2006 Ford Escape Review

Specifications

An SUV That Everyone - Even Greenies - Can Love

At this point in time, it is now a well-known fact that when you buy a gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, you wont necessarily make the extra cost of purchase back in fuel savings. You probably wont be getting mileage figures as good as what the EPA claims either, and you will have to bear new burdens such as replacement costs of batteries, generators and motors, components not normally present in standard cars. Being fed this kind of information, its no surprise that most hybrids, which are either high-end machines or quirky compacts, arent exactly flying off showroom floors. Now that weve made this point clear - everyone, would you please shut up already.

This brings us neatly to 2005s North American Truck of the Year, and, incidentally the worlds first hybrid SUV, the Ford Escape Hybrid. The Escape Hybrid is a bridge between the two things that people really want these days. As voiced with their wallets, people are still very much into sport utility vehicles, drawn in by their spaciousness, ride height, and ultimately the look of being able to go anywhere and do anything. Then theres that other thing that people want, or more likely, want to get rid of. Its something subconsciously burrowed in the back of their minds; the issue of polluting and consuming. And if the granola-eating tree-hugger inside you doesnt seem to be crying out for attention, the reality of the price of fuel ought to be.

Instead of having direct injection or dual spark, the Hybrids gasoline half of the powertrain benefits from the same 2.3-liter Mazda engine found in the standard Escape, but its been converted to run on the Atkinson Cycle. The bottom line is that less air and less fuel are getting into each of those cylinders, so, surprise, surprise, you get fewer emissions, less fuel consumed, but less power. The difference between the modified engine in the Hybrid By comparison, the engine on its own makes a wheezy 133 horsepower. But thats okay, because what the engine lacks it gets back in rechargeable juice.

And while Toyota and Honda, the pioneers of hybrid technology, are still producing cars that look like upturned row-boats and spacecraft (OK, the Camry, Highlander, Civic, Accord and various Lexus models look fairly stock), Ford has thankfully left the Escapes charming cute looks be. Despite being very feminine, it looks quite good. And with that comment youve got to appreciate that Im not exactly a fan of SUVs at large, therefore when I say that Im a pretty big fan of the Escape, particularly with chunky, two-tone paint, and big, tires, it really means something. Aside from a more constricted palette with different options, the Escape Hybrid doesnt look particularly different, but for a narrow intake on one of the tailgate windows in back. Miraculously, cargo space has gone by almost completely unaffected, as the battery pack is stored beneath the floor. This allows the cargo bay, which in itself is very reasonable, to remain large, square and useable.

Unlike any full-hybrid car Ive ever driven, when you twist the key the gasoline engine fires. Its supposed to do a diagnostics test of the battery and all other vital drivetrain components, and then shut off in idle-stop mode. But in the time I had it, the Escape Hybrid never did that, and would run on its four cylinders until you came to the first or second stop whereupon it would turn itself off. This is an anomaly to this particular test vehicle, or so I am told. Its supposed to shut itself off more or less instantaneously. When it does start to work, however, it works with determination, doing everything it can to keep fuel in the tank. For kicks, I even made a trip to my corner store for groceries on pure electricity, not causing the gasoline engine to trip, although at the end of the journey the battery was nearly drained. When the electrical sources are depleted, the Escapes gasoline motor will fire up and recharge the batteries until theyre good to go again.

Its hard to fault the Escapes straightforward interior, particularly after the upgrade it received last year which saw a relocation of the shifter from the steering column to the floor. All controls have big, oversized buttons that could be operated with ease from someone sitting in the back seat with a large stick. Differences between the standard model and the Hybrid are surprisingly minimal; the gauges are different than on the standard model, with silver-faced dials backlit in green. Theyre a bit difficult to read at dawn and dusk though, and the speedometers division into 40 km/h intervals is really quite useless, given the chunky needles and miniscule dial size. A clever addition is a DC plug next to the shifter on the transmission tunnel, mind you, which you can charge things without having any cigarette-jack adapters; a feature that gets a huge thumbs-up from me. One thing Im not particularly fond of, however, is the seat trim. While the seats themselves are fine, offering good support and comfort, you could strike a match off those thick, black woven nylon cords.

