I have had no issues with the climate control. While I to try to skip it and use just the seat warmers (I live in Omaha...high of 3 on Sunday), I do use the climate control when I'm hauling around the kids, and it works great then. Seems to me when you kick it on, your estimated range on EV drops 3-4 miles, so definitely not a deal breaker (for me anyway). I've only had mine for 2 weeks, so I may be wrong, but I believe when you are setting up a go time, that you are setting up your car to be preconditioned, if that makes sense. Also, I test drove both vehicles, and the only difference I found between the FFH and the FFE was the EV ability. Otherwise, I found them to be identical. For me, the choice came down to cost. I could get the FFE for about the same price as the hybrid with the $4000 tax credit, and my drive to work is about exactly 20 miles, allowing me to use EV mode for pretty much the entire trip. Yes, in hybrid mode, your getting about 4 mpg less than the FFH, but with my commute, I more than make up for it with the ability to run solely in EV. Right now, I'm averaging just over 60 mpg, have 500 miles on mine, and have used just over half a tank of gas.