Gas-electric hybrid crossovers? Pfft! That's old hat, man. Wanna know what the new hotness is? Plug-in hybrid crossovers. Toyota's got one on the way, as does Ford, and the latter just released some seriously impressive fuel-economy figures.
Ford announced on Monday that the 2020 Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid has received an EPA-estimated fuel economy rating of 100 miles per gallon equivalent, putting the crossover at the top of its class. For those unfamiliar with the term, mpge are how the EPA measures alternative-fuel vehicle consumption against traditional gas cars and the standard mpg rating.
You can dig into the math in your spare time if you like, but what matters here is context -- to that end, the Escape PHEV beats the upcoming Toyota RAV4 Prime by 6 mpge. Then again, the RAV4 Prime will also be Toyota's most powerful RAV4 variant with a net 302 horsepower heading to all four wheels, while the Escape PHEV will make do with just 165 hp and front-wheel drive, so it's clear the two vehicles are on slightly different trajectories despite existing in the same segment.
Ford announced on Monday that the 2020 Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid has received an EPA-estimated fuel economy rating of 100 miles per gallon equivalent, putting the crossover at the top of its class. For those unfamiliar with the term, mpge are how the EPA measures alternative-fuel vehicle consumption against traditional gas cars and the standard mpg rating.
You can dig into the math in your spare time if you like, but what matters here is context -- to that end, the Escape PHEV beats the upcoming Toyota RAV4 Prime by 6 mpge. Then again, the RAV4 Prime will also be Toyota's most powerful RAV4 variant with a net 302 horsepower heading to all four wheels, while the Escape PHEV will make do with just 165 hp and front-wheel drive, so it's clear the two vehicles are on slightly different trajectories despite existing in the same segment.
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