2008 Ford Escape

Options include a six-CD Audiophile stereo, a 110-volt outlet in the front center console and a navigation system with a 6.5-inch screen. That screen can also show hybrid power flow and fuel economy for the past 15 minutes in a bar graph. Many options are bundled together in the Hybrid Premium Package, including the 110-volt outlet; powered, heated leather front seats; leather-trimmed rear seats; heated side mirrors; a cargo cover; and Ford's Reverse Sensing System.

Priorities are key when considering the Escape Hybrid; they could easily swing your decision one way or the other. For the Escape Hybrid to be worth your money, you really have to be buying it for its hybrid credentials: fuel savings (especially in the city) and low emissions. Why? When you start to factor in its other, less desirable attributes - like archaic rear-seat folding, spotty interior quality and less than stellar crash-test performance - the hybrid opens the door to competitors from Honda, Toyota and Hyundai. With gas prices surging past $3 a gallon, however, maybe a proven hybrid system is a powerful enough reason to consider the Ford.

Still relying on a gasoline/electric hybrid system similar to that used by Toyota, Escape arrives for 2008 with performance and efficiency improvements that make it run more smoothly and quietly. The hybrid gets the same bold body restyling as the regular Escape that makes it look like a downsized Explorer.

Fuel mileage is right up there, as advertised. In normal urban and suburban driving, I actually did better than the EPA figure, getting 37-38 miles per gallon, according to the on-board computer. In one trip from north-central Phoenix to Scottsdale and back, with the air-conditioning turned off, I averaged better than 40 mpg.

Mileage dropped off in highway driving, the wind resistance from Escape's boxy styling no doubt taking a toll. Overall, my mileage averaged about 34 mpg, a good result for a well-equipped SUV that drives nicely and doesn't cost a fortune.