Prototype Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid: 88 MPG on 85% Ethanol

[1931Chevy]

As part of a push by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to make plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) cost competitive with other cars by 2014, Ford has delivered a plug-in hybrid electric flex-fuel Escape to the DOE to join its test fleet of other PHEVs currently undergoing research and testing.

The vehicle is equipped with a 10 kilowatt lithium ion battery that can take it up to 30 miles at speeds under 40 mph before needing to fire up its fuel-fed hybrid-electric engine. After that, the hybrid-electric engine kicks in and can deliver a fuel economy of 88 mpg in the city and 50 mpg on the highway when using E85 (85% ethanol/15% gasoline blend).

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[AMERICA 123]

Well, ignoring all the rest, this sure as heck would usefully cut foreign oil dependency.

[mrfunji]

That's obviously the gasoline equivalent mpg, but impressive none the less!

[Aprime]

Originally Posted by mrfunji

That's obviously the gasoline equivalent mpg, but impressive none the less!

...

They didn't say it was an EV, they said it was an PHEV.

Meaning it's a conventional hybrid Escape, only fitted with Li-Ion battery cells and plug-in capability.