Featured Escape PHEV reviews

i am very interested in this car. i hope it is everything and more.

always a little better styling than rav4 too.

 

I did a test drive of the 2006 Ford Escape hybrid:

• American 'boat ride' - it handled a badly maintained road that needed repaving with smooth, confidence
• acceleration - nice, better than the 2003 Prius we had but not 'head snapping'
• 1.5 kW inverter option - my first Prius mod was to add a 1.1 kW inverter, our emergency generator for 10 years

The 2006 Ford Escape hybrid was nice, not better for us than our 2003 Prius, but certainly attractive. At the time, all I heard from the analysts and reviewers . . . <crickets>. That the current Ford Escape has no appeal to me should not put off others:

• 38 mi EV - we had a 25 mi Prius Prime and found it too small ('3 trips') for Huntsville AL. The last two days, I've been driving our BMW i3-REx, 72 mi EV, and no problems. I did not have to run the 640 cc range extender engine but I did initially to handle the periodic operation needed to keep seals and lubricants ready.
• 41 MPG - my 2014 BMW i3-REx is rated at 39 MPG without desirable, engine efficiency tuning.
• exceeds space requirements - we are two adults, three dogs, and not boat or trailer.

Bob Wilson

 

haven't seen a bunch of articles complaining about $10K dealership markups with the ugin escape.
.

 

I owned 4 straight Ford vehicles the last of which was an 83 Escort. It was the worst car that I had ever owned. The day I brought it home I stopped to show my folks. My dad said your car is leaking oil all over my driveway can you move it. I took it back to the dealer and it was the rear main seal. The very first day of ownership and it was in the shop.

That didn't prepare me for 2 years of carburetor and ignition issues that put it back in the shop 7 times after the main seal repair. Four of those trips were to have the carburetor rebuilt which they attributed to my using bad gas. Funny how it was the only car I have ever owned that wouldn't run on the Shell gas from the neighborhood station. My previous Fords and my other vehicle ran just fine on that gas. The first three rebuilds were within the warranty period. The fourth time I had to pay for the carb rebuild and they cheerfully informed me that once I paid for a repair it was covered for life. I explained that I didn't really buy the car to have it towed to their dealership for a carb rebuild every couple of months. It was rebuilt 4 times before they finally replaced the carburetor.

The car would not start after a hot-soak. They knew it was an ignition problem that they couldn't find. I finally bought the Ford service manual and kept it and a voltmeter under the drivers seat and during the time when it wouldn't start I would check the wiring and mark my progress on the schematic and then it would suddenly start again. I eventually replaced the pickup in the distributor that failed when hot.

The dealers lack of response to re-occuring problems and trying to get the regional service people to take ownership of those problems did it for me with Ford. Today's lemon laws would have probably allowed me to give that car back to Ford.

I realize that was a long time ago but I swore that I would never consider a Ford again and to this day I still feel the same. Add to that statement that my next car was an 85 Accord that did everything right for 21 years and 260,000 miles. We have owned 8 straight Hondas until recently when I bought the Prius V.

 

I know this is a two-year-old thread. But are there any Escape PHEV owners here to comment on how good or bad it is, say compared to Rav4Prime?

I had a plan to switch to a BEV, Subaru Solterra to be precise, this year. But due to the delay in the production then recall and the change in the law made me pull out of the reservation. I also had my name on the waiting list for the Rav4Prime, but that car is also off my list now because of the vanished tax credit.

A Ford dealer I checked a few months ago just called me that they have a 2022 Ford Escape PHEV available to purchase right now. It is a downgrade from either Solterra or Rav4Prime for it's not available in AWD. But with a $6,843 tax credit still available for the vehicle, I am seriously considering purchasing it. I just signed up for the Escape forum, but if there is any first-hand owner of this PHEV here, please chime in.

 

I have found this company to provide reliable reviews of autos- scroll to the bottom of the page to see actual owner reviews. The website also provides what you should expect to pay for the vehicle in your geographical area. We bought our last two vehicles based on this and a few other website reviews of the models we were considering.

