does the escape hybrid fwd and 4wd get the same mileage while the 4x4 is off?

 

There is no off. The AWD system is always on in continuous operation.

Personally, I live in a wooded and unpaved area, and during the winter, 4WD is a big help to have. (Not that I go crusing around as if I Have AWD traction; I know how to drive in adverse weather conditions, and I prefer 4WD in those situations.) My parents Escort has gotten stuck in my driveway after some bad snowstorms, while I don't even have to think about it, so yes, I'm glad I got it; although I live a ways North of Detroit.

Sure, during the warmer months I may have gotten 40+ MPG regularly had I gotten FWD, but getting 37+ and having the 4WD to help out in the winter is worth it for me.

 

whats the diff btw awd and 4wd?

 

The 'general' difference is that true 4WD locks all hubs together (they all spin a the same speed -- this means you can feel the binding when turning because the outside weels really need to travel farther than the inside wheels and yet all wheels are locked to turn at the same speed) -- whereas AWD systems have a limited slip differential between hubs so they spin at "about" the same speed but are allowed to vary so that there is no binding on turns. That's the "general" concept.

I checked my FEH 4WD owners manual and it basically same the system is always active attempting to determine if there is any slippage and automatically diverting power to other wheels to compensate -- well... this sort of sounds a lot like AWD to me -- and the Mariner system is AWD not 4WD. It makes me wonder if it isn't really the same system but they market it as different names.

The FEH 4WD has no controls. You cannot manually turn 4WD mode on & off or set a high/low range. The only way you'd know the car has 4WD is that the cosmetic panel left of the heater controls says "4x4" and if you get out and peek under the rear bumber you'll see that there is a rear differential (the same space is empty on a FWD version).

Ford does say that if the system senses that it is overheating that it will do a 4WD "lockout" as a safety and will shutdown until it's able to cool down. Possibly the system is 2WD and diverts auto-activates 4WD if it detects slippage.

I own the 4WD version and I _can_ tell that it's got better traction on snow than my FWD car.

 

In the FEH's case, nothing. Typically 4wd and 4x4 I've seen used to designate vehicles where there isn't a separate differential for the other set of wheels. This means that leaving the vehicle in 4wd mode on DRY pavement will wear the tires and decrease controllability because as you turn corners one tire wants to turn faster than the other... without a differential that can't happen.

On an AWD system it is on all the time there is an extra differential so all the wheels can turn at slightly different rates when cornering, etc... so you can have it on all the time (and it is on all the time) even on dry pavement and you won't ruin your tires or have control problems.

The Ford went with a different naming convention.. the IDENTICAL system is called AWD on the Mariner, and 4WD on the Escape... probably to give the Escape a more "rugged" sounding name and the Mariner the more refined AWD name. Its marketing...

Why would someone want a real 4x4? In a real situation where you have limited traction, an AWD will send some extra power to the slipping wheels (because it thinks its doing a corner essentially) that power is wasted... on a 4x4 that won't happen so in really poor situations (sand, rocks, offroad, deep snow) the 4x4 is better at getting out.

That explanation is probably not exactly technical but its the basics of the difference... I'll leave it to an expert to clarify the mechanics which I've probably screwed up.

 

ok, those explanations make since. i was confused that the 4x4 could not be turned off. my mother owns a frod bronco, and always told me it was essential to NOT turn on the 4x4 unless we were in bad weather conditions( such as snow) and that we could mess something up if we used it and there was no reason. which is why i assumed if the escape had 4x4 , that it could turn off.

it sounds like it is not true 4x4. if it is, that is an awfully smart system to be able to turn the 4x4 off and on automatically when needed.

 

Yea, I learned the hard way with my previous Jeeps.

With their part time command trac, you could not use it on dry pavement. I always found that such a pain when, in the winter, I had to shift in and out of 4wd as I went from snow covered roads to plowed/dry roads, and back again.

With their full time select trac, you could use it on dry pavements. So, in the snow, I could shift into 4wd and just leave it there.

Both are still "true" 4wd systems. It is just how flexible they were.

 

The Escape/Mariner typically drives in FWD mode. When slipping is detected on one of the wheels, some of the power is shifted to the rear wheels. Even though 4WD/AWD model is usually driving in FWD mode, it gets poorer fuel mileage because of the added weight of the 4WD/AWD components.

 

They may be right... it may do the electronic sense trick, I don't know one way or the other and the documentation SEEMS to imply it. But it doesn't have to be smart to be on all the time and save the tires. The mechanical differentials would take care of that even without any intelligent system.

 

As a perhaps BETTER source of info..... if you are intersted in the AWD/4WD comparision check out

http://www.cartalk.com/content/colum...01/May/05.html