Audi to reveal TT-RS Roadster at Leipzig Motor Show

Audi rolled out the fixed-head version of its new TT-RS a couple of weeks ago at the Geneva Motor Show, but a topless version was nowhere in sight. There's a reason for that: this weekend at Germany's Leipzig AMI show, the automaker will be expanded the stylish coupe with a open-top version.

Predictably, the TT-RS Roadster gets the same 340-horsepower, turbocharged 2.5-liter five cylinder as the coupe, which in this case should get the topless TT-RS to 62 mph in just 4.7 sec by putting the power down through all four wheels. The brakes also get a major upgrade with cross-drilled rotors all around, as does the suspension.

Elsewhere on the Audi stand in Leipzig, the A5 and S5 Cabrio and A4 all-road quattro will get their German premieres.

Audi at AMI Leipzig: exhibit to include world premieres

• Audi shows the Audi TT RS Roadster for the first time

• German premieres for the Audi A4 allroad quattro, Audi A5 Cabriolet, S5 Cabriolet and Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro


• Show cars: Audi A1 Sportback concept and Audi A4 TDI concept e
  

Visitors to AMI Leipzig 2009 will witness the world premiere of the Audi TT RS Roadster at the Audi exhibition stand at the Leipzig Motor Show, Hall 1. From March 28 to April 5, visitors will be able to view a total of 20 production models, two show cars and two historic cars at the roughly 2,100 square meter (22,604.21 square feet) exhibition stand. The spotlight will also be on the German premieres of the new Audi A4 allroad quattro, the Audi A5 and S5 Cabriolets and the Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro.

Audi is forging a link with its 5-cylinder tradition with the Audi TT RS Roadster and TT RS Coupé. Customers will begin taking delivery of the sports car this summer. The 2.5-liter engine with turbocharging and direct fuel injection generates 340 hp (250 kW) and accelerates the sports car from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 4.7 seconds – with average fuel consumption of just 9.5 liters (24.76 mpg). The permanent all-wheel drive quattro, a suspension fine-tuned to match the powerful engine, and high-performance brakes make the car a star in its class. With its light Audi Space Frame (ASF) car body, constructed primarily from aluminum, the TT RS is a road machine through and through.

With its greater ground clearance, the fun with the Audi A4 allroad quattro really begins where the asphalt ends. The youngest member of the A4 family features innovative technology – including its powerful, highly efficient engines and Audi drive select, the new driving dynamics system.

The Audi A4 allroad quattro 2.0 TDI with 170 hp (125 kW), consumes an average of just 6.4 liters per 100 kilometers (36.75 mpg). Customers looking to get the most powerful engine should order the A4 allroad quattro featuring a V6 TDI with 240 hp (176 kW).

Dynamic, self-assured and picture perfect – that describes the new Audi A5 Cabriolet. The new A5 Cabriolet features the soft top Audi is known for. It can open in just 15 seconds at speeds up to 50 km/h (31.07 mph). The A5 Cabriolet rolls up to the starting line with three gasoline engines and two diesel engines. The range of performance starts at 170 hp (125 kW) in the 2.0 TDI and tops out at 265 hp (195 kW) in the 3.2 FSI. The A5 Cabriolet 2.0 TDI will be arriving on the scene later. The top model for the new model line is the Audi S5 Cabriolet. The letter S traditionally stands for confident sportiness, for dynamics, performance and power, and for amazing efficiency. The Audi S5 Cabriolet is powered by a newly developed, turbocharged V6 engine with 333 hp (245 kW).

In the second quarter of 2009, Audi will add more building blocks to its modular efficiency kit, including an on-board computer with efficiency program and the start-stop system. The start-stop system reduced consumption in a standardized driving cycle by 0.2 liters/100 km (0.05 mpg), or 5 grams of CO2 per kilometer (8.05 g per mile). The system is being used for the first time in all of the new A5 Cabriolet models that have a 2-liter engine – TDI or TFSI – combined with a manual transmission. It will be added to more models during the course of the year, including the Audi A4 allroad quattro. Visitors will also be able to view the Audi A3 1.4 TFSI with start-stop system at the exhibition stand. The on-board computer with efficiency program displays all consumption-relevant data in the center console, offering potential savings of up to 30 percent.

The Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro will be exhibited for the first time in Germany at the AMI Leipzig. The 10-cylinder engine of the R8 generates 525 hp (386 kW), making it possible to go from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in just 3.9 seconds, and reaches a top speed of 316 km/h (196.35 mph). Top Audi technology like the quattro drive system, the lightweight aluminum body and all-LED headlights – the first of their kind used in series production – make the R8 a technological forerunner in its segment.

The most efficient member of Audi's high-volume A3 model line will also be on display at the AMI Leipzig: the Audi A3 1.9 TDI e. To achieve average consumption of 4.5 liters (52.27 mpg) and thus a CO2 level of 119 grams per kilometer (191.51 g/mile) and a range of more than 1,000 kilometers per full tank (621.37 miles), changes made to the A3 1.9 TDI included adjustment of the transmission ratios. The gearshift indicator shows which gear is the best choice. In addition, with the Audi A6 2.0 TDI e and Audi A8 2.8 FSI, Audi is exhibiting two more e models that set the pace in their segment when it comes to consumption.

Audi is working tirelessly on further reducing consumption and emissions. The groundbreaking Audi A4 TDI concept e, with its innovative technical concept, delivers the agile handling Audi is known for while consuming an average of just 3.99 liters of fuel per 100 kilometer (58.95 mpg), which corresponds to CO2 emissions of just 105 g/km (168.98 g/mile). The drive system of the Audi A4 TDI concept e is a direct-injection TDI with 120 hp (88 kW).

The Audi stand will also feature the Audi A1 Sportback concept show car, a compact five-door four-seater. The car, which is 3.99 meters long and 1.75 meters wide (13.09 feet long by 5.74 feet wide), combines trendsetting dynamic styling with optimized space efficiency and superb quality. Under the hood, there's a 1.4 liter TFSI 150 hp (110 kW) engine that powers the front wheels via S tronic. A 27 hp (20kW) electric motor integrated into the drive train delivers up to 150 Nm of additional torque when accelerating.

To mark its 100th anniversary, the brand with the four-ring logo will also be exhibiting historic cars in Leipzig. Construction of the 1938 Auto Union Silver Arrow Type D took four years. The original version of the car won two Grand Prix races in its heyday. The Audi 920, which generated 75 hp, will also be on display at the exhibition stand. With its 6-cylinder in-line engine, this car made a splash as a powerful and sporty midsize car when it was first sold in December 1938.

Audi will also be showing the A8 with an exclusive interior and design package. The Audi A8's comfort plus style package features Night Blue, pearl effect exterior paint, 12-spoke forged aluminum wheels, adaptive light with LED daytime driving lights, Valcona leather seat covers and Fine Nappa full-leather interiors, front and rear seat heating, and front seat air conditioning combined with massage function. The Audi product program also includes the Audi sport plus style package with all-new Panther Black crystal effect paint, which was developed especially for the Audi A8. Additional features include adaptive light with LED daytime driving lights and S design cast aluminum wheels in a dark steel color.

Audi will participate once again this year in the "AMI fuel efficiency hour" with two e models. During this event, sponsored by the German Motor Vehicle Importers Association (VDIK), exhibition visitors can learn highly efficient driving techniques from an instructor in an Audi A3 1.9 TDI e and an Audi A6 2.0 TDI e.

Visitors can take part in a daily drawing for a DTM Fan Package at 2.30 p.m. at the Audi stand. The package includes two tickets for grandstand seats and free access to the DTM paddocks.

Audi is also supporting the special "Movie Stars" show in the Glass Hall at this year's AMI Leipzig. The show features cars from TV and movies, including the Audi A8 W12 from the movie "Transporter 3".

