2005 Ford Escape Hybrid

Clean and green

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With its clever Escape Hybrid SUV, Ford Motor Company minimized a popular complaint—that contemporary sport-utility vehicles are hopelessly fuel-inefficient and thus symbolic of the biggest challenge facing internal combustion technology. The Escape Hybrid offers front-wheel drive or automatic intelligent four-wheel drive, along with impressive 31/36 city/highway fuel economy. That figure compares well with a 20-mpg city rating in a V-6-equipped Ford Escape.

The Escape Hybrid offers front-wheel drive or automatic intelligent 4WD, along with impressive 31/36 city/hwy fuel economy. And it's a true Hybrid, meaning that the Escape's dual power plants can run separately, or together, depending upon your requirements, rewarding you with what Ford claims is up to a 50-percent improvement in fuel economy during typical, gas-guzzling, stop-and-go driving.

We noted there are two power sources. Here's what you get: an Atkinson cycle (for improved combustion) twin-cam 133-hp four-cylinder internal combustion engine is mated to a continuously variable planetary automatic transmission (CVT). There's also a 94-hp generator electric traction motor, which provides additional boost to the drive wheels under hard acceleration, an electro-hydraulic brake-by-wire system and even electric power steering. A 28 g-watt (equivalent to 38 hp) generator motor recharges the batteries, starts the engine after shut-downs and helps regulate the way the two propulsion channels blend smoothly together in the Escape's CVT transaxle.

Ford modeled its system after the successful Toyota Prius, and has licensed some Toyota technology, but the Escape's twin-engined set-up includes several impressive elements where Ford has its own patents pending. Ford's hybrid drive system switches off when the vehicle is stopped, unless the HVAC system's demands are high, and it restarts instantly when you step on the accelerator. Take off slowly and at speeds up to 25 mph, the Escape will run solely on electric power. Accelerate hard and the gasoline engine and the electric motor work together, for near-V-6 performance with 4-cylinder economy. Regenerative braking helps store energy that would otherwise be lost as generated heat. The hybrid system adds about 375 pounds to the overall vehicle weight.

Instrumentation includes a "green zone" gauge that displays when the vehicle is operating in its most economical mode. The Escape Hybrid has an impressive range of 400 miles on its 15.0-gallon tank. Its electric motor draws from a 330-volt nickel-metal-hydride battery pack that's sealed beneath the rear load floor. Best of all, the Escape Hybrid produces some 97-percent less HC and NOX emissions than vehicles that meet Tier 1 emission standards. CO2 emissions are one-half of a conventional power plant's. The Escape Hybrid qualifies for the Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) standard.