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The 2006 Escape hybrid was
the first commercially available Hybrid SUV, as well as
the Truck of the Year at the North American
International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2005.
The Escape hybrid apparently likes firsts, as the hybrid
Escape was also named the 11th Greenest Vehicle - a first for a SUV.
And the good news for the Escape hybrid doesn't end there.
According to an
Edmunds study, the Escape hybrid can recover its
hybrid costs in just 3 years.
Likewise, Consumer Reports has called the Escape hybrid the Best and Greenest Small hybrid.
How the Escape hybrid
does it.
Combining two electric
motors - one to drive the wheels and one to turn over
the gasoline engine - with the standard Escape 2.3-liter
four-cylinder gas engine, the Escape Hybrid Electric
Vehicle (HEV) achieves almost 35 mpg and performs as
well as the 200-hp V-6 version.
The hybrid Escape's gasoline
engine has been modified to run on the Atkinson cycle,
unlike the standard Escape, which like all conventional
automobiles, runs on the Otto cycle.
The Atkinson cycle runs more
efficiently, using less air and fuel, but also reduces
engine horsepower, and that's when the electric motors
kick in.
One motor drives the
wheels on the Escape hybrid, the other starts the engine
and manages the transmission's ratio.
Electric motors improve fuel economy in city
driving, allowing the vehicle to be powered by electric
power only, and also by capturing energy more efficiently.
And, yes,
you still have to keep gas in the hybrid Escape.
Ford created a number
of new technologies developing the Escape hybrid, and
the automaker hopes to receive more than 100 new patents
from Escape hybrid production.
Similar to other
hybrids, the Ford Escape utilizes a variable
transmission system, called an Electronically
Controlled Continuously Variable Transmission or eCVT.
This allows the distribution of power between the
gasoline engine and the electric motor to be determined
by driving conditions, allowing the gas engine to shut
off when the electric engine can provide enough power to
run the hybrid SUV.
This feature allows the
Ford Escape hybrid to significantly increase
fuel-efficiency.
The Escape also uses
regenerative braking, allowing the vehicle to
recapture some of the vehicle's kinetic energy to
recharge the hybrid's battery pack.
How Does the Hybrid
Escape perform?
Most important, the
Ford Escape Hybrid can perform at any level, on-road or
off-road, as well as, if not better, than the standard
Escape.
O.K., that's not
totally true. The Ford Escape hybrid, like the Prius,
can have problems with mountain driving, or very steep
hills. Combined with the wind resistance caused by the
square design of SUVs, and sluggish performance can
occur, but such conditions are rare in a daily commute.
For those that have to have an SUV, but feel
guilty about purchasing a gas-guzzling SUV, the Escape
Hybrid is the perfect solution.
The biggest downside of
the Escape hybrid is cost. The hybrid components of the
Escape add about $3000.00 to the cost of the hybrid
versus the conventional Escape. Additionally, Ford is
often packaging the Escape hybrid with lots of extras.
Some people have been
bothered by the hybrid Escape's drive-by-wire brake and
accelerator controls, as well as the electric power
steering, claiming less responsiveness, but I didn't
notice this much on my test drive.
Essentially, Ford isn't
offering the Escape hybrid as an alternative to a base 4
cylinder Escape, but rather to a fully loaded 6-cylinder
Escape.
Unfortunately,
the hybrid Escape is not quite as fast as the
conventional 6-cylinder Escape.
Nonetheless, the move also makes Ford
the leader in U.S. hybrid technology, providing the
first full hybrid by one of the American Big 3, in
addition to the first hybrid SUV.
Ford
plans to sells about 25,000 of Escape hybrids in every year.
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Test
driving the Escape Hybrid |
