Motoring Blog

It’s hard to take the truck-loving trait away from people who are infatuated with sport utility vehicles (SUVs) or anything above four feet off the ground that can manage to seat three people comfortably at the very most with plenty of cargo space. But these vehicles tend to eat a lot of gas. And that’s no joke, especially in this economy.

Enter the hybrid 2009 Ford Escape SUV and Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. Besides their appeal for being fuel efficient, they are also among the safest cars on the road due to their durability and general reliability. Hybrids are so named because they are made to run on a proportionate amount of both gasoline and electricity provided by an internal battery.

SUV safety is important for virtually all motorists these days. Ford Escape fans are no exception. The Escape offers a total of six airbags, and the anti-lock braking system is considered to be very responsive. The Escape has always been popular, with well over 1 million vehicles sold since the model was introduced in 2000. Now that there’s a hybrid version on the road, I’m sure SUV lovers will be running to Ford showrooms before long.

These days fuel efficiency in vehicles is more important than ever. So it’s a relief that there’s now such a thing as an economical SUV. Matt Degen for OCRegister.com said that “The Escape Hybrid two-wheel drive has a city mileage rating of 34 mpg, while the four-by-four I had is good for 29 mpg in the city.”

The Escape Hybrid’s engine is a four-cylinder job which toots just 171 horsepower. It’s not the fastest vehicle in its class, but you can’t beat the mileage, that’s for sure.

The Silverado Hybrid crew-cab flatbed truck is also unique in its own right, and remains powerful despite that it is eats less at the pump, averaging 21 mpg in town and 22 mpg on the freeway for both the two-wheel and four-wheel drive versions. Amazingly, the engine is a whopping 6-liter V8 job yielding 332 horsepower. Plus, it’s capable of towing 6,100 pounds. Absolutely incredible.

Scott Burgess for The Detroit News is especially impressed with Silverado Hybrid’s the transmission. He writes:

The Silverado hybrid includes an electrically variable transmission, which is perhaps the masterpiece to this vehicle’s powertrain. While there are four fixed gears inside, it electronically manipulates it and makes it feel like a six-speed tranny. It also has the ability to shut out the electric motors when its little computer brain determines the stress is too much — such as towing a boat up a steep hill.

It seems that Detroit has finally come around to understanding that the cars they sell need to consume the least amount of gasoline possible without sacrificing power or performance. Both the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid and Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid are excellent proof examples of this revelation.

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