It’s a frequently asked question: “Why isn’t the Ford Escape Hybrid in your ratings?” With the recent fluctuations in fuel costs, some have wondered why we don’t list this efficient American hybrid SUV.

Here’s the reason: We had tested the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid. But when Ford updated the Escape for 2008, they didn’t make all of the upcoming changes to the car at once. For 2008, the Escape had a less-than-extreme interior and exterior makeover and non-hybrid Escapes finally got standard stability control. Problem was, the Hybrid wasn’t so blessed for 2008. That omission was addressed for 2009, along with the addition of a new 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine for both the Hybrid and non-hybrid. Since we buy all the cars we test, we prefer to get more “shelf life” out of them, ensuring they have long-term value to our readers. So we didn’t test an Escape Hybrid when we evaluated the 2008 Escape V6. (Watch the Ford Escape road test video.) Instead, we waited for a 2009 Hybrid to assess the substantial changes for the new model year.

As it turns out, even the last Escape we tested didn’t last long: the V6 got several upgrades for 2009, including more power and claimed better braking -- a sore spot in our tests. So now we own two more Escapes: a 2009 four-cylinder and a V6.

As for the Hybrid, it seems they’re a hot commodity, with long waiting lists and next to none available sitting on dealer lots. So we put our name on a list and waited. And waited. We waited until we found a 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid sitting on a local lot. Since the Mariner and Escape only differ cosmetically, we grabbed it.

All of the Mariners we could find were pretty much loaded; we couldn’t escape (no pun intended) buying one without a navigation system. Along with leather and sunroof, these options pushed the price from an already high $32,225 to a lofty $36,615.

We’ll see if the Mariner meets or beats the 26 mpg overall that we got with the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid we last tested. Expect a First Drive report online soon.

--Tom Mutchler

Photo by Mike Leung