Driving this all-white Mariner Hybrid, with an interior all sweetness and light in taupe and beige with aqua lighting, makes me think I should be wearing a robe, angel wings, and a halo. But then I noticed that, in my 24 hours of pretend ownership, I screwed the cumulative average fuel economy achieved by our staff (and clearly displayed on the lovely SYNC screen) down a few tenths with my usual heavy right foot. But the Mariner Hybrid does respond best to a good flooring of the accelerator pedal.
The outside looks old, but Ford is doing very nice interiors these days, worthy of a second look. The three-hole 110V AC plug in the center console cracks me up. I'm waiting to see some oblivious girl, late to work, blow drying her hair. And talking on her phone. The good news is, her phone will be connected by Bluetooth to SYNC, so her hands will be free to do something else, other than driving, of course.
Have I said just how much I love SYNC? I do, I really do.
Jean Jennings, President & Editor-in-Chief ...next page >>