2017 Ford Escape Review & Ratings | Edmunds

Also might suggest visiting the Ford escape Forum if you haven't done so already

 

Thanks for the info. I have checked a page, but the problem is that they (Edmonds) are not even listing the 2022 Escape PHEV for the model selection. It has a regular gasser SUV and HVE (regular hybrid) but not PHEV. While I can get an idea of how the built quality of the car from reviews on the ICE and HEV Escapes, I am particularly interested in the EV range on the PHEV model. It is rated to be ~37 miles of EV range, but does that hold in highway speed or cold weather?

As I said, I did sign up for the Escape forum and now checking the site now. But, most of the comments are on none PHEV models. I thought if there is any owner here, I thought I can find better information on the EV range and efficiency and propensity to turn on the ICE when the battery has charge, as compared to Prius Prime or Rav4Prime.

EDIT: After doing a new search, I did find a separate section in Edmonds for Escape PHEV.
2022 Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid Prices, Reviews, and Pictures | Edmunds
Still not much information other than a short sentence on the real-world EV range.

on our standardized test route that the Escape Plug-In Hybrid traveled 30.7 miles on electric power before the gas engine kicked on, or about 6 miles less than what the EPA estimated

 

I ordered a 2022 Escape PHEV back in April, and recently had it rolled over to a 2023 order, so likely a few more months before I get it. So not first-hand experience, but if the comparison shopping helps at all...

A Prius Prime was our initial first-choice, but we're really used to filling the Gen3 Prius and couldn't stomach the loss in cargo space, which put us to considering the Escape and Rav4 for a PHEV.

They were pretty close in the test drives, almost all differences were at the nitpicking level. The Rav4 Prime is much more powerful, but considering I'm happy with the acceleration of a Prius both were plenty adequate. The Rav4's pedestrian warning system is obnoxious, the Escape's didn't seem like it would wake the whole neighbourhood backing out of the driveway. I didn't love the rotary gearshifter on the Escape, but did a bunch of 3-point turns and it was workable; the Rav4 has a conventional automatic-style stick selector.

The #1 difference is that the Escape was available with a wait list, and the Rav4 was simply not something they would sell us. I think the Americans are getting more Rav4 Primes (as are Quebecois and BCers), but here in Ontario the dealership said they were at over a 3-year waiting list for Rav4 Primes and weren't even taking deposits any more. The Ford dealers were taking orders with an estimated 8 month wait time (looks like it will be more than that, though to be fair I'm only in month 7 of the original 8-mo guess), and claimed that you could lock the price in with an order (whereas the Toyota dealer seemed to imply even getting on the list now would mean paying whatever Toyota was charging in ~3 years' time for the Rav4 Prime).

If they were both sitting on a dealer's lot in front of me it might be a harder choice, but I'd probably still go with the Escape for being pretty close but a fair bit cheaper. Ignoring price differences, I think the Rav4 Prime would take the lead

If you have a 2022 Escape available, one other thing to consider is the difference from 2022 to 2023. They changed the look of the front (and the headlights), and the seats and dash. I didn't like the tan & black look of the premium seats (the lower trims actually had better-looking seats), for 2023 you have a choice of all-black or black and "space grey" (which is practically white). The big one though is that the 2022 has very sensible conventional buttons for climate controls and some radio functions. The 2023 gets a larger touchscreen, and moves most of those functions to the touchscreen. I dislike that on a human factors basis, and haven't seen any reviews yet about whether the touchscreen works at all in winter with gloves on. So there may be reasons (beyond the US tax credit) to jump on a 2022.

That was a big debate for us, too. I've never had a car with AWD myself, and never had any issues in winter (at least nothing AWD would fix) with proper winter tires (southern/central Ontario winters, mostly in the GTA). Driving my parents' cars with AWD never really made it seem like something worth the cost. But when talking with friends about the Escape PHEV vs Rav4 Prime so many were like "well it's obvious, you have to have AWD!" It's always seemed over-hyped to me, but to some people it's a must-have. If you are in situations where AWD is important, it may also be relevant that the Escape's ground clearance is lower.

