Ford Escape Hybrid
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[edit] Ford Escape Hybrid
Sports Utility Vehicle
The Ford Escape Hybrid, first sold in 2005 by the Ford Motor Company, was the world's first sports utility vehicle (SUV) to incorporate hybrid drive technology. The Escape Hybrid is based on the Ford Escape, one of the best selling small SUVs in the USA, but the drivetrain of the hybrid vehicle has been completely re-engineered from the original Escape models.
[edit] Performance
Comparisons of performance between hybrid-electric vehicles and their conventional gas-engined equivalents is not straightforward, since there is some disagreement about which particular conventional vehicle is the most appropriate for comparison. Ford claims that the Escape Hybrid gives a similar driver experience to their V6 Escape XLT in terms of acceleration and handling. The very different drivetrain configuration of a hybrid vehicle causes it to respond somewhat differently to driver input and road conditions than a conventional vehicle would, so the usual measures of 'performance' such as the time to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph only give a partial picture of the real experience of driving a hybrid. The Ford Escape Hybrid, for example, uses a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) that is controlled by a computer to keep the gas engine and electric drive motor turning at their opitimal revs for power and efficiency, and it does not have to shift in discrete jumps like a conventional (manual or automatic) gear box. Thus a hybrid vehicle accelerates evenly - with less of the 'kick' obtained when a conventional vehicle shifts down to accelerate, but accelerating constantly rather than in the discontinuous power bands associated with a conventonal transmission. Experience of driving both a Ford Escape Hybrid and the V6 Escape XLT supports Ford's contention that the two vehicles provide a similar driver experience, noting the differences described above.
The All Wheel Drive V6 XLT has an EPA mileage rating of 19 miles per gallon for highway driving and 23 mpg in city driving, compared with 29 mpg highway and 33 mpg city for the Ford Escape Hybrid. (It is a common chractaeristic and a result of how hybrid vehicles work that they obtain better fuel economy in city driving than driving at higher speeds on the highway.)
[edit] Production and Sales
The Escape Hybrid is produced at the Kansas City assmbly plant. Annual production of Hybrids is over 19,000 vehicles every year.
[edit] Environmental Impacts
[edit] Future Developments
