2005 Ford Escape Hybrid: In the Autoblog Garage Day 2

We really want to discuss the Hybrid's powertrain in depth, however today we're going to discuss the interior. The Ford Escape Hybrid's interior is actually a nice place to spend some time. The seating position, with any SUV, is upright and provides an excellent view of the road ahead. The interior is certainly not the worst we've seen. It is, however, a little spartan. Everything works, however. None of the switchgear feels cheap, but it does not impress you with thought out tactile feedback.

The Escape is not a luxury vehicle, however. For those looking for more luxurious appointments in a hybrid SUV, right now the Lexus RX400h Hybrid is your only option. The Mercury Mariner Hybrid can be pre-ordered now, but, depending on your location, the Lexus RX Hybrid isn?t really available for instant gratification either. So if you absolutely need a hybrid SUV, but want luxury, get the Escape Hybrid but option it out with leather. Our tester came equipped with leather seating surfaces. The leather does add a touch of class to the Escape?s interior. We said that the Escape isn?t a luxury vehicle, but it does have a classiness that we weren?t expecting. Overall materials quality is good, and everything seems pretty durable. The only exception would be the rear cup holders, we feel like they?re just waiting to be kicked off the back of the center console.

The front seats are comfortable. The rear seats offer decent room for most passengers. Even this 6'4" passenger was able to get in there and find some comfort. This is one vehicle that would benefit if Ford decided to sacrifice some ?ground? clearance for a deeper foot well or lower floor over all, however. The short wheel base of the Escape means that there isn?t that much room from an interior perspective. We would say that is a lot roomier than it appears from the exterior. The interior dimensions compare well to the other SUV hybrids. When we looked at these numbers, we were shocked. We?ve seen the regular versions of both the Highlander and RX, but we would have never put them up against the Escape. The Escape may not be as wide as the Toyota products, but it can almost compete with their other dimensions. It makes the Escape more appealing, especially when you consider the price difference. All the numbers below are in inches.

Interior	RX400h	Escape	Highlander
Front Head	39.3	40.4	38.6
Rear Head	38.6	39.2	37.8
Front Shoulder	57.9	56.3	57.9
Rear Shoulder	57.1	55.9	57.1
Front Hip	55.6	53.4	55.2
Rear Hip	55.1	49.1	54.6
Front Leg	42.5	41.6	42.9
Rear Leg	36.4	36.3	34.6