All About Ford Escape Eco Mode
Eco Mode, ECO Cruise, EcoBoost®—all these names can get confusing, but car insurance app Jerry explains how to take advantage of them with your Ford Escape.
Written by Alita Dark
Reviewed by Brittni Brinn
Putting your Ford Escape into Eco Mode is a great way to improve your fuel efficiency—and if you have a hybrid, it will maximize your driving range.
But Eco Mode isn’t the only method Ford has implemented to help save you money on gas and feel good about your environmental impact. Newer Escapes come equipped with the EcoBoost® engine, and there’s even an ECO Cruise setting specifically for improving your cruise control experience.
Car insurance
comparison app Jerry
has whipped up this helpful guide to explain the differences between Ford’s Eco options so you can get the most out of your vehicle. We’ll also teach you how to maximize your Ford Escape insurance costs!What is Ford Escape Eco Mode?
The Ford Escape comes with several different driving modes, each of which impacts the car differently. The Eco Mode is specifically designed to decrease the environmental burden and increase your miles to the gallon. So if you’re budget-conscious, this is a good mode to have enabled.
Now you know what it does—but how does it work? It collects and analyzes data about your driving habits, then uses it to give you an efficiency rating so you can understand the impact your behavior is having on your fuel and energy consumption. Here are some factors that contribute to your rating:
- Length of drive: The more short trips you take, the less time the engine has to warm up properly and deliver maximum efficiency. Making longer trips allows for better overall gas mileage.
- Speed: The faster you go, the more gas and energy you consume. Traveling at lower speeds is more fuel-efficient.
- Gear shifting: Driving in the highest appropriate gear improves efficiency.
- Braking: Similar to gear shifting, constant stop-and-go will take a toll on your mpg.
- Anticipation levels: The better your skills at anticipating what other drivers around you will do, the less heavy braking or sudden acceleration you’ll have to do.
The Eco Mode system displays your efficiency via a five-petal system—there are three flower icons: one each for gear shifts, anticipation, and speed. The better you are in an area, the more petals you’ll fill up. The display is meant to make you think critically about your driving habits and make adjustments where needed to improve your economy.
Other driving modes in newer Ford Escape models include:
- Normal: For everyday driving
- Slippery: To take on icy or snow-covered roads
- Sport: For faster acceleration and improved handling
Key Takeaway The Ford Escape Eco Mode will not adjust your driving for you, but it will help you keep track of behaviors that can make a difference.
Does Ford Escape Eco Mode save fuel?
Realistically, drivers can expect to save around 5% of their fuel consumption if they continuously use Eco Mode. You can keep an eye on how you’re doing by checking the Fuel Economy Display, which tells you your average fuel economy, as well as the fuel economy for your current trip. Reset this at any time by pressing and holding the “OK” button on your steering wheel.
What’s the difference between Ford Escape Eco Mode, ECO Cruise, and EcoBoost?
We’ve already covered Eco Mode in-depth, but that doesn’t explain what ECO Cruise and EcoBoost are. Let’s start with the simpler of the two.
ECO Cruise is similar to Eco Mode, but its sole focus is on cruise control—and it actually makes adjustments for you. It works just like standard cruise control but with more gradual acceleration to bring you up to your desired speed.
You can tell whether or not this mode is active by checking to see if the ECO part of your display is highlighted in green. Not every Ford Escape has adaptive cruise control, but if yours does, it’s another helpful way to save yourself some miles to the gallon.
So what is EcoBoost? It’s not a mode in your vehicle at all—it’s actually the engine! Ford EcoBoost engines are meant to improve your fuel economy straight from the source. Turbocharged and direct-injected, these engines are meant to lose as little energy as possible.
In conventional engines, energy is lost in the exhaust. Not so with an EcoBoost—it takes the force of the exhaust and uses it to generate even more power by pushing the air back into the engine. Most Ford models either come standard or can be equipped with an EcoBoost engine, including the Escape.
MORE: How to get better gas mileage
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4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ driversHow to turn Ford Escape Eco Mode on and off
Turning Eco Mode on and off is simple. Find the “Eco” button—which is located on your center console—press it, and voilà! A small leaf icon will appear on your display, along with the word “Eco.” When you’re ready to turn it off, just press the button again and check that the leaf symbol has disappeared from the screen.
Is Ford Escape Eco Mode worth it?
The Ford Escape’s Eco Mode is less intrusive than other makes, where your acceleration and speed might be affected—but it also doesn’t provide much benefit. You may save a few bucks here and there at the gas station, that’s true. But unless you’re willing to model your driving habits after what the system tells you to do, you won’t get even that.
The good news is your EcoBoost engine is under the hood doing some of the work all by itself. It won’t make itself obvious through a display on your dashboard, but keep an eye on your average fuel economy. You may be surprised by how much of an impact it has—even if it’s mostly invisible.
And you should consider ECO Cruise when you’re on the highway as well. It may take you longer to accelerate after you brake or when going up hills, but that’s a small price to pay when you’re driving for hours and could really use the enhanced gas mileage.
MORE: What standard features come in the Ford Escape SE interior?
How to save on Ford Escape insurance
If you are a fan of Eco Mode, it’s a safe bet you probably want to save money in other areas of car ownership. How about on your Ford car insurance?
Jerry
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