 

Thanks for the great review. I went to the Ford dealer to test drive the available 2022 Escape PHEV SEL yesterday. Overall, it is a great "little" SUV. Did not have any EV charge, so with CHARGE mode to add some EV range, I could get just a taste of EV mode drive. The driving impression was very pleasant. No "WOW!" factors, but I liked it. If it is a replacement for my current PP and I can do an even trade, I think it is a better choice for me. But it was not even close to being an equal trade. They did not add any "market adjustment" markups, but this SEL model is loaded with packages such that the MSRP is $45K (the base price on this trim is $39,685 with the destination fee). Even with a $6840 tax credit, the final price before tax is ~$38K. They were offering me only $28K for my 2021 PP Limited. Well, that's $10K out of my pocket just to have a bit more cargo space and EV range.

We currently have Pathfinder AWD Hybrid. The Escape will not be capable of replacing it for its size and power. If it was a Mid-size SUV class PHEV, then I can see trading in both Pathfinder and PP to have a single car to get everything done... but that will not be possible with Escape.

Of all the features in the 2022 Escape, I also found the real knobs and buttons and smaller screens to be very attractive. The display lacks the depth of information current PP displays, but I really hate the large 11.6" touch panel screen, such that I do not use it 99% of the time. Oh, and one more great feature. The real compact spare tire, despite it being an additional $110 extra optional cost on the price tag.

Yeah, the AWD is the icing on the cake. I don't need it most of the time. But every once in a great while, it is nice to have that ability as I have experienced on the slippery uphill and muddy country roads with several of our previous and current larger cars that came with the AWD. If I have to pay thousands of dollars more for AWD, then I will gladly skip that option to save money. In retrospect, I regret not purchasing a RAV4Prime SE before the pandemic car shortage hit the market. Back in early 2021, I was offered a RAV4Prime SE for a ~$40K price tag. Back then with a full tax credit still available, it would have been ~$35K with tax and all. But again, I ended up buying the last 2021 PP Limited on the lot ($36K MSRP) for a mere $24K total in July 2021.

In the end, I don't think I am going to buy the 2022 Escape SEL PHEV for the price the dealer is offering right now. If I can find a barebone 2022 Escape PHEV SE at no more than $36K. Then, maybe... I will do an even trade with the PP. But with how the economy is shaping right now, I don't think that is going to happen.

 

it's really too bad. over 2 years since this thread was created, and i'm still interested.

but i won't pay these prices

 

Well, two weeks since my last comment, I am a proud owner of the brand new 2022 Ford Escape PHEV.

The bottom line, the dealer wanted to sell it quickly. They had some wiggle room to negotiate. The initial offer which was far apart came close enough to my asking price such that it made sense to trade in the 2021 PP for the 2022 Escape PHEV. After the tax credit which I will claim in a few months, it is ~$2K cost for me.

I've had it for a few days now, but have only driven the car from the dealer to home. My first impression of the test drive a few weeks ago was correct. Compared to the previous PP Ltd, this Escape PHEV is more comfortable, quieter, and has much better visibility. Didn't have time to familiarize myself with all the bells and whistles that came with the car, but the instrumental cluster is intuitive enough that I did not have a problem. So far, the only small complaint is the location of the "Start" button. It is placed on the right side of the steering wheel column on the concaved surface of the dash such that it is not visible from the seating position and very awkward to press the button with either right or left hand, Oh, and after driving Prius so long, the rotating dial shifter is going to take some getting used to.

As I said, I have not driven the car much yet, but one thing I found better than PP in safety features is the backup camera. It is vivid and clear, and even though the LCD screen is 8" "small", I can see details of objects behind the car. It has very useful dynamic backup guidance linked to the steering wheel, unlike PP. I didn't usually use the backup camera for backing up the PP, but with Escape, I may start relying on it. And of course, there are no backup beeps. LOL And the low-speed pedestrian warning sound (spaceship sound in Prius and many other Toyota electrified vehicles) is much quieter, almost not audible from the inside cabin.

