Living With A Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid | Real World Fuel Economy!

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While Ford is busily adding more and more pure electric vehicles, the Escape Plug-in Hybrid still remains in the lineup, combining a gas engine along with a moderate sized battery pack for some electric range. We recently spent a week with this Ford Escape Titanium PHEV, and as I had some regular commuting to work along with a longer road trip to Michigan, it was a great opportunity to find out what the real world fuel economy and range of this plug-in hybrid is! Compared to something like the all electric Mach-E, it is definitely nice on a longer drive to not have to worry about stopping to charge, but then on shorter day-to-day trips, I was able to rely only on the electric range.
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[@davidgapp1457]

Enjoyed this review more than most. Before buying I compared the Rav4 Prime, Hyundai Tucson PHEV and the Escape PHEV. None of these vehicles came close to meeting all my requirements, however, not having room for a spare tire was an immediate disqualification. Similarly I needed AWD for light-off-road and snow capability. I also loathe panoramic roofs - so features I wanted that are tied to having a panoramic? A big problem for me. I frequently have my ski equipment or windsurfer on the roof-rack and twice now I've ended up with a shattered panoramic roof. Four years later I'm still finding glass fragments... I also wanted to avoid belt-driven CVTs as these things get expensive when they need replacement. In the end I went with the Rav4 Prime. Someone in Toyota decided to boost the power in this vehicle to over 300hp and for the long climbs up to Flagstaff, AZ I am grateful to them every time I make the journey. The Prime literally flies up the road. The feature packages offered by Toyota are poorly thought out (surely car seat memory should be a standard feature with all power seats?). To get the seat memory I had to take the panoramic roof which is beyond absurd. The Prime's brakes are very 'meh' but they certainly work and you get used to them. Steering is precise enough but there's not much in the way of road feel. The suspension isn't inspiring either - overall you get the feeling the Prime needed more tuning and perhaps some specialized suspension elements. The brakes, it turns out, are mostly a limitation of the tires and stickier tires make a remarkable difference while the impact to mpg is almost imperceptible. Lane following is rubbish and I never use this feature as it frequently makes mistakes around freeway exit ramps in particular. I also wish there were a way to make the anti-collision system a little more aggressive. I was expecting the system to be a nuisance nanny but in fact it isn't. However when it's called to action it makes decisions way later than I would like and, at highway speeds, it won't do more than reduce the impact speed somewhat. So not at all what I was hoping for. That said, I am happy with my purchase because the things the Rav4 Prime does well, it does spectacularly well. The fuel economy is everything I hoped for. Since new in 2021 I've averaged 81.5 mpg combined. My old Honda Pilot managed.... just 17mpg. On a good day. This year, to-date, I've refueled the Rav4 Prime 3 times and it currently show 75% full. Ultimately I'm hoping that electric SUVs mature to give a 500 mile usable range, 10% to 90% recharge time of less than 5 minutes, and a price-tag around $40K. But those goals seem a long way off today. I liked the Escape but it was more a town car than a rugged cross-country vehicle. It does feel nicer on the road than the Rav4 Prime. The Hyundai Tucson PHEV? As hard to find as the Rav4 Prime (I had to fly across the USA to pick up mine) and really the only significant improvement over the Rav4 Prime was the appearance (IMHO). The transmission and 4WD system feel old school and to my surprise I actually preferred Toyota's rear axles electric motor as a solution - if only it had limited slip! Lastly, the Rav4 Prme is almost comically ugly - I can't help thinking the aerodynamics department were on vacation when the Rav4 Prime got production approval - I suspect Toyota gave up at least 2-4 mpg for the absurd front-end alone! The Escape is really rather beautiful to look at - maybe not in the same class as Mazda but getting there!

[@gondorian1006]

You can get a spare tire with the Escape PHEV and it does not have a belt driven CVT. It's a gear driven eCVT which is similar to the Toyota hybrids.

[@davidgapp1457]

@@gondorian1006 The spare tire is new then. Certainly wasn't on the one I saw which had a battery where the spare should go.

[@gondorian1006]

@@davidgapp1457 it's optional. You can add it to a build for $115 and it sits over the battery

[@davidgapp1457]

@@gondorian1006 Okay, that's good to know. Wasn't offered to me as an option when I first went along but it was like day one of the vehicle in the showroom so maybe they didn't know. Can't understand why they would even think to sell a vehicle without one!

[@fabulousoffroaddesigns5080]

​@@gondorian1006tes the Ford and Toyota use the same transmission design.

[@francisbayona]

Great video! Thinking about getting an EV vs hybrid vs PHEV and this video was very informative!

[@dickthompson8018]

We have 9K miles on our 2022, it’s been very good. We are in Central NY state, with a lot of snow at times, FWD with good snow tires works very well for us. As he said, AWD with normal tires equals AW spin. We have a lifetime MPG average of 46, mixed rural driving, we often drive 50 miles a day, so we commonly use some gas. If you can charge overnight, level one (included), charging is fine. The $6843 fed tax credit is in the new 2023 tax rules. I looked at a Rave 4, plain hybrid, road rougher, couldn’t lower the passenger seat enough to keep me from hitting my head on the sunroof “frame ceiling “. Of course good luck trying to find a RAV4 prime, if you do, more $, ? Tax credit.

