Pathetic Gas Mileage

[khyros]

Aye. I still LOVE my escape, despite the laundry list of "issues" I have with it. On a day that I'm not going to Lowe's/Home Depot, you won't hear me complain about my purchase. A point I forgot to add regarding the highway testing vs. real world comparison... The Escape's not a very streamlined product, and has a greater aero drag than the average car would have. So that would mean that the increase from 48mph to 75mph would affect it more than a streamlined car would. Thus, if one was to conclude the varied duty cycle offsets the lower speed for the normal car - it would predict a higher number for the Escape than real world driving would produce.

 

While I don't have drag coefficient or frontal area numbers to support this claim - all you have to do is compare it to other Ford SUVs. The Explorer 2.0L Ecoboost gets 20/28, Edge 2.0L Ecoboost gets 21/30, and the Escape 2.0L FWD Ecoboost gets 22/28. The size of the Escape is smaller than both of those, which means that the aero drag has to be much greater. The parasitical losses on the Explorer and Edge are going to be higher just due to the nature that they're heavier vehicles. Which means that the Frontal area * coefficient of drag has to be greater for the Escape than either the Edge or Explorer... and we all know the frontal area is smaller, which means that the actual design of the Escape, while looking sleek, is not aerodynamically efficient.

 

The only potential caveat to this reasoning is that on the Explorer and Edge, the 2.0L is fuel economy engine. On the Escape, it is the premium engine. As such, the tuning (namely turbo and Ti-VCT) would be more aggressive. I wouldn't doubt minor differences in the actual engine (Cam lobe profile, Intake manifold) to provide a different feel... They do similar things with the 5.0L on the Mustang/F Series and the 3.5L on Explorer Sport (truncated exhaust manifold due to underhood space - results in 350hp instead of 365) vs. Truck (tuned for low end torque) vs. Sho (tuned for high end power).

[GaryG]

I was disappointed in the design of the rear of the new Escape. I have the '09 FEH that has the same problem. Have you noticed that the rear spoiler of most SUV built today have that same extended roof beyond the rear door? This is to reduce suction of the wind going over the top of the vehicle from the rear of the vehicle. This rear suction is what I've found is a big killer of MPG. Ford is putting this spoiler on the '11 Explorer and newer, and also on the Edge. Even the newer F-150 have this little curve built into the tailgate now.

 

What I found on my '09 FEH without the spoiler, is that waxing it reduced MPG from a dirty FEH. Waxing allows the air to stay together more and create more rear suction on the rear of the vehicle. These rear spoilers on the newer SUV's is to reduce that suction to get better MPG. Even at vehicle speeds as low as 20mph, I can see less MPG with my waxed FEH. Of course that would be in a faster battery drain in EV and recharging the battery reduces MPG of the engine.

[ScapeTom]

OK, so the Ultra-Gauge arrived today and I immediately got busy setting it up. There are a boatload of features and measurements, that's for certain. Right now, I'm trying to get the most critical ones on the first page.

 

It is interesting watching the instantaneous MPG change with varying conditions. It's intuitively correct, but the MPG change is rather huge when you go from coasting to climbing a hill. It's also interesting how quick it goes into boost.

 

It will be an interesting tool/toy to work/play with.

 

GaryG - I'm curious about the value of the spoiler. The Si had a pretty big spoiler/wing, but it was more designed to hold the rear down when you were flying down that curvy stretch of road. If the device like on the Explorer & Edge is really helpful, maybe an aftermarket company could manufacture a quality bolt-on.

[GaryG]

OK, so the Ultra-Gauge arrived today and I immediately got busy setting it up. There are a boatload of features and measurements, that's for certain. Right now, I'm trying to get the most critical ones on the first page.

 

It is interesting watching the instantaneous MPG change with varying conditions. It's intuitively correct, but the MPG change is rather huge when you go from coasting to climbing a hill. It's also interesting how quick it goes into boost.

 

It will be an interesting tool/toy to work/play with.

 

GaryG - I'm curious about the value of the spoiler. The Si had a pretty big spoiler/wing, but it was more designed to hold the rear down when you were flying down that curvy stretch of road. If the device like on the Explorer & Edge is really helpful, maybe an aftermarket company could manufacture a quality bolt-on.

 

You don't want a spoiler to hold the rear down, you want a smooth sealed extension of the roof over the rear cargo window like the Explorer. There was an after market spoiler made for the '08 -'12 Escape, but it had a gap between the roof cargo door that would not give the same suction effect killer as the one on the Explorer. Those of us on cleanmpg.com agreed that spoiler was not worth mounting on our FEH's.

 

If you want to see the effects of a spoiler like the Explorer, watch your Instant MPG as you get behind a big rig. You don't have to get dangerously close to see the rigs suction behind the truck. Your instant MPG will climb the closer you get. I don't like the word drafting, because you should never get that close. My '09 FEH MPG will shoot-up much more than my Explorer just because its spoiler cut much of the rear suction already. So yes, those devices like the ones on my Explorer will increase your MPG greatly. That's why I was very disappointed the Escape did not get a spoiler.

 

Now that you have a digital instant MPG, you can try the things I've learn over the years. You can see what works and what doesn't increase your MPG.