Fresh Design is New to Escape for 2005

A Hybrid with Room for All Your “Stuff”
All Escape Hybrids have a modern-faced instrument cluster with an integrated, multifunctional Message Center. This two-line, 24-character liquid-crystal display offers trip statistics like average fuel economy, distance-to-empty, an oil change reminder with estimated oil life and various warnings such as an open door, a bulb is burned out or the fuel cap needs tightening.

An advanced navigation and hybrid status display is also available. With it, a 4-inch, color, liquid-crystal display serves as the audio system interface, a navigation system and a real-time “power path” offering visual indication of fuel consumption and the operating state of the hybrid system.

It shows, for example, if the battery is being charged or discharged; if energy is being recovered during braking; or if the electric drive is providing additional power.

The white-faced instrument panel gauges have markings designed for legibility and are ringed in warm steel-colored bezels. Standard on all models is a battery indicator dial that indicates if the hybrid battery is powering the electric motor or if it is being charged while braking or cruising.

Modern woven cloth is the standard seating material. Leather seating surfaces are part of an option package that includes a leather-wrapped steering wheel and leather door inserts.

The 60/40 split rear seat can be folded flat for increased cargo space (up to 65.5 cubic feet), and the flip-up rear glass offers easy access to the rear cargo area.

The glove box locks, and each front door includes large, deep map pockets.

The spare wheel on all 2005 Escapes has been moved under the floor, rather than inside. To prevent theft, it can be lowered by a winch operated only with the tailgate open.

Exterior Design
Escape’s wide stance, with aggressive large wheel arches, wide body cladding and integrated bumpers, gives a functional, off-road-ready, yet modern look. The headlamps are clearly defined quad circles behind jewel-effect clear lenses, and the egg-crate grille matches those in the rest of the Ford SUV lineup. Circular fog lamps and roof deck are standard equipment. The optional Appearance Package adds a stylish touch with glossy silver bumpers, bodyside moldings and wheel lips.

Ford Escape Safety Sets New Standard
The Escape Hybrid will have the same great safety and security features of the conventional Escape, including:
The standard Personal Safety System™, with dual-stage driver and single-stage front passenger air bags
The available Safety Package includes a Ford Motor Company exclusive Safety Canopy™ side air curtain rollover protection system and the thorax-protecting side impact air bags (late availability on conventional Escape)
Occupant Classification Sensing for the front passenger air bag
Structural energy management zones for frontal and offset frontal impacts
Three-point safety belts and head restraints at all seating positions
Standard antilock brakes

Safety belt pretensioners tighten the front safety belts in the first moments of a crash, and energy management retractors gradually slacken the safety belt, if necessary, to help reduce the force of the belt on the occupant’s chest. As always, a vehicle occupant’s best line of defense in crashes remains the safety belt.

Occupant Classification Sensing Tailors Air Bag Deployment
Occupant Classification Sensing builds on the strength of the Personal Safety System™ to tailor deployment of the single-stage front passenger air bag. If the passenger seat sensor detects no weight on the seat — or very little weight, such as a newspaper or a jacket — the passenger air bag automatically is switched off.

If more weight is on the seat, as with a small child, the air bag remains turned off and a lighted indicator in the center stack alerts the driver with the message “PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF.” If an adult is seated properly in the passenger seat, the air bag automatically is switched on, ready to inflate within milliseconds, if needed. The safest place for children is in the rear seat, properly restrained.

Safety Package: A Ford Motor Company Exclusive
The Escape Hybrid’s optional Safety Package includes the Safety Canopy™ side curtain air bag system and thorax-protecting side impact air bags.

Pioneered on the 2003 Explorer, the Safety Canopy™ side curtain air bags provide enhanced side impact and rollover protection by deploying from the headliner in certain types of rollover and side-impact situations. A sensor monitors the vehicle’s roll angle and rate. If the system determines a rollover may be imminent, the Safety Canopy™ deploys and remains inflated for several seconds. Escape is the only vehicle in its segment to offer a system with this rollover protection function.

Thorax-protecting air bags are available for the front seat occupants to reduce the possibility of serious chest injuries in the event of a side impact.

