Getting close to ordering my FEH but now debating whether to get the AWD. I've been driving 4WD trucks since '86, and 99% of the time the high clearance alone is sufficient for the rough roads I travel without having to engage 4WD.

So I wondering about the AWD system in the FEH. I assume it's identical to what's in the regular Escape, but I can't find a good description of that system anywhere.

Does the system use a limited-slip differential on either front or rear to route the power to the wheel that's got the most traction, or is it just an open differential? And how does torque get split between the front and rear? Is there a differential or transfer case between front and rear?

Am I correct that the AWD costs about 10% in FE over the FWD? Thanks for any info.

Don

 

I have a Mercury Mariner Hybrid - All wheel drive - go to your Lincon Mercury Dealer and check clearance etc. - Yes, It does cost more - and its the way a stock Mercury Mariner Hybrid is built - unlike the Ford Escape - which you can order in a front wheel drive only - Fuel mileage will suffer a little from the AWD too -

recently - I got 33 mph average over a 85 mile trip from here to Newark Airport and back - it was a clear 80 degree day - low humidy - did not have the AC on either -

for the money - the Mercury has it all over the Escape as far as looks !

PHIL

 

The diffs are all open. Power to the rear wheels is controlled by a set of clutches in front of the rear diff. The max torque that can be sent to the rear wheels is 50%.

 

Went off-roading to Hungry Valley this last Saturday with my 4wd FEH... I'm impressed. Even with the standard tires (good fuel economy but bad grip) the car just kept going. It's a weird feeling, takes a bit to get used to it. It does not get you the feed back you are used to on a gas car: No noise from the engine, no high revs or gear downs, no tire burning... makes you think is not going to make it, I cannot hear the power. But it does. It's like having a low gear range.

On the practice area I went up the beaten side, as a joke to my wife (I went up one of the sides, and she jumped out of the car once I stop on the top. She was up for a long day... jejeje) She was standing at the top, I went down and headed for the bad side. Began going up, slowly, in electric, thinking it was going to stop (did not even floor it)... and kept going up. I was like "man, the other cars make it look so difficult..." half way up, the engine fired up... I gave it some more "gas", but it does not behave like a normal car: there was not substantial speed change (I did not feel any) but it kept going up slow, like if I had engaged the low ratio. Impressive. I did not go up on the "beaten sand" tracks of the other cars, just slighly to the side since I knew my tires wont be up to that. With style, actually.

Down hills need to be taken with care, since there is no engine braking if the battery is full.

So we kept going on Hungry Valley road, and once I got to the other end of the park, turned around and got into some other path. Pipeline road, then Freeman Canyon E and W... up to Powerline Road and then followed that until we finally made it back to the asphalt.

The first half of it was a piece of cake. Just sandy trails. Then we began going up. And up. My wife screamed as we lost the sight of the horizon on some of the step hills, thought the car was going to tip over as we went up and inclined, the rear tires loosing tracktion on the worst inclines as I kept it slow and steady... At some point, she found a excuse to jump to the back seat with the kids :o) I always had the feeling that we wernt going to make it, but the car kept going. Even with those tires, as I was alble to drive it so slow it only slipped one tire a couple of times, and it was really pushing the tire limits, not the car. It was just the feeling, as most of the torque at those speeds comes from the electric motor and the gas engine was probably turning the generator to provide extra amps...

I really got worried at some of the inclines, especially the ones pointing the car straight up to the sky where you lost the horizon and could not see what was at the other side until you where past the top ( /\). There where only motorbikes and quads on the trails we where. I stayed on the "blue" (moderate) difficulty trails, no black ones.

I had no issues with heat (it was probably 90 outside) and all the angles on the car are good, did not touch anywhere. Is not a Jeep Wrangler but did it very well, and half of the way it was using electric power! By the time I got back home I had still 28MPG on the display (My wife had 22! when I took the car, guess she had been idling with the AC on)

I had Land Rovers and a samurai back in Spain. The car did as good as them. And in electric! There was no rubber burning or all the "show off" stuff, but hey, while they show off their noise I go silently...

Only miss the "engine braking", as going on the step hills required use of brakes (not that they get hot, just that for control it's better to use the engine on low gears) and perhaps a rear limited slip but I did not find any sand on the uphills.

Go out, have fun. The car can handle it if you take it easy.

Juan S. Fernandez
2006 FEH - 06 HCH

 

Try Low gear on the declines. It will either charge the battery if needed or will simply spin up the engine with no fuel being used to bleed off the extra forward momentum.. Low gear does not affect the gear ratio as it does on a standard transmission, its only effect is when you let off the accelerator pedal.

Read the posting about low gear advantage here

 

Low gear works fine when on the road and on trails, as long as the battery isnt full... I was talking about serious inclines off road where you need to go even slower than what L provides. But it's ok for most situations.

 

Are the rear wheels in the AWD model driven by the ICE, or are they driven by electric motors on demand?

 

Both - ICE and electric -

 

Thanks

 

If you're asking whether there's a dedicated drive motor for each rear wheel, then no, there are no motors just for the rear wheels. Like the front wheels, the rear wheels are powered through a differential by whatever combination of ICE and or EV is engaged. I believe that power transfer to the rear is on demand. Some wheel slippage must occur in front before any power is transferred to the rear wheels. Hope I said that right.