2012 ecoboost

[brian617]

Purchased my 2012 limited ecoboost well should say my wife's since I only get to pay the bill for it. So far a very nice car I will try to keep up with mpg as that seems to be an issue with this model. Any tips or advice is welcome. Thank you

[Gimp]

You got the Ltd so you have a loaded vehicle. My only two recommendations would be an immediate, high quality wax job, and purchasing a screen protector for the glass display. I bought one from NuShield to protect the screen (primarily from stray sheepdog paws) and to reduce the glare. You don't even notice it's there.

 

I wouldn't say that the EcoBoost MPG is an issue. I think that expectations were just a bit too high. All the hype on the Edge EcoBoost is about "30 MPG". That comes from Ford as well as the automotive news sources so it's easy to buy into. The reality is that highway MPG on any car is only obtained in a set of optimal conditions which few of us actually drive with any frequency. If you look at the "combined MPG" rating of 24 and set your expectations there, I think that you will be much more satisfied. It's the realistic figure. Anything above that is gravy.

 

If you're a bit below the 24 MPG figure I can understand why you would be feeling some buyers remorse. Then you need to look at the alternative vehicle or engine size you considered and remind yourself that in the same driving conditions, the alternative choice would have been worse than the 4-cylinder EcoBoost.

 

When I was doing my purchase research I did some math on the money savings for the EcoBoost vs. the 3.5 Edge using both vehicles combined ratings. At my 20,000 miles per year of driving it would have been nearly 4-years before I saved enough money to justify the nearly $1,000 premium price. I concluded that it wasn't worth it. I ended up buying the EcoBoost for the superior low end torque and have not regretted my decision. My combined MPG average over 8,700 miles has been 25.358 and I admit that I had hoped for a bit better than that as I'm a light footed driver. My very worst MPG on a tank of fuel was 22.4 and my very best was 30.14 so it all depends on the driving conditions. I should note that I lived in Kentucky for three years and rarely saw a section of road that wasn't going up or downhill so that's going to have a negative impact on your MPG compared to the relatively flat section of Michigan where I commute.

[brian617]

Thank you for your input I was not really looking at the ecoboost but it ended up being my best option. Have you had yours out in the snow I am concerned about the lack of AWD? And yes it is hard to find a flat or even a straight road around here.

[Gimp]

Regarding AWD, I was raised in the snow belt along the Lake Erie shore in Ohio, spent several years in a mountainous area of souther Germany, and have lived in lower Michigan for 18 years. When I learned to drive as a teenager it was expected that you would find a big empty parking lot full of snow and have fun learning about how to handle a car in it. I have never owned a four wheel or All Wheel Drive vehicle and never missed it. I do however make it a point to always use all season tires with very good tread on them. Traction control on the vehicle provides a lot of additional assistance. If I lived a little further north I would probably buy snow tires and have only wished that I had them about twice in the Detroit area. While the winter in S.E. Michigan was milder than usual this last year, we still had snowy and icy roads and my Edge handled it really well. I don't really like the tires it came with, but they did fine, especially when brand new.

 

The unsafest I have ever felt when there was snow on the road was when I lived in Kentucky and North Carolina. Generally that was about once or twice a winter and it only lasted a few hours. Unless you are in Eastern Kentucky, you know what I mean. AWD wouldn't have helped because the problem was always the other drivers who weren't used to it and would come sliding my way with big eyes and the "ooooh" look on their face.

 

My final comment on four wheel and All Wheel Drive is that I think it can give drivers over confidence and they drive too fast. I admit that on more than one occassion I have taken some small measure of enjoyment out of seeing a vehicle plowed into the median strip several minutes after they blew by me on a snowy road. When you hit the right icy patch all of those wheels still just spin and then you've got the additional problem of a lot of speed built up behind a lot of weight taking you where you don't want to go.

[Limited59]

drivers who weren't used to it and would come sliding my way with big eyes and the "ooooh" look on their face.

 

This is exactly the reason why I drive four wheel drive vehicles exclusively and have never owned a "two wheel drive". I realize 4WD/AWD only really helps to accelerate the vehicle and I use that to my advantage with the full understanding of its limitations. To me there is nothing worse than to see a vehicle sliding toward me not have the traction to get out of the way, or otherwise maneuvre evasively.