MARINA DEL REY, CA, July 3, 2007 – Ford tapped Kermit the Frog to help them introduce the hybrid version of its small SUV the Escape in 2004.  The backers of this hybrid, like Kermit knew, “it wasn’t easy being green.” Ford was selling an astonishing number of ever larger and larger trucks and SUVs and probably wondered if the public would ever think that its small green vehicle was more than a marginal do-gooder project.

What a difference a few years make.  Sales for the former volume-leading Explorer are off 23% and the super sized Expedition experienced a 30.9% decline compared to a year ago June.  The brightest spot among its high volume sellers is the Escape, which experienced a 33.3% increase and its hybrid twin, which racked up small but record sales this month of 2,192 vehicles.  

While an annual volume of 22,000 doesn’t place it the same league as the F Series pickups, which are still the Company's leaders with 65,452 sales for June and over 355,000 for the year to date, it’s an indicator that its’ getting easier to be green at Ford.

The Escapes earned an all-new and larger body for 2008. This gave the vehicles a “tougher” look that’s also seen in the new Explorers and Expeditions.  While a little more macho the body shape is also more aerodynamic.

The chief difference between the Escape Hybrid and its popular twin is the powertrain that consists of a combination of gasoline engine and electric motor.    Similar to the technology found in the Toyota Prius this set up gives the vehicle comparable performance to the 200 hp V6 that powers the regular Escape.  The real benefit is fuel economy.

With a combination of city and freeway driving during the week we had our 2008 hybrid Escape test vehicle it registered a pretty steady 27.8-MPG average.  The engaging little meter on the in-dash display would show how this fluctuated as we drove in stop and go traffic, sat idling or were underway.  It was exciting to hit the top of the scale and get 60 MPG but we didn’t try to optimize the results because we wanted to see how we’d fare driving like we normally do.

I was surprised because the vehicle looked so much larger than the first Escape Hybrid I drove when it was launched in 2004.  During the one day I had that vehicle, I drove it about the same -- around town and on the freeway.  There was some minor off-roading at a ranch in Malibu but I’d already noted the average mileage I’d gotten and it came in around 24.7.  So even though the 2008 Escape Hybrid is bigger and brawnier looking it’s getting two to three miles per gallon better mileage.  Some of this is due to aerodynamics and the rest to engineering improvements, including a more efficient power steering pump that taxes the engine less.  Neither generation of Escape hybrid matches the numbers turned in by my Prius.  It consistently acquits itself with between 40.8 and 41.2 miles per gallon.  Of course, this is a different animal.

In a world still dominated by monster SUVs and trucks I liked looking out over traffic while sitting up high in the Escape’s command seating.  Its large cargo area (especially with the rear seats folded down) had enough room to haul my surfboard, wetsuit, a cooler, some folding chairs and an umbrella down to the beach.  But there could have been a little more legroom for tall guys stuck in the rear seats.  While it’s not as bad as being confined to coach on today’s airlines, I’m glad the driver didn’t recline their seat.  And my drives were shorter than most flights and didn’t involve being stuck on the tarmac unless you count the time in the grocery store parking lot.

There is still a premium for going green.  The Escape Hybrid we drove had a total suggested retail price of $28,810 but according to Edmunds.com these are selling in the range of $25,075 to $26,825.  The bottom price meets the top for a regular Escape, that again, according to Edmonds.com, should sell for $18,580 to $25,330. 

You have to decide if Kermit would say today, “it’s not cheap being green.” While that may be true, is buying the most planet friendly products, with the features you require to meet your real needs, something we should do as consumers?  That’s an issue we’ll all be grappling with as we buy light bulbs, groceries and cars.

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