Mary Ann Wright, Ford’s chief engineer for the recently-introduced Escape Hybrid, claims that her company’s product is one of only two “real” hybrid vehicles on the market, the other being the Toyota Prius. The Honda Insight/Insight Civic, according to Wright, don’t really qualify because the electric motor is used mainly as a power boost and not a primary source of motivation…..Honda would probably disagree. Interestingly, the new Escape Hybrid utilizes a range of engineering features originally designed and patented by Toyota, although Ford has modified and tweaked most of them.You know alternate fuel technology has turned a corner when manufacturers are categorizing their products as either “mild” or “full” hybrid vehicles.
Still, the new Escape is the only hybrid sport ute on the market, and it represents a significant step forward for Ford, both from an engineering and company morale standpoint. Ford haemorrhaged money over the first two years of the new millennium, and things were looking pretty grim for awhile there. But they turned things around last year and the Escape Hybrid seems to be a sign that the company has caught its second wind. It will probably be a money-loser for Ford - at least to start with - but does demonstrate that their engineering expertise is intact and that they’re willing to think outside the box.
Briefly, the Escape Hybrid is powered by both a 2.3 litre four-cylinder gasoline engine and 70-kilowatt electric motor located underneath the rear cargo deck. The internal combustion engine is also used by Mazda in their Tribute SUV, and is an Atkinson-cycle version, which means efficiency is improved through better breathing…up to four per cent over most conventional engines. It develops 133 hp at 6000 rpm in this application.
At low speeds, just the electric motor propels the vehicle….up to about 40 km/h. When more power is needed, the gas engine cuts in. A dashboard readout indicates when the vehicle is in its “green” zone…that is, when the gas engine is not being used, and, when required, the internal combustion powerplant starts itself automatically. An almost imperceptible shudder is the only indication….plus a surge of power, of course. A 330-volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack supplies juice to the electric motor, and a clever “regenerative” braking system charges the batteries whenever you hit the binders. Mary Ann Wright explains that the Hybrid is in its element during stop-and-go city driving.
The whole system works smoothly and cleanly. Power delivery, with both systems on-line, is slightly inferior to that of the Escape V6, but the Hybrid behaves much like any comparable four cylinder compact SUV. On the highway, it’s quiet and stable, with adequate reserve power, and around town, it feels like any other conventional sport ute. It can also go off-road; Ford has basically left the Escape’s AWD system intact, and it feels almost exactly like its conventional stablemate when the pavement starts to unravel. Which is the general idea. Ford engineers wanted to come up with something that is environmentally friendly, but not wonky or weird to drive.
On both scores, it’s mission accomplished. The new Escape Hybrid meets and surpasses all emissions standards in California, plus a bunch they haven’t even legislated yet, and Ford is claiming that it’s almost 100 per cent cleaner in operation than a conventional “unregulated” vehicle. Fuel consumption, another biggie, is ‘way down with the Hybrid. Ford is claiming 8L/100 km (35 mpg) during city driving and a full tank of gas should take you at least 650 kilometres between fill-ups.
Prices haven’t been announced for the Escape Hybrid, but this kind of technology doesn’t come cheap. Still, insists Marty Collins, Ford’s general marketing manager, “hybrid customers represent a huge business opportunity for Ford.” That could be why the company has plans to introduce a couple more hybrid models in the near future. The Mercury Mariner (based on the Escape and sold in the U.S. only), plus a yet-to-be-named mid-size SUV of some sort will both hit showrooms within the next two years.
Ford also deserves kudos for putting the Escape Hybrid on the market. For a company in the midst of, shall we say, an economic downturn, to persevere and get this kind of low-volume model into showrooms shows that it means business when it insists that it’s a much different company today than it was two years ago. And the Escape Hybrid is a key ingredient in Ford’s economic recovery.
How important is it? Jim Padilla, the company’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and chairman, was at the launch, in Culver City, California, and at exactly the same time there was also an annual meeting going on in Detroit. “Ford is having its annual meeting today,” he explained, “and I'm the new COO. I'm not there. I'm here."
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