By P.J. McCombs
February 8, 2008 -
Ford’s marketers often appear to live in a sort of surrealist parallel universe. How else to explain their enlistment of Kermit, the self-effacing, hand-operated amphibian, to pitch the Ford Escape Hybrid? This SUV has the makings of a game-changing, ass-kicking product. It’s a genuine full hybrid, with components licensed from Toyota. It’s sized, styled and priced to the mainstream’s liking. Yet, saleswise, the hybrid Escape is croaking. Methinks Ford’s spokesfrog hasn’t given the Escape Hybrid the marketing momentum it deserves.
For 2008, Ford’s stylists breathed upon the entire Escape line to stop it disappearing into the crowd. But oy, what a crowd. The compact-‘ute party has been crashed by twelve newcomers since the Escape’s 2001 debut (one suspects free beer). The Escape’s new chromey, square-jawed mug is handsome enough— a little less Kenmore, a little more Clark Kent— but the mechanicals underneath remain largely unchanged.
That’s less a problem for the Hybrid than its gas-only siblings. While the rectilinear sheetmetal marks it as a veteran in this class, the Hybrid’s gas-electric powertrain is as bleeding-edge as anything you’ll find under a Japanese-badged hood. The Hybrid Escape is powered by a 133 hp 2.3-liter four cylinder gas burner, paired with a 70 kw electric motor. The Escape’s prehistoric four-speed auto is replaced by a planetary-type CVT. Under the cargo mat, you’ll find 330 volts’ worth of NiMH batteries.
Drop the spec sheet and plop into the Hybrid’s cabin, and the picture dims a little. The ‘08’s interior also gets a gentle makeover. Ford’s replaced dark, oily-grained stuff polymers with sandy, pebble-grained plastics du jour. A new dash upholds Ford’s blocky, neo-Lego motif. But the appointments remain stark. Touch points are hard. The gauge cluster glares with obnoxious reflections, and the center stack’s tightly-clustered, lookalike buttons are only slightly less busy than a TI-83 graphing calculator’s.
Look up from the IP (needn’t twist your arm there) to spot the upside of the Escape’s advancing years. That’s right, you can actually see out! Sightlines are wide and bright from the Hybrid’s upright, elevated helmspot. Roof posts are no girthier than a pine sapling. And despite the sprawl-out space within, the Escape Hybrid feels tidy and manageable in close quarters, its bluff-cornered hood simplifying distance-to-crunch judgments.
Distance-to-empty is, of course, the more relevant figure. So fire it up and check the trip computer. “Average MPG” should ring in around 30 mpg, given the 34/31 EPA estimates of my $29,865 front-drive tester. The AWD model surrenders a couple of mpg, at 29/27, in exchange for whatever peace of mind the front-biased, on-demand system affords. It also commands a $2500 premium over its FWD stablemate.
Who needs it? At its core, the Hybrid— like other Escapes— is a spacious grocery-getter that places you a foot or two above the madding crowd. And so, we drive.
The gasser four delivers moderate pep, humming benignly under a light throttle foot; heavier inputs send the CVT into the drone zone. The Escape’s chassis tiptoes daintily from block to block, driving lighter than its 3,638 lbs suggest. And the ride, while lumpier than a car’s and noisy over textured surfaces, is solid and rattle-free.
The rest of the Escape range has been prescribed rear drum brakes and electric power steering for 2008, leaving little conceivable reason to buy one. But the Hybrid retains its rear discs, and its steering has always been the fun-free electric variety. As such, it’s no surprise that the four-spoke helm feels vacant and numb in the hands. Fortunately, the rack’s accuracy is unimpeachable, with strong self-centering (insert SUV joke here) and a pleasing hollow heft off-center.
More surprising: the transparency of the Escape’s hybrid system. Far from a stilted freshman effort, the Escape’s drivetrain phases in and out of electric mode quickly and seamlessly. Moreover, its gas engine’s startup/shutdown shudders are subtler than a Prius’. Its regenerative brakes boast a natural pedal feel, too— the action’s a bit stiff, but it’s not at all nebulous or grabby.
So, what’s not to like about the Escape Hybrid? Two things. First, you don’t get an animated power-flow display, a la Toyota, unless you stump for the $2,695 navigation system (a quaint “charge/assist” gauge is standard issue). And second, this Ford is only a pleasure to drive in appliance mode. Pushed hard, the engine brays, the suspension sways, and the hard-compound tires shriek and forget to grip.
