Just finished a 5,000 mile trip in our new 2020 Escape Hybrid. The actual mpg (not indicated) was 31.7. Our 2016 Cmax made 36 mpg on close to the same trip last year. I am sure that colder weather would cause a drop, but was expecting it to be closer to 36 mpg. The EPA estimated 37 highway. Needless to say, I am disappointed.
2020 Escape Hybrid - disappointing fuel economy
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JunglePilot
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Your problem is the weather. Wisconsin is a really, really cold place and while all cars are less efficient in the winter, hybrids and EVs are particularly affected. In fact, you might never enter EV mode if the temperature is too low. And the engine needs to run if you have the heat on in the cabin. Get back to us in the summer. By way of comparison, I'm seeing about 39mpg overall with 35-37 mpg on the freeway at 70-75mph and 45-55 mpg around town. But I live in the Bay Area, where the climate is mild; winter daytime temps are typically 55 to 65 and it rarely goes below 40 here.
I can't believe there's a surcharge for hybrids - they're part of the solution. Pretty backwards thinking.
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All I know, is that it's better than 16MPG in my Tacoma.
I will have to do manual calculations per tank because I don't have a trip a/b on my SE Hybrid "sport", but the last 78.2 mile trips was this:
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I'm fairly content with that. It does leave a bit to be desired in the current market of Hybrids, and I don't plan on keeping the Escape forever. But I'm happy. I just hope the lack of features in the menu's can be rectified with a software flash / update and this is not some new standard for '22 SE models with my dash. Admittedly, I did have plans of going in and ordering at least an SEL but since they had this one on the lot I scooped it up.
At least now I can park the Tacoma and use it for the fun stuff instead of shelling out massive amounts of money for a DD. Average was actually closer to 14/15 and a 21 gallon tank - well, you do the math. 180 mile round trip was half a tank. So far, I am seeing roughly the same on the Escape, but it's cheaper to fill at 14 gallons. I started the round trip today with one bar less than full on the tank and it's got 3 bars left - just above a quarter. So half a tank. Granted, I could probably do better than I did on the way into town but it's always a harder drive due to mostly wind direction and more uphill grades. Anyways, just thought I'd share. I didn't read through the thread but I can somewhat agree with the OP - there is a little to be desired.
I was looking at a Honda CRV Touring Hybrid but it nets about the same. Overall, I'm happy and I can see this doing very well on flat lands and good roads. I'd still like a Titanium though... All I know is that in the past 2 years with the shortages and such, I've made compromises in options to avoid long wait times and whatever I do next will be exactly what I want, fully loaded. But pretty happy with the direction Ford is going.
And I have to agree with the above post about registrations. What a rip off. I get very lucky though as a DV. My cost to register the Tacoma would have been over $450 but thanks to being 100%, I paid $50. The kicker is that you have to take either DV plates, or plates with your branch logo on it. Not really fond of either. I don't like advertising.
I will have to do manual calculations per tank because I don't have a trip a/b on my SE Hybrid "sport", but the last 78.2 mile trips was this:
I'm fairly content with that. It does leave a bit to be desired in the current market of Hybrids, and I don't plan on keeping the Escape forever. But I'm happy. I just hope the lack of features in the menu's can be rectified with a software flash / update and this is not some new standard for '22 SE models with my dash. Admittedly, I did have plans of going in and ordering at least an SEL but since they had this one on the lot I scooped it up.
At least now I can park the Tacoma and use it for the fun stuff instead of shelling out massive amounts of money for a DD. Average was actually closer to 14/15 and a 21 gallon tank - well, you do the math. 180 mile round trip was half a tank. So far, I am seeing roughly the same on the Escape, but it's cheaper to fill at 14 gallons. I started the round trip today with one bar less than full on the tank and it's got 3 bars left - just above a quarter. So half a tank. Granted, I could probably do better than I did on the way into town but it's always a harder drive due to mostly wind direction and more uphill grades. Anyways, just thought I'd share. I didn't read through the thread but I can somewhat agree with the OP - there is a little to be desired.
I was looking at a Honda CRV Touring Hybrid but it nets about the same. Overall, I'm happy and I can see this doing very well on flat lands and good roads. I'd still like a Titanium though... All I know is that in the past 2 years with the shortages and such, I've made compromises in options to avoid long wait times and whatever I do next will be exactly what I want, fully loaded. But pretty happy with the direction Ford is going.
And I have to agree with the above post about registrations. What a rip off. I get very lucky though as a DV. My cost to register the Tacoma would have been over $450 but thanks to being 100%, I paid $50. The kicker is that you have to take either DV plates, or plates with your branch logo on it. Not really fond of either. I don't like advertising.
Is this a graph you put together yourself?
"Montana" your EV % is really low, less than 10%. I think you should be getting atleast 20-25% EV, my trip last month to Deltona, FL and back in one day I got 33% EV. It looks like you were probable going atleast 70 mph and 61*F you lose 2 mpg.
![Image]()
Paul
Paul
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121 Posts
It's probably because of the terrain where I live. NW Montana mountains.
Not just terrain; he's averaged 62.4 mph over the trip, so I think you're right about cruising at 70 mph. I did one trip where I filled up getting on the highway, set cruise to 71, and filled up 700 miles later. 8.2% EV (over 2 tanks), when I average over 40% EV.