High Fuel Economy, Low Emissions, Long Range, Plenty of Power
The Escape Hybrid is expected to be the world’s cleanest, most fuel-efficient SUV, able to travel between 35 and 40 miles — more than a 75 percent improvement over the conventional Escape — in stop-and-go city driving, where the benefits of its full hybrid powertrain clearly outpace the fuel efficiency of even the smallest conventionally powered cars.  The Escape Hybrid will provide approximately a 50 % metro-highway combined fuel economy improvement over a conventional Escape.

On the highway, Escape Hybrid is expected to approach 30 mpg, The Escape Hybrid’s 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engine and electric traction motor can team up to produce acceleration performance similar to the V-6 Escape model.

Tailpipe emissions such as unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), as well as evaporative emissions from the fuel system, are low enough to qualify the 2005 Escape Hybrid for the stringent Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) standards.

The Escape Hybrid produces as little as half the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) — a primary “greenhouse gas” resulting from the combustion of any type of carbon-based fuel — compared with a conventional compact SUV.

Full battery power is available without having to plug the vehicle into an electrical outlet. The electric motor-generator captures energy during braking, and the gasoline engine also delivers power to the nickel-metal hydride battery

Seating for 5 adults, nearly 28 cubic feet of cargo room is available behind the rear seat. Up to 65.5 cubic feet is available with the seat folded.

The Escape Hybrid also offers a 1,000-pound tow rating when properly equipped

The 2005 Escape Hybrid is built at Ford’s Kansas City, Mo., assembly plant, on the same mass-production assembly line used for the other Escape, Mazda Tribute and European Ford Maverick models.

The entire vehicle comes with a three-year, bumper-to-bumper warranty and complimentary roadside assistance. Hybrid specific components are covered by a warranty of at least eight years or 100,000 miles.

For consumer information on the Escape Hybrid, visit http://www.fordvehicles.com/hybrid

The 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid:
Is fueled by unleaded gasoline and never needs to be “plugged in” for charging
Is driven like a conventional vehicle with an automatic transmission
Automatically manages the electric drive system and gasoline engine for maximum efficiency & acceleration
Makes no compromises in the acceleration performance and versatility expected from the Ford Escape, the compact SUV sales leader

The Escape Hybrid experience begins conventionally: Turn the key, and the engine starts. Shift to Drive, press the accelerator, and you’re off.

The Escape Hybrid’s 70-kilowatt traction motor can launch the vehicle on clean electric power — up to 25 mph. When needed, the generator can smoothly start the gasoline engine in less than 400 milliseconds, without the increased emissions produced in starting up a conventional engine. The combination of the gasoline engine and electric traction motor provides seamless, strong response similar to a V-6 engine.

Braking System Saves Energy
When coming to a stop, Escape Hybrid’s electric motor and regenerative braking system capture energy that normally would be lost as heat developed by the four-wheel disc brakes. As the driver presses the brake pedal, Escape Hybrid’s electric drive system transforms the vehicle’s momentum into electric energy. This energy gets transferred to the hybrid battery, where it is stored for later use, saving gasoline and eliminating the need to plug the vehicle into an electric outlet.

Engine Stops, Starts Automatically
Escape Hybrid features a fuel-saving engine stop/start function. As the vehicle comes to a stop, the system automatically checks the battery to ensure it has adequate power. If it is sufficiently charged, the gasoline engine rests to save fuel, and the vehicle operates on electricity alone, achieving the highest fuel economy and emissions benefits. There’s no need to restart before hitting the accelerator.

In pure electric mode — indicated on the tachometer by a “green” zone below 0 rpm — the Escape Hybrid’s gasoline engine rests to save fuel. It automatically switches in and out of this rest state depending on the driving situation and vehicle demands.

Capability Expected From a Ford SUV
Proving that efficiency and utility can go hand-in-hand, the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid not only is the world’s most fuel-efficient SUV, it’s the only hybrid vehicle to offer four-wheel drive, a manufacturer’s towing rating and a maximum 65.5 cubic feet of cargo room.

Intelligent 4WD System Offers Unprecedented Hybrid Capability
The Escape Hybrid is the only hybrid to offer the off-pavement advantage and all-weather security of optional four-wheel drive. For 2005, all Escape models offer an all-new, fully automatic four-wheel-drive system.

The new Intelligent 4WD System requires no driver interaction and is so seamless in operation that most drivers will never notice that it has engaged — except being impressed by Escape Hybrid’s capability in slippery conditions.

