2006 Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD

Ford may not have been first to market with a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle, but it was first with a full-hybrid SUV. The 2005 Escape Hybrid—also the first full hybrid offering four-wheel drive—was named North American Truck of the year by a impartial jury of journalists at Detroit's 2005 North American International Auto Show.

Styling

The highly-praised Escape Hybrid compact SUV is a "full" hybrid, meaning it can run on its electric motor only below 25 mph, its gasoline engine only at higher speeds, or the most efficient combination of both, as determined by its sophisticated hybrid system controller. Because it is most efficient at low speeds and in stop-and-go driving, the standard FWD Hybrid rates an impressive 36 EPA city mpg vs. 20 mpg for the V-6 Escape. Ford says it can deliver as much as 50 percent better fuel economy under those conditions, as well as 400-500 miles of range from a tank of gas. Also extremely clean, it meets Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV II) and in California and states adopting California standards it meets Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) standards.


This remarkable full-hybrid powertrain is a happy marriage of six key components: An efficient 133-hp 2.3-liter Atkinson cycle I-4 engine, a 70-kilowatt electric motor, an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (eCVT) that receives power from the engine and electric motor and routes it to the drive wheels, a second motor/generator for starting the engine, recharging the batteries and helping to seamlessly blend the two power sources, a 330-volt nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) battery pack, and an electronic vehicle controller that monitors system inputs, conditions and demands and manages all vehicle drive, engine starting and battery charging functions.


Though not identical, this system is similar enough to Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive system that Ford chose to pay royalty rights on elements of it, most notably the transmission, which is sourced from the same Japanese supplier. It provides a total peak output of 155 hp and 0-60 mph acceleration equivalent to that of the 200-hp Escape V-6, mostly because the electric motor supplements the gas engine with an instantaneous torque boost at low rpm.

Interior

The Escape Hybrid looks like the gas-powered models...a good thing, since Escape is America's best-selling compact SUV. Sharp eyes will notice its (Ford environmental) road and leaf badges and a discreet battery-cooling vent in the driver's-side rear quarter window.