Big deal. The Escape Hybrid is for people who’d rather save gas than haul ass. As such, it’s perfectly suited to drivers who want to realize significant fuel savings, but don’t want to sacrifice riding tall in the saddle. Or are only comfortable in a plus-sized vehicle. Or simply don’t want to be pigeonholed politically.
Sink the real marketing dollars into this one, Ford; it’s worth it. It ain’t easy being green? Says who?
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February 8th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Ford announced the 2009 Escape Hybrid a couple of weeks ago arriving this summer, featuring a bigger/badder 2.5L engine, improved braking, and ESC. Press release here:
http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=27548
February 8th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Interesting review. I think this is the first vehicle I MIGHT look at from an American manufacturer since I bought my last car (2005). At that time, the American manufacturers made nothing I wanted (awd “sports” car…I bought an STi). In hindsight this was an AWESOME choice for Chicago/Suburban winters which has proven itself in the last 3 weeks.
Now that I’m married, the wife has SUV syndrome (”We need one to haul stuff or future kids”) and she thinks our 2000 Neon (bought used with 125k for $1k) is not big enough. The neon so far has been pretty much completely problem free which totally surprised me. Outside of regular maintenance it has not really required anything except a motor mount.
Hopefully by 2011-2015 they will have a diesel/hybrid suv as that would be ideal. I am not an SUV/big car fan but could probably live with one if it got mileage comparable to a car from 5 years prior.
February 8th, 2008 at 10:09 am
As I understand it there are 300 D type batteries in the trunk, is this really the case?
February 8th, 2008 at 10:17 am
The Escape Hybrid is not a two-mode hybrid. It is a full hybrid (not an assist hybrid like the GM BAS setup), but does not have two planetary gearsets as the GM/DCX/BMW two-mode setup has.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AHS_II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Synergy_Drive
Also, just to clarify, Ford did not receive any technical assistance from Toyota in the development of the Escape Hybrid (PJ doesn’t say that they did either). The companies had a patent sharing arrangement because the independently-developed Ford system was coincidentally so similar to the Toyota HSD system. Supposedly Toyota got some diesel and direct injection technology in return from Ford.
February 8th, 2008 at 11:08 am
#1 Good luck finding one. Unless you stumble on one by accident, be prepared to factory order (government and taxi fleets are taking priority over retail customers) and wait 4 months. Oh and the 08 order book is closed, so you’ll be getting an 09 (with the powertrain upgrades) sometime in the summer.
#2 Unless you drive mostly in the city, be aware it’ll take you about 14 years to pay off the hybrid premium over the regular 4 cylinder (including the $2500 rebate not available on the Hybrid).
February 8th, 2008 at 11:19 am
My question is whether or not they’ve fixed the flex-y floorpan that bugged me about the ‘01 gas version we used to have at work.The front footwells were damn narrow as well.
Also, I hated the teeny little buttons, all the same size and texture, used in the radio/CD player.
February 8th, 2008 at 11:21 am
My mon has an 06 Escape Hybrid (last body style). She absolutly loves the thing. I just think it feels weird when I drive it.
February 8th, 2008 at 11:26 am
GS650G :
As I understand it there are 300 D type batteries in the trunk, is this really the case?
They look like conventional D batteries in shape, but if the pack is using the same cells as the Prius (and I believe it is) they are probably 1.2V cells. They are slightly smaller than an actual conventional D battery (they are sometimes referred to as sub-C).
The Escape uses 250 cells. The Prius 228. If you’ve ever spent any time with anyone into electric R/C, the technology is very familiar to them.
R/C racers with serious cash spend a lot of time making sure their 6 cell packs use cells with equal capacity and charge and discharge rates (a process called “matching” cells) - then they work hard to keep them that way. I can’t imagine expanding that process into 200 + cells to make sure you get the most out of them.
February 8th, 2008 at 11:34 am
ChrisHaak:
GM’s two-mode hybrid IS a full hybrid. They have two systems. The full hybrid two-mode, and the mild hybrid BAS. I think you got confused.
If I didn’t have so much money on my GM card, I’d get the Escape Hybrid in a flash. Now I’m stuck waiting for the two-mode 2009 Saturn VUE Greenline.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
These things are in high demand -I had to wait 12 weeks to get one.
I’ve been driving it for about 2 months now and I’m pretty happy with it. I’m getting about 27 mpg (AWD version). This is during the winter months when the batteries don’t hold their charge as well. This is also as the car is breaking in so, it should best that figure in the near future.
The interior is a little crappy but so far its rattle free and functional. Its a very easy car to drive -steering is light and visibility is outstanding. The reviewer is spot on about the transition from electric to gas power -its very smooth. I don’t even notice it.