Hybrid Ford Escape Performs as Well as V 6 Version March 2005

Cruising along the Capital City Freeway in a test 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid, I felt so good about myself.

I was doing my part for Mother Earth, driving what Ford Motor Co. bills as "the world's cleanest and most fuel-efficient sport-utility vehicle." The nation's first mass-produced, gas-electric SUV was not only rolling up impressive fuel-economy numbers, but also I was feeling good vibes for driving an SUV qualifying as an "Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle."

If only those two guys in front of me weren't trying to kill each other.

Yeah, it was a Honda Accord and a Lexus RX 330, cutting each other off and periodically slamming their brakes in front of me. I decided I had to get away from them before they caught me up in their two-car-crash tango.

Nailing the accelerator, I zipped around them in the left-side passing lane and left them 100 yards behind, in the time it takes a bowling ball to roll from hand to pins.

It took perhaps an additional minute for the startling realization to hit me: Holy cow, what was that? I just dusted those guys in a compact SUV with a hybrid power plant!

I could picture the Accord or RX 330 driver going home to his spouse and confessing: "Honey, I promise I'll never drive like an idiot again, because I was put in my place today by an SUV with a green leaf carved into it."

That green leaf is indeed part of a chrome badge that identifies this Ford Escape as a "hybrid" ... but the best part is that the vehicle requires no special care from the driver. It acts very much like a typical SUV, especially in the performance department.

Oh, sure, you have that green leaf thing and a vehicle start-up process that pauses ever so momentarily until all systems are go. And the Ford Escape Hybrid gives you the silent treatment at the stoplight, with the electric motor subsequently doing the heavy lifting as you approach 25 mph.

But beyond this _ and a projected decrease in your annual gasoline bill _ you're rarely reminded that this new model is a hybrid.

Still, I thought it was baloney when Ford engineers crowed that the hybrid version of the Escape performed about as well as a gas-powered Escape with a 200-horsepower V-6. Turns out they were right.

The Ford Escape Hybrid does not snap your neck, but accelerations are decidedly brisk and, on the move, the SUV can literally slash and dart when prompted.

The hybrid's high-performance characteristics are achieved with a clever blending of the 2.3-liter four-cylinder, gas engine (133 horsepower); a 65-kilowatt electric traction motor that excels during hard acceleration and a 28-kilowatt generator motor that recharges the batteries, starts the engine and helps regulate propulsion channels in the transaxle.

A big supporting role is played by the Escape Hybrid's standard electronically controlled, continuously variable transmission, which does a remarkable job of seamlessly managing both internal combustion and electrical power sources.

The tested Escape's display screen, centered in the dash, offered up various information tidbits, including continually updated fuel-economy performance. During a week of testing _ including an off-road jaunt _ my numbers almost exactly matched the sticker's advertised 36 miles per gallon in city driving and 31 mpg on the highway. (Unlike gas-powered vehicles, gas-electric hybrids typically do better on city streets, with the electric motor doing much of the slower-speed work instead of the gas engine.)

The Escape Hybrid's interior cabin is nothing fancy, but it is comfortable and functional. Dash controls are easy to use and reach.

As for downers, you start with vehicle cost _ a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $26,380 on the tester, which was the front-wheel-drive model, not the all-wheel-drive version that starts at about $1,600 more.

That compares with $19,460 for a two-wheel-drive, gas-powered, four-cylinder Escape with a manual gearbox.

Naturally, you're paying for that green technology, and you have to add up a lot of missed stops at the fuel pump to start feeling good about the extra green that comes out of your pocketbook to buy a Ford Escape Hybrid.

And while I realize that Ford was looking for ways to keep the cost of a comparatively costly vehicle in check, optional anti-lock brakes are hard to accept in this day and age.

One other personal gripe was the tester's audio system, which sounded tinny and incapable of delivering a quality bass sound.

The deciding factors for most prospective Escape Hybrid buyers will likely boil down to paying extra money to get good gas mileage, environmentally gentle technology and SUV versatility in a practical-size package that performs at a level expected from a V-6-equipped compact/midsize SUV.

Feel good about that? Then you're probably going to want to test drive a Ford Escape Hybrid.

SOURCE: Rocklin Today

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