Hybrid SUVs Achieve Greater Mileage

Most of the new Hybrid SUVs offer better mileage than conventional gasoline cars. The hybrid sport-utility vehicles in 2010 and 2011 will power drivers with new robust green technologies and higher mpg ratings.

By: Rob Adams
Published: Jul 10, 2009
Updated: Feb 8, 2010

Articles - Hybrid SUVs Achieve 34 MPG Rating

Hybrid SUVs are in hot demand but the recent mpg estimates have turned away consumers who shop for a new hybrid alternative solution. Auto companies including Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler offer sport-utility vehicles, but they are considered mild hybrids. However, the Ford Escape SUV is the best when it comes to mileage.

Ford sells a trio of sport-utility vehicles including the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute, which all ride on the same platform and are very similar to each other. The automaker has been building fuel efficient cars for years. The Hybrid Escape earns an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated 34 mpg city, 31 mpg highway and 32 mpg combined in two-wheel-drive guise.

If you opt for the all-wheel-drive version, the fuel-economy numbers drop slightly to 29 mpg city, 27 mpg highway and 28 mpg combined. Even so, this is still excellent mileage. Hybrid sport-utility vehicles have struggled in sales partly because the vehicle does not have a green image to start with.

Higher Priced Fuel Efficient Hybrid SUVs

These hybrid vehicles don't offer the same gas mileage as hybrid cars, but they do get better gas mileage than their non-hybrid counterparts. In addition, the sport-utility vehicles and trucks are priced about $3,500 to 6,000 dollars higher than their conventional counterparts. However, automakers have big plans starting next year to increase mileage.

Chrysler opted to offer Two-Mode hybrid trucks only with all-wheel-drive while GM's similarly powered Tahoe and Yukon can be had in rear-wheel or all-wheel-drive. In comparison, both brands get an equal 20 mpg in stop-and-go traffic. Chrysler desperately needs to find a new niche when it emerges from bankruptcy.

It is also interesting to note that Chrysler's hybrid system was developed in a partnership with GM, Daimler, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. It carries the same system available in GM SUVs. The system is called a Two-Mode hybrid and can operate in electric power modes at slower speeds. It uses a combination of a gas engine and electric assistance for more power at higher speeds.

Chrysler is using its 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 with a Multi-Displacement System (MDS) that also shuts down four of the eight cylinders in this engine under light load conditions. Chrysler is projecting a 25 percent improvement in fuel economy over the non-hybrid 5.7-liter Hemi V-8. However, sales were poor and consumers found that GM and Ford SUVs were better.

GM actually built the first line of full-size hybrid sport-utility, which averaged about 20 miles per gallon, and a 25 percent improvement over the conventional baseline model. It is almost difficult to say that this even a hybrid with a 20 mpg rating, but they had to start somewhere. The automaker also relies on the Two-Mode system, which is a more advanced technology.

Toyota and Honda are also working on new hybrid sport-utility vehicles. If you are currently looking for a vehicle, you should check out the Ford Hybrid SUVs, especially the Escape. It offers the best mileage in its class.