2008 ford escape hybrid for sale drivers#

* Navigation system, with six-CD audio, $2,695. Lows: Modest performance, no grab handles, boxy aerodynamics. Highs: Improved fuel economy, new styling, moderate base price. Vehicle type: Five-passenger, four-door hybrid SUV, front-wheel drive.Įngine: 2.3-liter in-line four, 133 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 124 pound-feet torque at 4,250 rpm electric-drive motor, 70 kilowatts. Overall, my mileage averaged about 34 mpg, a good result for a well-equipped SUV that drives nicely and doesn’t cost a fortune. Mileage dropped off in highway driving, the wind resistance from Escape’s boxy styling no doubt taking a toll. In one trip from north-central Phoenix to Scottsdale and back, with the air-conditioning turned off, I averaged better than 40 mpg. In normal urban and suburban driving, I actually did better than the EPA figure, getting 37-38 miles per gallon, according to the on-board computer. The hybrid gets the same bold body restyling as the regular Escape that makes it look like a downsized Explorer.įuel mileage is right up there, as advertised. Still relying on a gasoline/electric hybrid system similar to that used by Toyota, Escape arrives for 2008 with performance and efficiency improvements that make it run more smoothly and quietly. There have been rumors of a possible Ford Fusion sedan hybrid on its way. When it arrived in 2004, it was the first hybrid SUV, later joined by the nearly identical Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The Ford Escape Hybrid was one of the earlier efforts, coming just on the heels of Toyota and Honda hybrids. So you hook up a high-torque electric motor to work in consort with a smallish gasoline engine, using an extraordinarily complex computer system to sort it all out.

2008 ford escape hybrid for sale drivers#

American drivers may want to conserve more and pollute less, but without compromising the amenities.

Sure, you could get great gas mileage from a minimalistic microcar, but who’d want to? European drivers, forced to conserve by economics, rely on subcompacts often powered by small diesel engines. The idea behind a hybrid vehicle is to get decent fuel mileage and lower emissions without sacrificing performance or capability.