xcel
12-31-2006, 01:53 AM
The verdict among onlookers that I queried? It's a handsome vehicle. (http://www.pe.com/lifestyles/stories/PE_Fea_Driving_R_08escape1230.24ca58f.html)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2008_Ford_Escape_Hybrid_Interior.jpgPeter Bohr - The Press-Enterprise - Dec. 29, 2006
The 2008 Escape features an all-new interior, with fabric seating surfaces made from 100 percent recycled materials.
What do you do for an encore? Ford Motor Company's Escape is America's best-selling compact sport utility vehicle, and has been for six years running. When you've got a hit, and it's time for a sequel, it had better be good.
And it is. Ford jumped the gun by unveiling the second-generation 2008 Escape at this month's Los Angeles Auto Show. You read right -- 2008, when 2007 hasn't even begun.
Though the revamped Escape won't be in showrooms for a few months, the automaker already is revving up its public relations machine just to make sure everyone knows the new SUV is coming. After all, there are some newly introduced competitors -- Honda's CR-V and Saturn's Outlook, to name two -- ready to steal Escape sales.
Right after the show, I managed to snag a pre-production '08 Escape Hybrid for a long weekend. And I can report that it does show solid improvement over last year's -- I mean, this year's, '07 ... whatever -- model.
Consider its styling. Gen One Escape was easy enough on the eyes, but blended into the crowd. Gen Two is hunkier, with a much more dramatic grille and a "power bulge" in its hood. The new Escape carries a strong family resemblance to its larger siblings, the midsize Explorer and full-size Expedition. Ford stylists also raised the Escape's beltline -- the portion running just below the windows -- making it look like the sides are higher relative to the glass area. It's an effort to give the new Escape "a more Ford Tough Truck appearance," said Ford officials at the LA Auto Show.
The verdict among onlookers that I queried? It's a handsome vehicle.
Inside, the '08 Escape gets a makeover, too. Besides a reworked center stack that puts outside-air temperature, radio and climate-control readouts in a single, easy-to-read display at the top of the dash, the center console is now roomy enough to hold a laptop or purse.
But the most innovative new feature is the '08 Escape's upholstery material, "the first U.S. automotive application of seating surfaces made from 100 percent post-industrial materials," say Ford literature.
Translation: The stuff is made of recycled junk -- plastic bottles, old clothes and such.
There are environmental advantages to this. For one, it makes use of trash that might otherwise add to landfills. For another, Ford calculates that its use of the material in its vehicles will annually save 600,000 gallons of water and seven million kilowatt hours of electricity that otherwise would have gone into the production of virgin fibers for upholstery.
Not only that, the material looks nice and is supposedly waterproof. Though my test Escape had optional leather upholstery, I can attest that after examining the recycled material at the LA Auto Show, it doesn't smell like something out of a trash dump.
It will also give those who buy an Escape Hybrid another reason to feel that they're driving green. The '08 Escape will be available with two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, and with a variety of powerplants that carry over from the first generation. The list includes two gasoline engines -- a 153-horsepower inline-4, plus a 200-horsepower V-6 -- and the hybrid that combines a 133-horsepower gasoline inline-4 with a 22-horsepower electric motor. Ford says the hybrid gives acceleration comparable to the V-6, but with a 75 percent improvement in city-driving fuel economy.
My test Escape certainly didn't lack for power. Even going uphill with four folks aboard, acceleration was strong. After piloting the SUV for several hundred miles skewed towards high-speed highway rather than city driving, I averaged 28 mpg -- not bad for a vehicle of its size. It probably would have done better had I driven more in town. Many hybrids use less gasoline in city driving because at lower speeds they can run on the electric motor alone; the Escape can run on 100 percent battery power up to about 25 mph before the gasoline engine turns on.
Ford engineers adjusted the '08 hybrid's control system to improve the transition between gasoline and electric operation. Indeed, it was pretty much seamless, except for a barely noticeable stutter when the gasoline engine came on.
The new Escape's ride and handling are typical of an SUV. Toss it around curves, and body roll is noticeable. On most surfaces, the ride is comfy. But the suspension is firm; hit a pothole and it kicks you in the rear.
Though a strong wind was blowing through the Beaumont-Banning pass as I cruised along Interstate 10 at a steady speed, the Escape's cabin remained admirably quiet.
Only when I goosed the accelerator hard, and the little gasoline engine hit nearly 5,000 rpm, did things get a little noisy inside.
No surprise, it's too soon for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to post crash-test ratings for the '08 Escape.
The first-generation Escape earned good scores, and the new version may do better. Side curtain air bags providing head protection and side-impact air bags that protect the upper and lower torso are standard equipment.
