Pure electric vehicles don’t work for everyone. The Ford Escape plug-in hybrid does. The concept is simple enough, charge the 14.4 kWH battery and it’s fully electric for 37 miles. After that it defaults to a regular hybrid with an EPA rated average of 40 MPG. And the Escape PHEV is a useful crossover that does the chores well. Fun to drive too. But if you want all-wheel drive with your plug-in….  maybe visit a Toyota dealership for a RAV4 Prime or get Escape’s fancy sister, the Corsair Grand Touring.

Tom Voelk takes a look at a fully loaded Titanium model to find out if it really goes 37 miles on a charge and what the real fuel economy is.  And while Ford calls the 4thgeneration Escape, I see it as the 3rd gen (the “2nd generation” is a heavy mid-cycle refresh IMHO).