Climbing steep hills will suck the HVB "dry" so there's nothing left to EV downhill. I find that backing off speed cresting the uphill will reduce road HP and allow some HVB charging. Continue the ICE burn downhill to recover speed and add more charge, if needed.
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Yes, speed limit is 70. I don't floor it uphill, but I don't drop to 50mph either. It does kick in downhill plenty of times. I will keep an eye on it, but honestly, every single vehicle I have driven gets terrible fuel mileage where I live making this trip. On the Tacoma, I drove like a grandma for one whole trip and it was negligibly better. Not worth the extra half hour or stacking 3 cars up behind you on a 2 lane road. It's windy, it's windy, the roads suck, and the mountains are killer. There are spots where you get stuck behind a slow vehicle and have to wait to pass also. Sometimes it's not so bad and you can just cruise on by, but most times, unless you want to be behind that truck the whole way kicking up rocks at your windshield, you need to give it some to pass. Just the nature of the roads where I live.
Heading into the local small town about 20 miles away, the EV is MUCH better. For a couple days, the fuel mileage didn't change at all - actually went up. But I've never seen the "ready" gauge (EV) get below 80%.
Either way, I still chuckle when being passed by a heavy 2500 or bigger truck, because I know they are getting single digit fuel mileage, and there is always a couple on those trips. But I'll sacrifice a little to maintain a decent speed and time in the Escape vs. saving a single more MPG - because that's what it would amount to here.
Hopefully on my drive to Vegas this summer I will see those numbers
The roads get a little flatter heading south. Also heading east the roads flatten right after Glacier, and I'll be heading that way this summer too.Now that we've had this vehicle for a while it's still somewhat disappointing. We have been averaging 36.3 mpg this summer (12K miles on it so far) We have been driving this thing like a grandma and still can't get the minimum 37MPG that is listed. Maybe next year we'll trade it in for something else. We constantly have to reset the radio which is a huge pain in the arse. Come on Ford fix this issue. I'm so sick of resetting the screen every other stop.
You didn't say how fast you were going and whether you were using AC. I run my tires at Max air pressure of 44 psi. Why didn't Ford fix your radio setting problem?
Paul
We've been driving the actual speed limit and sometimes slower if on the interstate (70mph). We try to limit the use of the A/C whenever possible. I was expecting at minimum to get 37mpg even if it was all highway miles and we're under that. The Ford Fusions at work are getting 39mpg and people beat the crap out of those. I'm wondering if there is a setting that is messed up or if this is just normal. I can't drive it at 45mph all the time which seems to be the perfect speed to get the best mpg. The ford dealership didn't have a clue about the radio and couldn't fix it. Of course it didn't happen when I had it there for my first oil change. It just happens every so often, but is very annoying. I had to google the fix and it took me a while to actually find it. You need to hold down the power and the > arrow at the same to until it does a soft reset and then the satellite radio comes back on.
You should gain 1 mpg from raising tire pressure to 44 psi. You will also gain 1-2 mpg by using Premium, but may not be worth the extra cost, it is what I use. Have you ever watched my MR CMAX YouTube videos on how to improve gas mileage? After 273k miles my Life Time Fuelly.com average mpg was 49.9 mpg. I'm doing better in my FEHP.
Paul
Paul
That's not all that disappointing. Here's some representative Fuelly data for Escape Hybrid mileage. You're only 1.5 mpg below the average, in a very wide distribution, spanning 30 to 45 mpg.
My car's average of 42.6 mpg puts it in the 80th percentile. That's after 10 years learning to drive a hybrid. The hardest lesson is not mashing the throttle. Unless the HVB is drained, I can get to ~20 mph in EV mode by use of gentle throttle pressure. It's harder than it sounds.
Same with braking; you can only regen 35kW before friction braking starts to help, and energy is lost.
My "eureka" moment occurred when I learned to use less throttle for longer time, resulting in more charge to the HVB. Start slower, but accelerate longer to higher speed. Then drop into EV and use the terrain, excess speed and high HVB charge to drive as far as possible without using any fuel. Pulse and glide is the hypermiling term for hybrid design-intent operation.
Is there a setting to turn off the Intelligent AWD?
I've found it's pretty easy to keep the Escape in EV mode with gentle acceleration. I've taken it to at least 40mph and cruised on electric only for about 2 miles on level ground. This takes a little doing, but just going easy on the gas will net you well north of 50mpg around town. I should disclose that I live in San Jose, so temperatures are mild and there are no hills on most of my errands.
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same here.... I have 2020 ford escape hybrid titanium getting 26 mpg!!! I'm driving clam don't know what's up
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my 2020 usually got around 39MPG on a regular basis. in the spring and fall i got as much as 42. Thats real MPG not what the dash said.
I am not happy with my 2023 im only getting around 36.
With mostly short suburban driving (particularly during the pandemic), I was getting about 39 mpg in the winter and about 44 in warmer weather (in the Pacific Northwest). Due to a variety of physical conditions, my wife has taken over our Escape, and she definitely gets lower mileage. Her driving styles are different. For me, trying to get my numbers up is as much about playing the game as getting from here to there, a game my wife doesn't particularly enjoy playing.
First off, you are a driving clam, or you're driving a clam, I can't tell which. Either way, that would be a problem.
Plus hybrid vehicle mileage always decreases in the winter, especially in the colder weather typically experienced in much of the US. I'm in AZ but we're down to 20s for lows, and 50s for highs, some days, and MPG drop is noticeable, though not alarming.
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