The Intelligent 4WD System has a fully computer-controlled clutch that engages the rear wheels as needed; in normal conditions Escape is driven by its front wheels. Using sensors at each wheel and the accelerator, the system’s computer can calculate up to 200 times per second exactly how much torque to send to the rear wheels to minimize slip; it can also predict slip and preclude it from happening at all.

A new front stabilizer bar system with low-friction links provides a subtle improvement to Escape’s already agile, predictable and inspiring driving character. This performance stems from Escape’s solid unitized body construction, its MacPherson strut front suspension, rack-and-pinion steering and independent rear suspension (IRS).

IRS once was a rarity among SUVs, but now is used in the Ford Escape, Ford Explorer and Ford Expedition as a key element of Ford’s SUV leadership. The responsive IRS architecture gives Escape precise steering and handling through dynamic toe control and the ability of each wheel to react separately to road imperfections.

Ford Escape Hybrid Technology
At the heart of the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid is its advanced hybrid powertrain, an integrated system that uses a half-dozen key components to deliver seamless, efficient power

Atkinson-Cycle Engine Operates Efficiently
Escape Hybrid’s four-cylinder gasoline engine is an Atkinson-cycle variant of the conventional Escape’s Duratec 23 2.3-liter engine. The Atkinson cycle is similar to the familiar four-stroke cycle — intake, compression, power, exhaust — except the intake valve closes well after the piston begins moving upward to compress the air-fuel mixture.

It reduces the “pumping losses” associated with all gasoline engines. Additionally, because a fraction of the air-fuel mixture is released from the cylinder back into the induction system without being burned, the effective displacement of the engine is reduced. The power stroke, or the distance that burning fuel pushes on the piston, is longer than the effective intake stroke. This helps extract more energy from each drop of fuel.

Viewed by itself, the Atkinson cycle engine in the Escape Hybrid is about 4 % more efficient than the nearly identical conventional 2.3-liter engine in the base Escape model.
Why then is the Atkinson cycle not more widely used in conventional vehicles? Its main disadvantage is reduced torque, particularly at low engine speeds. The Escape Hybrid supplements the gasoline engine with an electric traction motor to provide low speed torque and a satisfying launch feel.

Hybrid Storage Battery Offers 330 Volts
A 330-volt nickel-metal-hydride battery pack located beneath the rear load floor stores energy recovered during braking and powers the electric drive system. The Escape Hybrid, like a conventional vehicle, still has a 12-volt battery under the hood to power the vehicle’s lights and electrical accessories.

The hybrid storage battery consists of 250 D-sized cells in a sealed enclosure. Nickel-metal-hydride batteries have been used with excellent success in notebook computers and cell phones for years.
Hybrid-specific components, including the battery pack, are covered by a warranty of at least eight years or 100,000 miles. The entire vehicle comes with a bumper-to-bumper warranty for three years or 36,000 miles and complimentary roadside assistance.

Thermal management for optimal performance
Batteries don’t like to work when they’re cold, and they get stressed when they’re hot. To keep the battery pack at its optimum temperature, it has a thermal management system to deal with temperatures from minus 40 degrees Centigrade (-40 Fahrenheit) to 50 degrees Centigrade (122 Fahrenheit). An electric heater and forced-air cooling system help keep the battery comfortable.

While it’s never necessary — or even possible —to plug the Escape Hybrid into a charger, in the unlikely event that insufficient energy is available to start the gasoline engine, jumpstarts are possible. Sophisticated electronics within the Powertrain Control Module manage energy flow.

Electric Power Makes Steering Easier
Because the Escape Hybrid’s gasoline engine automatically stops to save fuel when possible, an electric power-assisted steering system replaces the traditional belt-driven hydraulic system.

An electronic control module detects the driver’s input torque at the steering wheel, instantaneously computes the proper amount of assist and commands a brushless electric motor to help control the steering mechanism.

Jim & Michelle Tucker Marietta, Georgia
Publishers of Southern Automotive Journal,
a monthly trade publication focusing on news,
 trends & perspective in the automotive aftermarket
& retailing fields.

 The publication is distributed in 5 southeast states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
 South Carolina & Tennessee.

Jim began his automotive publishing career with his first magazine, Georgia Automotive Business.
He has published several automotive related publications over the last 10 years.