With the decent range and solid packaging, the Escape PHEV has the potential to become popular in this class, but omitting key features like all-wheel-drive may scare off shoppers. Article content Priced right in the thick of PHEV country This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. You’ll have to get used to hearing that rattle around in the trunk or have it permanently take up vital cargo space. Sadly, there isn’t a dedicated cubby or storage area for the portable charge cable. They can also fold down to double the cargo room, with a maximum of 1,721 litres of space. The rear seats slide and tilt to aid with passenger comfort. The Escape features plenty of cargo room, with 869 litres of space behind the rear seats. Passenger space in the Escape is on the average side and the rear doors don’t open very wide. Items like heated seats for the front passengers and a heated steering wheel are available, but you won’t find vented seat options or rear seat heaters. The tactile controls are easy to use and decently located. Fortunately, there is an available wireless charger, so passengers don’t have to fight over USB ports. There is support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay through a tethered connection rather than a wireless one. The tech is intuitive enough and uses the Sync 3 interface rather than the newer Sync 4 found in the Mustang Mach-E. Good tires will help mitigate most traction concerns, but drivers who feel they need four powered wheels won’t get by with the plug-in Escape.įurthermore, the cabin of the Escape is merely sufficient in terms of quality and finish. A flaw in the formula for the new Escape PHEV is that it is front-wheel-drive only, unlike its key competitors and the standard hybrid. It will also disappoint shoppers seeking confidence in all road conditions. 2021 Ford Escape PHEV Photo by Sami Haj-Assaad No AWD option The steering is a bit light and limp, but that isn’t a surprise in this class. I even enjoyed the crisp braking feel, which melded the regenerative braking system and standard brakes to feel like a normal experience. Even with winter tires, the vehicle had good road manners and would make for a good companion during the daily commute. The better news is that the Escape rides pretty decently, despite the nearly 400-pound weight difference from the all-wheel-drive gas models we’ve tested before. When the battery is depleted, the Escape PHEV acts like a traditional hybrid, returning 5.5 litres per 100 km in city driving conditions, 6.2 on the highway and 5.8 combined - identical to the non-plug-in Escape Hybrid model. Recouping that energy requires 10 to 11 hours on a Level 1 charger or three and a half hours on a Level 2 charger. The 61 km range should be adequate for most one-way commutes. The latter setting isn’t recommendable as it just makes the coarse internal combustion engine more noticeable and unbearable. The vehicle features a few different drive modes, and you can even arrange to save the battery range for another time or use the gas motor to charge up the battery.
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