Ford, the company who started the hybrid-SUV craze back in 2004, announced it's upping its fuel-economy game with the new Escape Plug-In Hybrid. We've learned just as the model is shipping to dealers that it hits 100 MPGe on the EPA's combined cycle. Hitting the century mark with a high-riding, roomy five-passenger SUV that still accommodates 31 to 61 cubic feet of cargo is no small feat.
The compact-hybrid-SUV wars are heating up, with a new CR-V Hybrid and Toyota adding the RAV4 Prime plug-in to its lineup. The latter is the Escape PHEV's closest competitor, and it looks like the economy bragging rights fall to Ford with that official 100-MPGe EPA combined rating topping Toyota's 94-MPGe number. There's a big asterisk though: The plug-in Ford only comes with front-wheel drive, whereas the RAV4 Prime plug-in gets standard all-wheel drive.
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That is, of course, in "charge-depleting" mode; in "charge-sustaining" mode with the engine running, the EPA combined figure is 41 mpg—same as the front-drive Escape Hybrid without a plug, and 1 mpg better than the AWD Escape Hybrid. (The RAV4 AWD Hybrid also gets 40 mpg, while the AWD CR-V Hybrid gets 38 mpg; neither competitor is offered with front-drive.) In terms of all-electric range, Toyota may still hold a lead with an estimated 39 miles to the Escape's official 37-mile EV range.
That EPA-rated electric-mode range of 37 miles comes courtesy of a 14.4-kWh battery pack—the same size as the Toyota RAV4 Prime's—but the official results may change. Ford allows drivers to decide when and where to spend their 37 miles of electric range with four options:
- Auto EV mode: The vehicle chooses when to run in all-electric mode
- EV Now mode: Gives full performance with engine off
- EV Later mode: Saves battery power so it's available to, say, silently enter a driveway or a CO2-free city center at the end of your journey
- EV Charge mode: Once active, lets the engine recharge the battery to allow you to ensure electric power is available as above
The Escape PHEV comes with Level 1 (110-volt) and Level 2 (240-volt) chargers, which respectively require 10 to 11 hours or 3.3 hours to replenish a fully depleted battery.
Featuring the latest generation of Ford's 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder hybrid system, the Plug-In Hybrid is offered on SE, SEL, and Titanium trim levels—basically every Escape trim grade except S and SE Sport. The entry SE Plug-In starts at $34,285, a $5,935 price premium over a base front-drive 1.5T three-cylinder SE. At the top of the range, the $40,080 Titanium Plug-In Hybrid costs $5,285 more than the no-plug front-drive Hybrid (the gas Titanium model gets a standard 2.0-liter turbo EcoBoost AWD powertrain and starts at $38,080).
For the record, here are the other two-box PHEV vehicles promising reasonable utility, as well as their EPA ratings:
| EPA Combined Economy | ||
| MPGe | MPG | |
| Hyundai Ioniq | 119 | 52 |
| Kia Niro | 105 | 46 |
| Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid | 100 | 41 |
| Subaru Crosstrek | 90 | 35 |
| Chrysler Pacifica | 82 | 30 |
| Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV | 74 | 25 |
| Mini Cooper SE Countryman ALL4 | 73 | 29 |
| Volvo V60 T8 | 69 | 30 |
| Audi Q5 | 65 | 27 |
| BMW X3 xDrive 30e | 60 | 24 |
| Volvo XC60 T8 | 57 | 27 |
| Lincoln Aviator PHEV | 56 | 23 |
| Volvo XC90 T8 | 55 | 27 |
| Bentley Bentayga | 45 | 19 |
| Land Rover Range Rover PHEV | 42 | 19 |
| Land Rover Range Rover Sport PHEV | 42 | 19 |
| Porsche Cayenne e-Hybrid | 41 | 21 |
| Porsche Cayenne e-Hybrid Coupe | 41 | 21 |
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