Article and photos by Grant Yoxon
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Photo Gallery: 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid
Ottawa, Ontario - In late May, CanadianDriver Senior Editor, Paul Williams and I set out in the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid on a 950-kilometre day trip to map the route for our upcoming 50-Litre Challenge.
On June 14, 10 compact cars will leave Atwill's Service Centre in Ottawa's east end on a day-long journey to determine the most fuel-efficient compact in Canada. How do we do it? We fill the cars with 50-litres of fuel and drive until they run out of gas. The last one to run out is crowned the 50-Litre Challenge champion. See here for a summary of this event last held in 2005.
2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. Click image to enlarge
This year we'll have many of CanadianDriver's staffers and contributors, including Greg Wilson, Chris Chase, Jim Kerr, James Bergeron and Jeff Burry driving the cars. Along for the journey, to record the event for television, will be the team from Motoring 2008.
To map the route and to test the highway mileage of the Escape Hybrid, Paul and I drove east from Ottawa on route 174 to highway 417 and 40 in Quebec, south on the 540 to highway 20 and then west on 20 to the 401 all the way to Belleville. From there we headed north on 62 to Foxboro, turning on 14 to Marmora and then west on 7 to the junction of 28 just east of Peterborough. From this point we headed north and east past Bancroft and Denbigh to Renfrew. From Renfrew we drove south to Carleton place and circled south of Ottawa back to our point of departure at Atwill's; total distance: about 950 kilometres.
If history repeats, at least two of the cars will still be running when the day is done, and the final runoff will take place the following day.
We traveled 681 kilometres in the Escape Hybrid before we decided we had better fill up with fuel. The Escape took on 51.2 litres of fuel giving us a fuel consumption rating of 7.51 L/100 km, not far above its highway Energuide rating of 6.7 L/100 km and well below our baseline of 8.57 L/100 km.
2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. Click image to enlarge
While we accelerated gently throughout and kept to within 10 kilometres above the posted speed limit, the combined effect of a westerly prevailing wind and higher freeway speeds took a toll on fuel consumption.
However, the next tank of fuel proved that lower speeds and fuel-efficient driving techniques can pay off. After driving 631 kilometres, about 60% of it in the city, our fuel consumption dropped to 6.7 L/100 km!
While still above the Energuide rating (5.7 L/100 km city/6.7 L/100 km highway), the Escape's fuel economy is remarkable given its size and weight (1644 kg/3624 lbs) and given the difficulty of achieving Energuide's suggested fuel consumption in the less then ideal real world. But we had succeeded in lowering our overall fuel consumption nearly two litres per 100 kilometres from our baseline.
To see how Energuide determines fuel consumption, check here.
On the highway, the Escape Hybrid is very quiet, except for some wind noise, particularly in a strong cross-wind. Engine noise is minimal. At 100 km/h, the engine speed is a leisurely 1500 rpm.
2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. Click image to enlarge
The Escape has variable assist electric power steering which feels firm on the highway and yet provides a light feel when parking. There was none of the twitchiness we've experienced with some other electric power steering systems.
After more than 12 hours in the saddle, the rather firm seats in the Escape Hybrid felt more like planks of wood than cushions. Made from re-cycled materials, the seat surfaces are a bit rough, and although supportive for an average journey, they begin to wear on the body after 800 or 900 kilometres!
