck has been running for about 1-2 minutes. I was getting something out of the rear cargo area and stepped in front of the tailpipe. I was surprised how warm the exhaust was so soon after starting the engine.

This is base model MMH with a regular old manually controlled heating and cooling system. Nothing exotic.

The outdoor temperatures have been around 30-40 degrees F when we've made these observations.

- Bill

 

Nice post! keep us update!

 

...but back on the subject of Top Gear's "reporting" of the Tesla...

I saw that episode and was deeply disappointed that the Tesla Roadster was apparently no more than a "toy" for rich playboys to parade around the boulevard.

I am relieved to know that this was not the case but I know now to only consider TG as mindless car-oriented entertainment and that it shouldn't be taken even the least bit seriously.

Entertainment is one thing but not at the cost of the truth.