Overall, in a very short period and with a small number of use cases, I am happy with the purchase. The car came with no charge, I did the first full charge of 0%-100% overnight the night I brought the car home. The car was showing only 31 miles of EV range after the full charge on GOM, but for a few drives my wife took for short in-town drives, she drove a total of 23 miles by the odometer, but the battery still has 43% 13 miles EV range. I know there must be some engine-driven distances in these 23 miles for my wife refuses to fiddle with the mode switches, she only drives on EV AUTO. Just like the PP, Escape must turn on the engine under certain circumstances even with an available battery charge.

My wife plan to take the car out of town later today. It is now being charged to replenish the battery to full. I have to look into the documentation to learn how I can log the daily drive data so I can monitor the EV and HV efficiency.

Oh, I did order some upgrade pieces for the car already. The first thing was a cargo liner. Yes, it came with a rubber cargo mat for the deck, but I need one that will cover the back of the second-row seats and some sides as well as the bumper apron. I had a custom-fit one from Canvasback for the PP, but that was very expensive. This time, I ordered a universal one-size-fit type cargo liner. Will see how it fits and works.

Then last night, I ordered 4 used wheels off a Gen3 Escape on eBay and a set of 4 Blizzak snow tires from Discount Tires of America. The car which is Gen4 came with OEM 18" wheels of slightly different specs than Gen3 wheels, but Gen3 17" OEM wheels should fit fine. The smaller wheel allows putting narrower smaller snow tires which is more effective on snow and much cheaper. After having driven all of our cars with proper dedicated snow tires, I just don't feel safe driving a car without snow tires in our climate. And especially if we are going to keep only a single car, I felt good snow tires sooner than later are a must upgrade on this car. Will see how the used wheels and new Blizzak will perform on New England snowy roads. Had to do the shopping in hurry, so did not have time to do much comparison shopping, but $434 for 4 wheels and $482 for 4 snow tires (tax and SH included) aren't too bad in today's market. The installation will be an additional ~$100 or so, it will be ~$1K expense, but I should be able to recoup some of the cost when I sell the used sets of tires/wheels, hubcaps, seat covers, cargo covers, etc that came off of the PP.

 

Now to figure out why there are fire recalls on the motor in the Bronco, Escape but not the PHEV or Maverick

My hope was they would bring the PHEV to the Maverick, but Ford is glacial at producing.

 

I read that recall, but can’t remember. They know the reason, and have a bandaid

 

Yeah, if I had any say on the "optional" cargo mat, I would have deleted it. It is a $100 accessory added to the MSRP. The floor mats were additional $160. Almost all cars I have seen that are sold on the dealers' lot have floor mats and cargo mats added to the MSRP. If someone factory orders a car specifically not to include the mats, would they sell a car without it?

I kept the cargo mat in the PP even though I put another layer of cargo cover just in case of a liquid spill. It was important to protect the traction battery. But for Escape, the under-the-deck is used for the compact spare tire. So, it may not be as important to have layers of protection. However, the 12v battery sits in the spare tire well under the deck. So, that is a potential hazard if the water gets in there.




We will be using the car mostly with the back seats folded down to increase the cargo space. So, it is important to have a cargo cover that is large enough to protect the back of the rear seats in the configuration shown below.

 

Congratulations on your new vehicle - sounds like you got an outstanding deal.

Keep us updated on the EV range of the Escape. These seem like very nice cars.

I agree with the comment you made about safety features, many manufactures are now including a full complement of safety features on all their models which makes it very helpful to the customer.

 

Yeah, the recall news broke out just a few days before I closed my deal. I am not exactly sure which models and engines are subjects of the current recall, but I checked the VIN of my car before purchasing it to make sure it was not included.
2020 2022 Ford Escape Engine Manufacturing Recall