[@johnbald9639]

Really good, helpful information - thanks for this

[@larrygray1557]

Nice review. Want AWD? Available in it's twin, Lincoln Corsair Grand Reserve, and presumably would have upgraded trim. At least it should with its $15k price increase. Ford apparently doesn't want to compete against each other so the Escape gets FWD while the Lincoln gets AWD and none of the standard non-plugin hybrids available in the Escape. I have the same retracting heads-up display in my Mini. While you noted the most basic was showing, you were in a basic modes at the time with little demand. Other things may be programmed in, like in mine when using NAV, upcoming directions (exits, turns, etc) will show. The other thing to be aware of all versions of the Escape hybrids are 4 wheels down towable behind an RV where no other competing manufacturer's hybrids or full electric are.

[@WestCoasHaze]

Great video. I preordered a '23. There is not a lack of options out there, but what is challenging is finding something you'd get within the next year. Seems like the escape is a great option

[@foomanchoo80]

Ordered mine last Wednesday, hopefully get it by the summer!

[@setheps]

@@foomanchoo80 did you order to your specs? I'm going to be looking for one available on a lot for January pickup

[@foomanchoo80]

@@setheps I ordered the bare minimum plug in version basically, only thing I added was the tow package. I figured all the bells and whistles would require a longer wait due to the chip shortage. Panoramic roof would have been nice, but I have a sunroof on my current vehicle and don't ever use it

[@setheps]

@@foomanchoo80 Damn. Hoping to just find one available at a dealer relatively close to what I want since I'll need it soon.

[@foomanchoo80]

@@setheps good luck, I was looking for a RAV4 Prime before this and had no luck, no dealers are taking preorders for them. It's a $500 refundable deposit to preorder, assembly for the 2023 Escapes start on 12 December I believe. I'm expecting/hoping to get mine by the summer because all the people who have the 2022 PHEV preordered will be converted to the 2023 and they will maintain their spot in line

[@ly776]

I would like to move to a hybrid - but I don't think I can justify it from an ecological point, as my 2016 VW Sportswagon has averaged 42-45 mph on many long trips of 10 hours. Plus it has a range of around 500 miles for highway trips. In town, mpg is high 20s to low 30s.. I am hoping that in the next year or two - the numbers for plug-in hybrids improve.

[@birddogfreemann]

How long will you let the gas "sit" in the tank?

[@michaelsheedy]

My Escape hybrid is averaging 46.7 mpg at the 13,500 miles mark. I live in FL, so no freezing temps. But 100 degree heat affects battery.

[@timmit4612]

I wish when you drove back if it would have been in "charge battery with engine" and what the mileage would be using that.

[@Flash1857]

Wondering if the car company recommends adding a fuel stabilizer as the gasoline may stay in the tanks a very long time in some situations

[@navataru]

Good review! I was looking into buying the same car but 2022 model. I also feel it's overpriced for what it offers but the car market is rough and definitely being taken advantage of by the dealerships

[@sunshine5349]

stealerships suck

[@birddogfreemann]

It's Friday night, and I got a haircut.

[@scottharper9645]

I drive a pluggable Lincoln Aviator. I have driven 4 months around town just plugging into my house via a 120 volt line. I still haven’t used any gas! The difference between this car and mine is twice the wt., 500 HP vs what 250 HP? and 600 feet of torque vs what 200? I can do 0-60 in 5.3 sec. Oh yeah, my car was $86,000 vs $43,000. Of course riding in my car was like the most luxurious living room vs a kitchen table. You get what you pay for. But then, I still get 30 MPG hwy on long trips and the same MPG as this car in town driving. What the hell, my wife and I are old and he’s young.

[@tsmatthx2]

All electric first then all gas? What about mixed the whole time? :)

[@dondusahin5099]

I have this same car, in a different color. I used it to months, had under 4k miles and the car is already broken. A fault came up saying air in high voltage pump. Turns out the coolant pipe underneath was broken. I have not once drove this car outside paved road. They claim I did an off-road drive with a car that doesn't have FWD! ohh what I found out that this car lacks protection underneath, so when you buy the car it comes with a fabric, like felt, that protects all the crucial parts under the car. No hard plastic as you would expect... If you don't own a road cleaning vehicle to clean up the rd for you before you start driving, it is bound to have some stone hit the underneath and break it at no time... Shame on you Ford for such a cheap protection for such an expensive car...

[@nounta1016]

How loud is the engine and cabin noise on the freeway when it's on gas only?

[@cwheremonster8870]

The ICE 3 cylinder turbo version is loud as hell. But the 2.5 liter 4 banger (in the hybrid) is actually fairly quiet. Well, it’s quieter than my old 2009 4 banger that was in my Civic. I’m no engineer, but I think that 3 banger is working way too hard. Feels that way, anyway. Could be the turbo, as well.

