Ford Escape Hybrid SUV
The Ford Escape Hybrid SUV was first released in 2005 and remained largely unchanged until the 2008 model which saw lots of cosmetic surgery. In 2009 further improvements were made, this time to the engine and mechanics and the latest version of this hybrid SUV is definitely the best yet.The hybrid Escape has a 2.5 liter four cylinder gasoline engine with variable valve timing and two electric motors, teamed with a continuously variable transmission. This gives the Ford hybrid 177 horsepower which is a handy 22 horsepower up on the 08 Escape hybrid. The car has an all-electric mode to 40mph, after which the gas engine kicks in to assist. Having said that if you put your foot down and demand power from the vehicle the gas engine will immediately begin to work. The previous model of the hybrid Escape could only manage to run on electric motors up to 30mph so this is another good improvement. The transition from electric mode to gas mode is so smooth that its hard to notice. The final thing to say about the all-electric mode is that it can't be used in combination with the air conditioning. The a/c takes too much power to run. If you're using the a/c you will automatically be in gas mode. If you ask it to this SUV will get you from 0-60mph in a shade under 10 seconds so its certainly not slow.
The Ford Escape hybrid has official fuel economy figures of 34mpg in the city and 31 on the highway. We're used to seeing higher fuel mileage on the highway but its not uncommon with hybrid vehicles to see a higher return from the city. This is where the hybrid technology works best. These are respectable figures for an SUV and are very slightly up on the 2008 Escape hybrid which registered 1mpg less.
The Ford SUV makes use of regenerative braking to recapture energy for its 2kWh nickel metal hydride battery. A brake simulation module gives the regenerative brakes the feel of normal brakes to the driver. It works really well. The car does have some handling problems though. The hybrid SUV is 300 pounds heavier than the non-hybrid version and you really notice it around corners. This is not a nimble car. On the plus side, noise and vibration have both been reduced in the 2009 Ford Escape hybrid. Although an SUV, this car is best suited to the road. Its all wheel drive system, low resistance Michelin's and nose and wheel spoilers are just some of the reasons this car has limited off-road ability.
The latest Ford hybrid Escape has a number of useful features and options. AdvanceTrac is an advanced stability control system that also works to prevent rollover, something more common among SUV's than other vehicles. The SYNC option is a voice controlled entertainment and communications system. The excellent Sirius Travel Link option combines real time traffic, weather, fuel prices and more with a great navigation system.
The Ford Escape hybrid SUV in its latest form is a great family car. It has benefited enormously from successive improvements as each new version has been released. In its latest incarnation its only failing is its lack of off-road ability, but this is not uncommon in this class of car. Where to now for Ford? Well they're currently working on a plug-in hybrid Escape that would benefit from a lithium ion battery thats 5 times as powerful as the standard hybrid SUV battery. One big issue for Ford will be keeping the price down on such a car. They hope to be selling a plug-in hybrid SUV by 2014.