2009 Ford Escape Hybrid

Rarely can “SUV,” “clean air,” and “good gas mileage” be used in the same sentence. One of the few exceptions is the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid.

Hybrid Efficiency

According to U.S. government tests, front-wheel-drive versions of the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid get an impressive 34 miles per gallon in city driving and a very respectable 31 mpg on the highway. The all-wheel-drive Escape Hybrid gets 29 mpg city and 27 on the EPA highway cycle. In addition, the Escape Hybrid earns California’s Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) status, the cleanest emissions rating achievable by a vehicle with a petroleum-burning engine.


While a conventional vehicle gets its best fuel mileage during steady, lower-speed highway cruising, a hybrid’s major fuel savings occurs by avoiding idling, since you’re getting zero miles per gallon when sitting still with the engine running. When at a stoplight, stuck in traffic or coasting down a long grade, the Escape Hybrid computer turns the engine off. At that time, the battery provides power for the radio, electrically driven power steering, and to restart the engine.


The ’09 Escape Hybrid gets an Atkinson-cycle version of the new 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder gasoline engine that is standard in gasoline-engine-only Escape. An Atkinson-cycle engine is more fuel-efficient than a conventional engine. In the Escape Hybrid, the 2.5-liter four-cylinder makes 153 horsepower and a peak of 136 pound-feet of torque.


The combination of the Escape Hybrid 94-kilowatt electric motor and gasoline engine produces acceleration to rival its V6-engined sibling. Considering the V6 makes an impressive 240-horsepower, that’s more than adequate to allow easy merging into a fast-moving freeway. Steep off-pavement trails will also be easily conquered.