2008 Ford Escape Review

Specifications

By being early to the game, Ford established the Escape as one ofthe undisputed leaders in the compact SUV segment. With over one million units sold in just under seven years excluding its twin, the Mazda Tribute, the Escape is a success story that’s put the Blue Oval on most entry-level SUV buyers’ shopping lists. Instead of beating around the bush with unnecessary off-roading or on-roading talents, Ford has given consumers what they wanted from day one - a small, affordable, well-built utility that’s easy to drive, sufficiently roomy and practical, recently updated and better in every way. But what happened with the Hybrid? Being based on such a popular vehicle with a full hybrid drivetrain and earning the title of world’s first hybrid SUV to boot, it should’ve been Ford’s Prius, but the domestic brand hasn’t been seeing much green when it comes to sales. Luckily for Dearborn, and strangely considering the burgeoning compact SUV segment, the Escape Hybrid hasn’t had any direct competitor rise up to challenge its class dominance, unlike the non-hybrid model, and therefore hopes are strong within the company that a new look inside and out, plus improved refinements will help revitalize interests.

The new wrapper that the 2008 Escape comes in looks a little stronger, a little tougher and a little more masculine. The squared-off frontend, egg-crate grille and optional extended chrome grille help to integrate the little SUV into the fold of Ford’s bold pickup trucks, which might work well with the regular Escape, but some might view it as a strike against the eco-friendly image of the hybrid. It’s a little more truck like, at least visually, but the Escape is still a rather attractive and cute little utility vehicle, albeit a little more grown up than before. With a low step-in height, the optional built-in running boards are a bit of a nuisance, adding little but mud to the leg of your pants. No Escape is complete without a split-opening tailgate and roof racks, both of which are, of course standard.

Compared to the pre-facelift vehicles (except for the top of the line Limited), all new Escape Hybrid models feature a monochrome exterior and a fresh new palette of colors. With a vehicle being touted as”green”, we expected the rather curious “Kiwi Green Metallic” to be a Hybrid exclusive, but it turns out that it’s the Light Ice Blue that our tester was dipped in that’s limited to the Hybrid.

Mechanically speaking, there’s nothing new about the Escape Hybrid’s powertrain. It still uses the same 133-hp lean-burning, Atkinson cycle 2.3-liter inline-four that mates by default to a 70 kW electric motor and a CVT transmission, though it can travel to higher speeds on electric power alone thanks to new software. To further capitalize on its green-ness, in some areas of the world the Escape Hybrid is also available with E85-compatibility. All-wheel drive is available as an extra-cost option for those who think the idea of a front-wheel drive SUV is preposterous, though it should be noted that buyers will lose out slightly on fuel economy numbers. Because there aren’t any significant changes to the powertrain, we won’t dwell on it for too long, besides the fact that it’s slightly quieter than before because of better noise insulation and that the fuel economy was pretty decent by compactSUV standards. We recorded an average of 32 mpg in a city and highway mix, which is a big improvement over the V6-powered, four-speed automatic Escape, which would use nearly twice as much fuel over the same distance under similar conditions.

The Escape raised eyebrows every time we hopped in and started it up; it’s the only full hybrid we’ve ever tested (or heard of) that fires and idles upon the twist of the key. Inquiring as to the reason why this is, Ford wanted the engine to start up as this is positive reinforcement to the action of twisting the key, in place of the usual silence and “Ready” dashboard light. During the testing phase of the vehicle - in a time when full hybrids were still a rarity - those in focus groups found the usual silence to be odd, and the sound of the inline-four jumping to life comforting. Of course, if you’ve got the air conditioning on full blast or the battery low in power,the engine will stay running (idling at a high-ish 1,200 rpm), but otherwise it’ll shut off a few minutes after taking off.

Isolating the slightly unusual feeling of being whisked along on electrical power alone and the disproportionate acceleration tendencies of the CVT transmission, the Escape Hybrid feels more like the regular Escape to drive than ever before. Both the regular model and the Hybrid now utilize electrical power steering, which is something we’d normally complain about, due to its inherent numbness and overall disconnected feeling, but have nothing bad to say about in this application. The Escape’s small steering wheel is easy to turn at any speed, giving the Escape a naturally agile feel that’s perfect for city life. While comfortable, the Escape suffers from excessive body roll and is capable of causing its eco-minded, low-grip Continental tires to squeal with dismay. Perhaps it’s an early reminder to drivers that vehicles driven in a gentler manner use less fuel. Onour short list of comments, we found the brake pedal felt remarkably firm, requiring a lot of effort from the driver, and there isn’t much by the way of feel either. Unlike regular Escapes, the Escape Hybrid doesn’t suffer from poorer performing rear drum brakes, but rather discs are all-round. The Escape Hybrid also features AdvanceTrac traction control and Roll Stability Control for extra, added safety, not to mention standard ABS.

One of the biggest gripes we had about the previous Escape had to do with its interior; the combination of shiny slabs of plastics and an uninspired design gave it a look that reflected its low-rent roots. In the redesigned Escape, the plastics are still hard but all surfaces are covered in a more pleasing textured matte finish, and the look of the cabin is far and away improved. Its fit and finish is better too, with smaller gaps and tighter tolerance levels, while we were impressed with the interior design team’s use of a two-toned theme for the symmetrical dashboard. Another simple change is the color of the instruments and buttons, which have switched over to a cool ice blue, much better than standard-issue neon green. Compared to the Escape Limited we tested earlier, which had piano-key black gloss trim on the dash and doors, our Hybrid’s low-gloss silver trim didn’t attract dust, hairline scratches and fingerprints like a magnet. No doubt, you can guess which one we prefer.

Even if the basic mechanical components between the old and new car remain the same, it’s a fair statement to say that the new Hybrid is greener than the old car. From an environmentally friendly perspective, Ford has introduced new seat materials that represent big slashes in CO2 emissions and reduced usage of water in their production. Base Escapes have a new type of fabric that’s made entirely of recycled materials, while in the future, expect the foams that pad the seats to be made from soy instead of petroleum-based materials. With a greater number of naysayersstating that hybrids have a higher dust-to-dust emissions energy output than the average car, cutting back in every way possible is always a good thing. As for the seats themselves, these leather-trimmed front buckets are supportive, and provide just the right amount of firmness to keep backsides from getting numb and tingly over long trips. The review for the back seats is less positive, however, as the bench is flat, and feature headrests that are positioned too far back for human use. The seats do fold flat in a 60/40 manner to create a large, useable cargo bay, especially impressive for a hybrid vehicle.

Getting back to the interior, one of the highlights is the redesigned console that features new “poke through” buttons, something which we happen to like. Besides being a little on the small side, they give the Escape’s console an updated, modern look that’s further enhanced by the new top of dash display for the digital climate control, plus a vastly superior navigation system. Compared to the old unit, this corporate touchscreen one is much easier to use than the tiny, outdated interface from the previous model.