2008 Ford Escape Hybrid SUV Receives a New Look Inside and Out with Performance and Safety Improvements
The Ford Escape Hybrid is still the cleanest and most fuel-efficient SUV in the world, combining the fuel economy and emissions benefits of a full hybrid with the go-anywhere capability, toughness and spaciousness of the Ford Escape – America’s favorite small SUV.
Highlights:
* Outstanding fuel economy. The 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid achieves up to 34 mpg in city driving – an improvement of nearly 14 percent compared to the 2007 model.
* Environmentally Friendly. All-new interior features the industry’s first fabric seating surfaces made from 100 percent recycled material.
* Upscale Appointments. New interior features Ford-first features such as “top of dash” information display, Ice Blue lighting and redesigned radio and climate controls.
* Outstanding performance. Acceleration performance is similar to a V-6, but with a smaller gas engine.
* Innovative technology. Full hybrid system is able to run on gasoline engine, electric battery power or both together.
* Confident ownership. Offers 8-year/100,000-mile warranty on hybrid-related components.
For 2008, The Escape Hybrid combines a fresh new look, inside and out, with infotainment and safety features, a choice of two hybrid-specific upgrade packages and four new exterior colors.
The Escape Hybrid is a “full” hybrid, meaning it automatically switches between pure electric power, pure gasoline engine power or combined operation to maximize efficiency and performance. Its gasoline engine and electric motor work in concert, providing performance similar to that of a V-6 engine. In less demanding situations, the Escape Hybrid can run on its electric motor alone (at speeds up to 25 mph), its gasoline engine alone or the most efficient combination of the two.
Full hybrids achieve their greatest improvement in fuel economy during stop-and-go driving, when the electric motor is most efficient. In fact, the Escape Hybrid provides approximately 80 percent better fuel economy in city driving than the conventional V-6 Escape and can travel more than 500 miles in city driving on a single tank of gasoline.
It is an extremely clean vehicle to operate – an amazing 99.4 percent cleaner, on average than an unregulated vehicle. Escape Hybrid meets strict Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV II) and Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) standards.
The Escape Hybrid is as tough as it is clean. For the past few years, taxi companies across the country have been putting Escape Hybrids to work, proving their durability and reliability after hours – even days – of continuous use. Many cabs have logged hundreds of thousands of working miles with no major issues.
Ford backs the Escape Hybrid with a standard 8-year/100,000-mile limited warranty for unique hybrid components, including the battery pack. Escape Hybrid is the first hybrid vehicle to offer towing capability of up to 1,000 pounds when properly equipped.
Escape Hybrid is produced at Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Mo.
Redesigned Exterior
The Ford Escape Hybrid is completely redesigned inside and out for 2008. Escape Hybrid now makes a more powerful statement, with a bolder, more rugged exterior design that bears a stronger family resemblance to the Ford Explorer and Ford Expedition.
The Escape Hybrid features unique badging that uses the Ford road and leaf insignia, with standard 16-inch wheels and a discreet battery cooling vent in the driver’s side rear quarter window.
For 2008, four new exterior colors are added to the Escape Hybrid lineup. They include Kiwi Green Clearcoat Metallic, Vista Blue Clearcoat Metallic, Black Pearl Slate Clearcoat Metallic and hybrid-exclusive Light Ice Blue Metallic.
Industry-first 100 Percent Recycled Seating Surfaces
The 2008 Escape and Escape Hybrid are believed to be the first U.S. automotive applications of 100 percent recycled fabric seating surfaces. The new fabric, supplied by Interface Fabrics, Inc., is produced from 100 percent post-industrial waste – defined as anything intended for retail use but never makes it to the consumer. This can be anything from plastic intended for pop bottles to un-dyed polyester fibers.
This plastic and polyester is processed, spun into yarn, dyed and woven into seat fabric. Recycling waste otherwise intended for landfills has obvious environmental benefits. Interface Fabrics estimates that Ford’s use of post-industrial recycled materials, rather than virgin fibers, could conserve an estimated 600,000 gallons of water, 1.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents and more than 7 million kilowatt hours of electricity.
Upscale Interior Appointments, Flexible Storage Space
In addition to the industry’s first recycled seating surfaces, the 2008 Escape Hybrid features a host of interior innovations.
A “top of dash” display positioned at eye level on the dashboard shows ambient temperature, radio functions and climate-control readouts. This simple, efficient design puts much of the vehicle’s information in one place at the top of the dashboard, making it easier to reference when driving.
The Escape Hybrid features a clean, simple center console design with dials and buttons that “poke through” the face of the console. The instrument panel houses audio and climate controls, a standard MP3/iPod jack, and controls for available heated seats and in-dash navigation system.
Escape Hybrid also features Ford’s new, signature Ice Blue interior lighting. The cool blue lighting replaces the traditional green on the instrument cluster, the center console, the redundant controls on the steering wheel, and the door lock and window switches. Ice Blue presents a cool, crisp, easy-on-the-eyes light for night driving and enhances the overall feel of the interior.
Like the traditional Escape, Escape Hybrid offers seating for up to five and includes the same 60/40-split folding rear seat. Efficient packaging of the hybrid technology – locating the battery pack at the rear load floor – means that interior versatility is preserved. Even with a full complement of five passengers, cargo room behind the second row seat is still an ample 27.6 cubic feet.
The maximum cargo space can be expanded to over 65 cubic feet, if desired. The roof rack is capable of holding up to 100 pounds of cargo.
A unique gauge package features an economy indicator with “green zone” that shows when the vehicle is operating on battery power. A separate gauge displays levels of charge and assist for the battery pack. An optional navigation system features an Audiophile stereo system, a unique energy flow diagram that displays hybrid system operation and a fuel economy screen that displays instant and average fuel economy.
