Is the Mariner hybrid one too many Escape hybrids?

Too much like the Escape hybrid?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Mercury Mariner hybrid, except one thing: the Mariner hybrid is simply too much like a Ford Escape hybrid. At least that is the point Karl on Cars recently made.

Regarding the Mariner hybrid, "like most Mercurys, the increased cost over the comparable Ford product doesn't return when it's time to sell. In fact, Mercurys do worse on resale value than their Blue Oval cousins. If nothing else that last point confirms which version you should buy (and raises the inescapable spectre of what Ford should probably do with Mercury...)".