Watch out, Toyota, it looks like there might be a new sheriff in Hybridtown, and instead of a badge, he’s wearing a Blue Oval. Just ask the motoring mavens from Kelley Blue Book (KBB), who put two Ford hybrids on their list of Top 10 Green Cars for 2010, exactly matching the Japanese automaker’s total.
These included the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid, which offers the kind of stellar fuel economy that’s made it a star player in the automaker’s lineup. The key for the Fusion is that it can achieve 41 mpg city/36 mpg highway/39 mpg combined, while still delivering all the balance and comfort of a traditional mid-size sedan. Well, that and a slew of high-tech Ford features, including the latest generation of the breakthrough Ford Sync in-car connectivity system, a SmartGauge instrument cluster that graphically “coaches” owners to help them drive more efficiently, a rearview camera setup and a blind-spot alert.
And notably, KBB isn’t the only group handing out awards to the Fusion hybrid—it was also named “Motor Trend” magazine’s 2010 Car of the Year.
As for the Escape, the small crossover is earning big love from buyers, thanks to its ability to ring up an EPA line of 34 mpg city/31 mpg highway/32 mpg combined in its front-wheel-drive configuration and a very impressive 30 mpg city/27 mpg highway/29 mpg combined when kitted out with full-time four-wheel drive. The Escape also offers a particularly interesting green benefit on the inside, where its seat covers are made of 100 percent “post-industrial materials” that would have otherwise been destined for the landfill, and its seat cushions are made from a polyurethane foam that comes from plant oils.
Plus, Escape buyers get access to many of the same goodies found on the Fusion—as well as an automated parallel-parking-assist feature—but in a rugged vehicle that offers 8.3 inches of ground clearance and departure/approach angles of about 19.6 degrees/27.7 degrees.
Simply put, as both KBB and Ford agree, the Escape is the most fuel-efficient SUV on the planet.
Take that, Toyota.
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