Escape Hybrid also offers a 110-volt AC power outlet, perfect for a television, radio, air pump, electric razor or even holiday lights at the campsite.
Powertrain and Chassis
The Escape’s hybrid powertrain system consists of a half-dozen key components engineered to provide a seamless flow of power:
* A unique 2.3-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine features Atkinson-cycle combustion for improved efficiency and produces 133 horsepower at 6,000 rpm.
* A 70-kWatt (equivalent to 94 horsepower) electric traction motor provides an added boost to the drive wheels when maximum acceleration is desired.
* A generator-motor recharges the batteries, starts the engine and helps regulate how the two propulsion channels blend together in the transaxle.
* A special electronically controlled, continuously variable transmission (eCVT) harnesses internal combustion and electric power sources to drive the front wheels in a FWD Escape or all four wheels with the optional Intelligent 4WD System.
* A 330-volt nickel-metal-hydride battery pack located and sealed at the rear load floor stores electrical energy.
* An electronic vehicle system controller manages charging, drive assist and engine-starting functions. This device shuts the engine down during coasting and at stoplights to save fuel. It also converts the traction motor into a generator during braking to help recharge the batteries.
The combined output of both the gas and electric motors is 155 horsepower, and the powertrain provides 0-60 acceleration performance similar to the conventional Escape with a 200-horsepower V-6 engine.
The generator-motor provides power boosts during heavy load situations, helping Escape Hybrid accelerate briskly to speed. In addition to fuel-free operation, electric motors deliver maximum torque at low rpm, so they are an ideal complement to gasoline engines that generate peak power at higher rpm.
For 2008, Escape Hybrid engineers made revisions to software in the control system to improve transparency, or the transition between gasoline and electric operation. The transition from electric-only to gasoline power to a combination of the two is now even more seamless and virtually imperceptible to the driver. The four-wheel-disc regenerative brakes also have been retuned to provide better feel.
A new Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS) system allowed Ford engineers to easily tune the amount of steering assist independent of engine and vehicle speed, giving the Escape Hybrid a very easy steering effort at parking lot speeds, while retaining Escape’s hallmark crisp steering feel while driving. Thanks in part to the new EPAS system, Escape Hybrid models achieve a fuel economy improvement of up to 14 percent compared to the previous model.
The optional Intelligent 4WD System, available on all Escape models, is fully computer-controlled and provides maximum traction as driving conditions vary. Its operation is so seamless that most drivers will never notice that it has engaged.
Escape bolsters its safety leadership with a host of standard safety features
The 2008 Escape Hybrid has an entirely revised restraint system that consists of new air bags, safety belts, steering column and a new steering wheel. Standard safety content includes:
* Ford’s Safety Canopy™ side air curtains deploy in certain side-impact collisions, or in the event of an impending rollover, helping to protect front- and second-row outboard occupants. The curtains remain inflated for several seconds after deployment to enhance protection during an extended crash event. The system features “roll-fold” technology that’s designed to slide the air bag between the glass and occupants as it inflates if occupants are improperly seated or resting their heads against a window.
* Seat-mounted side air bags deploy out of the upper portion of the front seats to protect the driver and front seat passenger’s upper and lower torso.
* Occupant friendly door trims with softened armrests, side impact foam bolsters and intrusion door beams to distribute the loading during an impact to the hinge and B pillars.
* Ford’s Personal Safety System®, which includes dual-stage driver and front passenger air bags, safety belt pretensioners, seat weight sensing system for the passenger seat and crash severity sensing.
* Ford’s Belt-Minder® safety belt reminder for driver and front passenger. Escape Hybrid also comes equipped with such standard features as child safety locks on the rear doors, the LATCH child safety restraint system, SecuriLock® passive anti-theft system and Ford’s Tire Pressure Monitoring System.
Major Features and Options
Escape Hybrid includes: 2.4-liter Atkinson Cycle engine; 330V sealed nickel-metal hydride battery; Electronically controlled continuously variable transmission; Permanent Magnet electric motor; Regenerative braking system; Chrome shifter bezel; Dual Electronic Automatic Temperature Control; Front and rear disc brakes; ABS; Hybrid-unique 16-inch wheels; Outside temperature display; Six-way power driver’s seat; Eco-friendly cloth front and rear 60/40 split seats; Electric Power Assisted Steering; Rear window defroster; Solar tinted glass; Power windows; Air conditioning; Auxiliary input jack; Day/night rearview mirrors; Power door locks and windows with one-touch down driver side feature; Two power points; Rear cargo light; Removable rear seat cushions; Tilt steering wheel; Safety Canopy™ side air curtains; Personal Safety System®; Seat-mounted side air bags; Tire Pressure Monitoring System; SecuriLock®; Belt-Minder®; Child safety locks; LATCH; Remote keyless entry.
Options include: Intelligent 4WD System; 320-watt, Audiophile audio system with six-disc in-dash CD changer; Navigation system; SIRIUS® Satellite Radio; 110-volt AC outlet; Power moonroof; Integrated side step bars; Leather-trimmed seats.
The Hybrid Premium Package includes: 110-volt outlet; Cargo area retractable cover; Compass; Electrochromatic mirrors and illuminated visors; Heated, power leather-trimmed bucket seats; Heated mirrors; Leather-trimmed second-row 60/40 split seat; Reverse Sensing System; Roof rack with cross bars.
A Hybrid Moonroof and Satellite Radio Package includes: SIRIUS® Satellite Radio with free 6-month subscription; Power moonroof.
Chrome Appearance Package includes: Chrome grille, roof rails and liftgate garnish.
Milestones
2004 The 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid is the world's first hybrid-electric SUV as well as the first hybrid built in North America
2005 Ford Escape Hybrid is named 2005 North American Truck of the Year
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