new 2010

Squishy said:

Wow, no more Tru-Blu?

How do the two V6 engines compare? Noticeable difference in normal driving, or just under heavy acceleration?

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Well, someone else will be driving her. .......I wonder if they will ever find out that the 3rd brake light has the ESCAPE printing on it.

How do the two V6 engines compare? ...
Well, there are a few difference in the setup.
1) Now 16" wheels over the 03's -15" and this changes the ride and accelleration, I think.
2)I'm sure You know that they've changed the steering to Elec Assist. back in (08 I think.) ....which has more of a "car-like" feel....less touch with the road. My wife's i4 08 has the 4WD and this changes the feel of the suspension with the extra linkages to the rear drive. This 2010 car is way quieter than my 03...even when the 03 had new tires on it. So, I think that the ride is less "sport/utility" and more car/luxury with a view.

but...you're asking about drive train....
3)The newer V6 drive is simply smoother. I still need to find the shift points since I use them for economy. I think the shifting is smoother. The upshifts are smoother but I also think that the tranny has the same memory programming that the CD4E had. So, the shifting characteristics can change for the diver. I have noticed downshifting under flat road as I slow so there may be more hunting but it hasn't done the CD4E's annoying trick of slow downshifting when nearing a stop....you know, that downshift hesitation that may happen when you then press the accelerator as you approach a red stop light and then the traffic light changes to green.
4)I tried the gas pedal one time going down an entrance ramp and as my head was planted to the headrest, my wife grumbled, "Show-off!" Sorry to report but.....her '08's older i4 would have no chance in a drag and it would most likely toast my replaced beloved '03 as well. BUT her 08's 4wd can get out of deep snow and that's a plus for her car. I have tried our friend's 03 Tribby with V6 4WD and the wife's i4 4wd and for normal driving though, I prefer the smoothness of the Fwd. because it feels like there's less clunking going on down below.
That being said, I don't need "that kind" of acceleration unless I feel like embarrassing some raggedy Equinox, and ...I really don't need the XLT accessories that I had to get to get the V6. I bought the v6 to tow our little sailboat and I generally am into driving w/fuel economy in mind.

So....
Because I'm one cheap bas..(oops, so-and-so)..I don't need the sun roof, the Sirius Sat. 6 mo....come-on, the Microsoft(ugggh!)...Sync (My $10/month cell has a pull out antenna and won't work with it), the power driver's seat, the tinted windows, the fog lights.......
Frankly, I don't like the under-car spare tire location. I think that location is stupid and inconvenient.
The console shift is a plus over the column shifter but the arm rest storage box is less convenient in the re-design. In my 03 box, I had to remove 24 CD cases, one CD flip-type folder that is about 2" thick and not one, but.. two can's of Deep-woods off insect repellent that I had lost in that console armrest box.

I do like the taller side mirrors for the rear view but they don't retract very far at all compared to the '03 type. I'm still trying to figure out the new center mirror. It's like tinted and doesn't flip for night.
I have to read the manual in order to figure out the headlamp switch now. This is something that should be a no-brainer but it has some sort of setting for automatic-on. So, as I was told, "you just leave it and the car knows when to turn on the headlights". Last night at dusk, the sun was shining and the interior instrument cluster lights were changing brightness on their own depending upon the car's compass direction. I do like the MPG readout, the compass/outside temp display.

Oh well, more after coffee break.
~bilbo
N.E. Ohio

Hi David,
I'm from north side of Youngstown. We get up to Ashtabula Co rather often. LAst weekend it was the covered bridge festival and we roamed the N.E. Side of the county. We've been to Orwell. I used to spend a week in the summer at Whitewood 4H camp when I was a kid.

I don't mind the automatic headlights. I just have to get used to how these things work.

The real learning curve involves the Ms Sync/phone and the Sirius.
With the Sync system comes a USB port for the entertainment center. I just tried the USB out with one of those portable storage devices like the Sandisk Cruzer Flash drive and I've come to realize that the CD player has become obsolete. With a $20 8 gig flash drive a person can store maybe ~1500 of their most favorite MP3 tunes and play them through the system. That's maybe enough tunes for 3 solid days of non-repeat partay. -this is their base low end stereo system BTW. Way better than my dad's 65 Ford Galaxie 500 with the single speaker AM Radio.

For a update....Today I was driving on a fairly straight and level road at about 45 MPH and After resetting the Avg mpg. it leveled off at.............. 36 mpg. :wave:

jpark said:

Nice Escape, Bilbo!!!

I remember that you were wondering about the missing yee-hah handle on the driver side when you bought the '08. Does the '10 have one?

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Ha....Interesting way of putting the question. Yes the 2010 has one. On the pass side. (Actually no need on the driver's side because of the steering wheel) But the 03 had two front and two ceiling entry ones for the rear seats.

jpark said:

If it does, does that mean that wifey will want you to give her the '10?

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Oh yes, she's in deep wants for two reasons. In 2000 she bought a silver Merc. Sable and wanted a more tricked out black one. I said, "I wouldn't own a black vehicle. They get hot in the summer." Now, I have one and it has Sirius Satt. w/the Boss channel or some such station....Every time she gets in, it's Born to Run and Run and Run.....
i can't escape it!

Some additional comments. It's pretty much looking good here. No big problems. The interesting improvement with the tranny that I notice is that it doesn't kick up the RPMS a few hundred every time that I re-press the gas after coasting.
I'm enduring a learning curve but I have the Sync system working and the basic system can replace a GPS course plot and traffic alert plus it calls 911 automatically (When I get my phone updated with minutes). I'm using a basic prepaid plan. Tracfone w376g and BT 2080 earpiece that have connected fine.
Avg MPG is at 26.8 after 220 miles

jonas1022 said:

Yupper! Everyone that I know with the latest and greatest from any car manufacturer is almost always 1-2 mpg optomistic. Mustang Bullitts in my IMBOC club, show an even worse disparity, sometimes up to 3 mpg too high. Guys are reporting 28 mpg. Then when they actually pencil it up over 10 tanks of gas, they find it's more like 24-25 mpg! :shrug:

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Hi David,
Well I did a test of my math vs.comp readout and the difference came down to 0.5 MPG less for my mathematical estimate for one tank. I will continue to average this for better accuracy. I would think that the Ford MPG estimation is based upon fuel use/vacuum/throttle settings and I've been told that it isn't too far off by people that aren't Ford employees. BTW: There is a separate display on my car showing "fuel economy" which I think is a simple 5 point graph based upon vacuum/throttle amounts. What I can say, if I didn't already is that this car is most likely anywhere from ~3MPG more economical to ~3 MPG less economical than a similar earlier V6 because the engine tranny is very sensitive to the driver's ability at controlling this factor. I would also most likely expect the fuel economy to drop as the winter gas is being distributed.

Well, I've done some minor modding. Here's a not so good image: