The Ford Escape Hybrid motorcar, launched in 2004, is a gas-electric hybrid powered version of the Ford Escape SUV developed by the Ford Motor Company and built in Kansas City, Missouri. It is the first hybrid SUV to hit the market. A similar vehicle will be sold by Mercury, the Mariner Hybrid, starting in Fall of 2005.

As of 2004, the Escape hybrid system is the most advanced available on the market. Previous hybrids have been smaller, lighter, vehicles; substantially more power is required to make such a system work in even a small SUV.

Ford plans to build 17,000 Escape Hybrids in the second half of 2004, four times as many as the company had planned to build. Consumer demand has been strong, as it was with the Toyota Prius.

The Escape Hybrid was named the North American Truck of the Year for 2005.

Performance

The Escape Hybrid's 133 hp gasoline engine and 94 hp electric motor combine to give performance similar to the 200 hp V6 engine commonly used in the regular Escape. The hybrid is stated to give approximately 75% greater efficiency, and is stated to achieve 33-36 mpg in city traffic and 29-31 mpg on the highway. Unlike conventional vehicles, hybrids achieve better figures in the city because they do not waste power idling and can recover some power when stopping (by using regenerative braking) that would be wasted on a conventional vehicle.

Emissions

The Escape Hybrid meets both California's SULEV and PZEV standards, with tailpipe emissions better than 90% less than the average 2003 new car and zero evaporative emissions.

Development

The Escape Hybrid uses technology similar to Toyota's Prius, which required Ford to license a number of Toyota patents. Both Ford and Toyota state that Ford received no Toyota technical assistance in developing the technology. However, Ford has contracted Aisin AW , a Japanese automatic transmission manufacturer (part-owned by Toyota), to supply the hybrid transmission. Aisin does not provide Toyota with hybrid components, and the system they have developed for Ford differs from the Prius' system. Sanyo of Japan will build the battery pack.

The disparaging story that Ford simply bought the technology completely from Toyota is without merit and has been denied by all companies involved, although certainly it builds on the ideas Toyota patented.

External link

• GreenHybrid.com: The interactive hybrid electric vehicle resource.
• Ford's Escape Hybrid page
• First Drive: 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid - At CanadianDriver.com
• HowStuffWorks: How the Ford Escape Hybrid Works
• Hybrid-Vehicle.org: Information on hybrid vehicle history, hybrid vehicle technology and practical application of hybrid technology in a broad spectrum of vehicles.