KELVIN SMITH LIBRARY

Lovin' the new hybrid

This last Saturday (05-Feb-05) we went to the dealer and picked up our new 2005 Escape Hybrid. These are few and far between in Ohio for a couple of reasons. 1) Ford just started releasing them to Ohio dealers this month and 2) in order to give preference to hot hybrid markets like California and Oregon each Ford dealer in Ohio is being allotted exactly 1 of these.

[EDIT]Pix now available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/47328264@N00/sets/116393/[/EDIT]

Ours is 'Titanium Green' and the only options we went for were the cargo cover and the 110 volt AC outlet. I've been driving this thing for nearly a week now and am getting something over 28.5 MPG. I say "something over" because they start the counter at 0 MPG and you have to drive enough to establish a significant history for that reading to be meaningful.

Driving a true hybrid can be an interesting experience. The Escape has the same pick-up and power as the V6 version but, once warmed up, when you come to a stop you'll notice the engine shutting down. By being light footed on the accellerator it is possible to get going over 30 MPH before the engine comes on again. In typical traffic the accelleration demands cause the engine to start up in the 10 to 20 MPH range.

The Escape Hybrid has enough power to pull 1000 lbs so, sometime in the next year I'll have the dealer add the towing package while they're doing regularly scheduled maintenance anyway.

This thing is much quieter than I expected. Quiet enough in fact that I find myself taking my time on the drive out to North Olmsted at night, enjoying the calm at the end of the day.

You can see this thing parked in Lot 29 near the entrance to KSL when I'm here. It looks like any other Escape with the exception of the "Hybrid" ensignia.