So, too, is a stability control system that can help prevent roll-overs.
As I said, the '08 Escape makes a worthy sequel to the original.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2008_Ford_Escape_Hybrid_Interior.jpgPeter Bohr - The Press-Enterprise - Dec. 29, 2006
The 2008 Escape features an all-new interior, with fabric seating surfaces made from 100 percent recycled materials.
What do you do for an encore? Ford Motor Company's Escape is America's best-selling compact sport utility vehicle, and has been for six years running. When you've got a hit, and it's time for a sequel, it had better be good.
And it is. Ford jumped the gun by unveiling the second-generation 2008 Escape at this month's Los Angeles Auto Show. You read right -- 2008, when 2007 hasn't even begun.
Though the revamped Escape won't be in showrooms for a few months, the automaker already is revving up its public relations machine just to make sure everyone knows the new SUV is coming. After all, there are some newly introduced competitors -- Honda's CR-V and Saturn's Outlook, to name two -- ready to steal Escape sales.
Right after the show, I managed to snag a pre-production '08 Escape Hybrid for a long weekend. And I can report that it does show solid improvement over last year's -- I mean, this year's, '07 ... whatever -- model.
Consider its styling. Gen One Escape was easy enough on the eyes, but blended into the crowd. Gen Two is hunkier, with a much more dramatic grille and a "power bulge" in its hood. The new Escape carries a strong family resemblance to its larger siblings, the midsize Explorer and full-size Expedition. Ford stylists also raised the Escape's beltline -- the portion running just below the windows -- making it look like the sides are higher relative to the glass area. It's an effort to give the new Escape "a more Ford Tough Truck appearance," said Ford officials at the LA Auto Show.
The verdict among onlookers that I queried? It's a handsome vehicle.
Inside, the '08 Escape gets a makeover, too. Besides a reworked center stack that puts outside-air temperature, radio and climate-control readouts in a single, easy-to-read display at the top of the dash, the center console is now roomy enough to hold a laptop or purse.
But the most innovative new feature is the '08 Escape's upholstery material, "the first U.S. automotive application of seating surfaces made from 100 percent post-industrial materials," say Ford literature.
Translation: The stuff is made of recycled junk -- plastic bottles, old clothes and such.
There are environmental advantages to this. For one, it makes use of trash that might otherwise add to landfills. For another, Ford calculates that its use of the material in its vehicles will annually save 600,000 gallons of water and seven million kilowatt hours of electricity that otherwise would have gone into the production of virgin fibers for upholstery.
Not only that, the material looks nice and is supposedly waterproof. Though my test Escape had optional leather upholstery, I can attest that after examining the recycled material at the LA Auto Show, it doesn't smell like something out of a trash dump.
It will also give those who buy an Escape Hybrid another reason to feel that they're driving green. The '08 Escape will be available with two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, and with a variety of powerplants that carry over from the first generation. The list includes two gasoline engines -- a 153-horsepower inline-4, plus a 200-horsepower V-6 -- and the hybrid that combines a 133-horsepower gasoline inline-4 with a 22-horsepower electric motor. Ford says the hybrid gives acceleration comparable to the V-6, but with a 75 percent improvement in city-driving fuel economy.
My test Escape certainly didn't lack for power. Even going uphill with four folks aboard, acceleration was strong. After piloting the SUV for several hundred miles skewed towards high-speed highway rather than city driving, I averaged 28 mpg -- not bad for a vehicle of its size. It probably would have done better had I driven more in town. Many hybrids use less gasoline in city driving because at lower speeds they can run on the electric motor alone; the Escape can run on 100 percent battery power up to about 25 mph before the gasoline engine turns on.
Ford engineers adjusted the '08 hybrid's control system to improve the transition between gasoline and electric operation. Indeed, it was pretty much seamless, except for a barely noticeable stutter when the gasoline engine came on.
The new Escape's ride and handling are typical of an SUV. Toss it around curves, and body roll is noticeable. On most surfaces, the ride is comfy. But the suspension is firm; hit a pothole and it kicks you in the rear.
Though a strong wind was blowing through the Beaumont-Banning pass as I cruised along Interstate 10 at a steady speed, the Escape's cabin remained admirably quiet.
Only when I goosed the accelerator hard, and the little gasoline engine hit nearly 5,000 rpm, did things get a little noisy inside.
No surprise, it's too soon for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to post crash-test ratings for the '08 Escape.
The first-generation Escape earned good scores, and the new version may do better. Side curtain air bags providing head protection and side-impact air bags that protect the upper and lower torso are standard equipment.
So, too, is a stability control system that can help prevent roll-overs.
As I said, the '08 Escape makes a worthy sequel to the original.