At low speeds, the Fords claim of the Hybrid having V6-like power is completely believable, mind you, the method of delivery doesnt feel like a V6. It feels electric, mostly because the boost youre getting is electric. Add this to the electric assist to the steering and suddenly the Escape, a two-ton utility vehicle, becomes one of the most agile vehicles with a view. It isnt prone to the side-to-side shimmy that you might get in a body-on-frame SUV, and with a rigid monocoque structure and multi-link rear axle, actually rides and corners well. Its no wonder that the Escape is North Americas most sought-after compact SUV; it drives at these speeds like a dream. Go fast - which is the complete opposite to the point of a hybrid - and the Escapes impressive nature starts to crumble. At around 140 km/h lane changes become an act of treachery, sweaty palms trying to make the most of the overly light, feel-free electric power steering.

Like bahn-storming, off-roading is something thats not on the Escapes short list. Yes, you can have an “intelligent” 4WD system, but while it may be intelligent, its not particularly clever. Normally, all power flows to the front wheels, but if they slip, power is diverted to the rear. The Escapes is flexible in that its able to send 99 percent of power to either axle, which is good if the front or rear wheels cant gain traction, but, because it has a lack of locking or limited slip differentials, it doesnt have the ability to shift power from side to side, or at the very least, lock its distribution permanently. Because of this, the Escape can get stuck embarrassingly quickly if you attempt to explore the scenery. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this is still the most capable hybrid for going off the beaten path currently on sale.

Elsewhere, the Escape Hybrid is more or less like a regular Escape. Its ride is comfortable but firm, the seats supportive, and for the better part its quiet. Checkmarks on all the things a little runabout is supposed to be. And when you drive the Escape Hybrid, you learn its ways; you become very aware of your speed, but at the same time you dont mind that youre not going as fast as you otherwise might. For habitual law-breakers, in many ways the Escape Hybrid is a way of rehabilitation. With less speed comes fewer emissions, less fuel used and less waste. You begin to fall in to the hybrid mindset.

If you demand the ability to go over sump-busting rocks and what not while still using less fuel, the clear alternative is to head to the Jeep Camp, where the model of choice is a diesel-powered Liberty or Grand Cherokee. Youll have to act quickly or be patient as the former will be out of showrooms by the time winter hits and the latter wont be around until well into the new year. Also, neither as comfortable, quiet, clean, or remotely as efficient as the Escape Hybrid, which sips just 32 mpg of fuel in the city and 29 on the highway. I actually got 30 mpg on average, which is exactly on target with the EPA claims, oddly enough. The diesel does have the advantage of torque, but the fuel consumption really only lightens up once you hit the open road.

But there is one problem that remains, the Escape is too costly as an urban runabout. In its most basic spec, without any digital display or anything fancy, its already more dear than a fully-loaded V6 Limited model. Trim it up with all the fixings, like leather, a sunroof, plus a better stereo system and the Escape comes pretty close to the $33,000 mark. I struggle to think of anyone that would want to spend even $30,000, the approximate price of our tester, to be confined to what is otherwise a relatively ordinary vehicle. An easy way of slashing thousands from the asking price is to forgo the navigation system, which is probably one of the most dated systems Ive come across. The display is about the size of your typical watch face, and its slow, using a CD case worth of discs to cover the North American continent. The CD changer for the six-disc system is also located under the passengers seat, rather than in the dash itself, a mystifying location.

While the compact, and especially the midsize arena begins to fill with hybrids, mainly by entries from Japanese firms, its still clear sailing for Ford in the compact SUV market, which is occupied only by a mix of oxygen, nitrogen and increasingly, greenhouse gasses. The biggest threat to the Escape Hybrid is actually coming from General Motors thanks to its economically priced Saturn VUE hybrid. While Hondas Accord Hybrid isnt doing damage to the sales of the Camry Hybrid, the VUE Green Line will probably upset Escape Hybrid sales. It may only be front-wheel drive (which is the same for the base Escape Hybrid, all the same), and have the most primitive form of hybrid drivetrain around, but it qualifies for the same tax rebates and its thousands cheaper than the Escape. For an urban runabout, it appears that being highly evolved can be disadvantageous.