FORD ESCAPE 2020 FULL

David Bevan, a technical specialist for electrified powertrain calibrations, said at the Kentucky event the Escape Hybrid would make more power on premium but declined to specify how much.

Ford rates power figures for the hybrid using 87-octane regular. That said, your experience may vary, as my driving impressions came using 93-octane premium fuel. Transitions between engine and electric power are seldom noticeable, and Ford says electric propulsion is available at speeds as high as 85 mph.

FORD ESCAPE 2020 FULL

Power comes with minimal delay when you press the accelerator, and the SUV feels reasonably punchy at full bore - closer to the non-hybrid EscapeвЂ™s turbo 2.0-liter engine than its base engine, a turbo 1.5-liter. The combination makes 200 hp total, and the combination proved sprightly: Even with three adults aboard, a front-drive Escape Hybrid tackled moderate inclines with power to spare. The Escape Hybrid combines a non-turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder with two electric motors that draw juice from a 1.1-kilowatt-hour battery under the floor. IвЂ™ll focus on the Escape Hybrid here, but you can check out our full take on the non-hybrid Escape in a separate story. A plug-in hybrid comes in the spring of 2020, but Ford didnвЂ™t furnish any examples to test. (Per our ethics policy, pays for its own airfare and lodging at such automaker-sponsored events). At the automakerвЂ™s Kentucky media preview, I drove hybrid and non-hybrid examples of the SUV, which go on sale in the fall of 2019. In redesigning the Escape for 2020, Ford returned an Escape Hybrid to the lineup for the first time since 2012. Related: 2020 Ford Escape Review: Better on the Big Stuff But if Ford hits its target, the Escape Hybrid should come close to the hybrid RAV4. Whether itвЂ™s as efficient as its Toyota rival remains to be seen, as official EPA mileage is still pending. Its chief rival, the new Ford Escape Hybrid, might deserve the same banner: ItвЂ™s fun to drive, reasonably powerful and nearly as spacious as the non-hybrid Escape. Late last year, a new hybrid version of the redesigned Toyota RAV4 improbably proved the fun choice for the SUV.

Ford escape 2020