2 Ford Escape
An SUV that gets 36 mpg in the city? Here it is.
William Clay Ford, CEO, admitted years ago that SUVs were
environmentally unfriendly, so he's touting the first domestic
hybrid in its class. This Escape has the bring-the-family feel of a
vehicle that seats five with plenty of cargo space, but with
mileage that averages 36 in the city - 400 to 500 miles on a single
tank. It's billed to deliver V6-like performance, 1,000 pounds of
towing capability, and optional four-wheel drive, without
sacrificing any creature comforts: leather seating, upgraded audio
systems, and a new navigation system exclusive to Ford's line of
hybrids (this is its first).
Suggested retail: $26,970 minus options, taxes, and delivery.
3 Mercury Mariner
For evidence that hybrid vehicles are coming into their own, look
no further than the Mercury Mariner, which wasn't scheduled to hit
the market until late 2006. It's now on its way by this fall, part
of an overall strategy to almost double Lincoln and Mercury sales -
to 500,000 from 300,000 annually - by 2010.
"Mariner hybrid is the smart, sophisticated solution to
environmental responsibility," says Darryl Hazel,
president of
Lincoln Mercury. The Mariner shares its hybrid technology with its
sister vehicle, the Ford Escape. It can accelerate to 25 miles per
hour without help from the gasoline engine, giving it estimated
fuel efficiency of 33 mpg in the city, 29 on the highway. The
Mariner's amenities are in keeping with Mercury's more upscale
image: heated leather seats, a system that senses objects behind
the car when it's in reverse gear, power everything, even heated
side mirrors.
Suggested retail: To be determined, but it'll be somewhere north of
the Escape's sticker price.