[@ericmotion4488]

Gas is 3.77 here and has been going down steadtly for the last 45 days. Also, Ford built the interior with moms in mind. If you drive a Ford Escape and your kids waste Gogurt all over the backseat its not gonna piss you as much, but keep the bottle of wine close by for later.

[@theseculargamer3339]

Just got me my 2022 SEL version of this. So excited to drive this more. We LOVE the PhEV feature. My gym has a "free" charger outside it so I can easily get some free miles as time allows, and our power (PNM) is actually looking to give customers metering perk where they only charge $0.03 per kWhr charging over night so, even on a longer 120V charge, you can save quite a bit of money charging at home. My commute is also only 3 miles from work so we literally will not put miles on this car anytime soon. Pair that with so many close-by options for little vacations and road trips that allow us to take advantage of those free miles and we have ourselves a very efficient car for our family. :)

[@caldude9773]

Cost for gas @ $5 and 40 mpg would pencil out around $15 for 125 miles. What was the total cost for the electricity for the 125 miles or so of all electric driving?

[@EddieX]

No clue. I have access to free charging at work

[@caldude9773]

@@EddieX Free fuel is a nice perk :) We actually looked at one of these yesterday. I think I’ve worked out that it would cost $3.5-$5.4 for one full charge based on SDGE rates. Probably doesn’t pencil out for much/any fuel savings in areas with high electricity rates. Enjoyed the review!

[@trilobyte3851]

Gas is 3.24 in Houston

[@alfontana6242]

I believe that Ford could have done better with the Escape, at least make it a plug in with all wheel drive. We have a 2022 RAV 4 Prime which is all wheel drive. Currently with summer weather we have been getting 50 miles on all electric and 45+ MPG just on gas with a depleted battery. Living here in Northwest Oregon I would not want to buy a front wheel drive SUV, the all wheel drive really comes in handy on rural back roads, driving on the ocean beach, and during the winter as well.

[@stanimann]

RAV 4 Prime 2022 $15k more them ford and waiting time minimum 6 month. I'm wait my 2022 ford escape plug-in hybrid 4 month😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒

[@WestCoasHaze]

How's the interior night lighting on the RAV4?

[@alfontana6242]

@@WestCoasHaze Easy on the eyes and no issues

[@MrDajiangyoude]

What do you think of the road, wind , and engine noise?

[@stanimann]

it's very quiet

[@osamaibrahim9655]

Please I have question .. Is that gas and Hybrid ?

[@fabulousoffroaddesigns5080]

It is a gas hybrid, and a short range EV.

[@StephenPhillips]

7:26 - It said you went 105.4 miles and 104.8 miles on electric. How is it that you were able to use the electric motor for *that* many miles and didn't have to use the gas engine?

[@EddieX]

Plugging in and charging

[@StephenPhillips]

@@EddieX Duh of course. Does frequent regenerative braking also up the mileage of the battery?

[@benlecluyse]

😎

[@scottharper9645]

They have to give you that crap interior in order to pay for the pluggable option in order to make that price point.

[@josephmcclary9667]

It’s not battery tech that advanced. The Escape just has a bigger battery than the i8.

[@tsmatthx2]

The mach e costs $20k more lol

[@joweb1320]

$6843 tax credit for 2022.

[@briano7986]

nice haircut!

[@zoioilazoi]

Just don’t say titanium it will be short

[@user-vk7jz1tc1l]

Unless I'm missing something, the highway test was dismal. 315mi averaging 36.5MPG used 8.63gal - but given that 45 of those were all-electric, it actually only went 270mi on that fuel (31.2MPG, good for a 2022 non-hybrid crossover, but not even in the ballpark for any normal hybrid).

[@freddiecarr7602]

That matched mine. I can't believe the crapppy ride on the Rav 4 Prime

[@HieuNguyen-ek2by]

That’s not how it worked. The segment of that video is hybrid mode, so it already used it up the main battery capacity. You can hear him mentioning it previously at around 9:25. 45 e miles means those were the miles that the engine is fully off during low speed or down hills. When the engine is on, it can both recharge the battery and drive the vehicle so if you subtract the e miles, it looks like it has bad fuel economy.

[@user-vk7jz1tc1l]

@@HieuNguyen-ek2by Right - he used up the battery, but never reset the odometer, so it sounds to me like I wrote above. Apologies if I'm still missing something.

[@leonjung8493]

請搜尋Toyota RAV4換福特KUGA 看完再搜尋 福特KUGA原廠登載不實 接著再 搜尋福特超傲慢 在考慮要不要買他們的車

[@brentacusmaximus6677]

47 miles range ??? 🤣😂🤣

[@stanimann]

37 electric

[@stanimann]

gas + electric 520✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌

[@L3x4Pr0ne]

Yes. Which is great for a plug-in hybrid. What’s the problem? Makes me think you don’t understand the market for these?

[@e.s.5271]

Unreasonabllu expensive. Got 51k quote with a loaded version. Going forward with outlander phev for less. Not worth the price.