2010 Ford Fusion SE 6MT

What we have here is a rare breed. A mid-size sedan from a domestic automaker equipped with a manually actuated clutch. In fact, the 2010 Ford Fusion (and its rebadged brother, the Mercury Milan) are the last examples offered with Detroit Three nameplates. The Fusion's competition from Chrysler and General Motors are only available with automatic gearboxes, and while the import brands all offer the option to shift-it-yourself, few are actually purchased by stick-averse Americans.

So when Ford released its powertrain combinations for the 2010 Fusion, we were surprised to find that not only was a manual available on S and SE four-cylinder models, but the Blue Oval also upgraded ye olde five-speed cog-swapper to a six-speed unit. As fans of the three-pedal arrangement, we promptly requested a manual Fusion to see how it stacks up to the high expectations set by the V6-powered 2010 Fusion Sport we've already reviewed.

As our regular readers and podcast listeners are aware, a large cross-section of the editorial staff are fans of the Ford Fusion. For a reasonable price you can pick up a decently equipped, nicely sized, attractive sedan that can accommodate a family of four in comfort, yet still be fun to drive. Most of us like the 2010 Fusion's exterior and interior updates, and for those that want something more visually sedate, Ford continues to offer the Milan through Mercury dealers.

Here at Autoblog's Ypsilanti, MI office, we like a bit of bold mixed in with our daily drivers. Just because you are schlepping the kids to school or commuting to work doesn't mean you have to be invisible. With the most aggressive iteration of the three bar grille motif, the new Fusion is far from subdued. Our tester was a mid-level SE model equipped with the new 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that debuted last year in the Escape. This was paired with a new six-speed manual transmission currently unavailable in any other North American market Ford, although we wouldn't be surprised to find that it winds up in the Focus and possibly the Fiesta.



With 175 horsepower and 172 lb-ft of torque, the four-cylinder Fusion is hardly a sports sedan, but that doesn't mean it's not a fun drive. With a comparatively modest (by modern standards) mass of 3,285 pounds, the four banger is more than adequate for daily commuting duties. And as the week progressed, we came to think of our Fusion as a riff on the sort of lightweight sport sedan you don't see anymore – the kind that didn't need massive amounts of power and kit to be thoroughly entertaining and quick to respond on twisty roads. If the span between your house and work-place includes stretches of winding tarmac, the manual-equipped Fusion could be just what you're looking for.

The clutch pedal is smooth and progressive, and one of the advantages of limited output is that the Fusion doesn't need a ridiculously heavy clutch to transmit power. That means that even if you get stuck in stop-and-go traffic, your left leg won't get a heavy workout. When things open up and you push the Fusion harder into and out of corners, the shift lever moves effortlessly through the gates with throws that aren't overly long. Using the six ratios wisely allows you to get the most out of the available power and torque while still returning acceptable fuel economy.

The Fusion's chassis is well sorted, allowing you to carry a surprising amount of momentum through the corners. If you opt for the SE trim over the S model, the rolling stock includes P225/50R17 all-season tires rather than P205/60R16 rubber. Interestingly, the 16-inch wheels on the Fusion S are aluminum while the 17-inch units on the SE are steel. In recent years, wheel makers have been able to develop new steel hoops that are just as light as aluminum and less expensive – a real boon when you hit a Michigan-sized pot-hole. And if the design on our 17-inch-equipped tester looks familiar, that's because it's the same style offered as an 18-inch alloy on the European Mondeo.

Like other Fusions we've driven (including the Sport), this four-cylinder version has a well sorted suspension with perfectly balanced spring rates to provide a decent ride over nasty roads, along with great damping and good roll control. The lighter four-pot and manual gearbox also means less mass on the front axle for better overall balance compared to the six-cylinder models.

As with the rest of the 2010 Fusions, the front seats offer solid comfort and lateral support. The rear seating provides plenty of legroom for adults, but with the optional sunroof, headroom does shrink. Ford's SYNC infotainment system worked well, with easy connection of phones and other devices partnered with reliable voice activation. Our SE model also had aluminum-look trim on the center stack, which looks far more attractive than any metal finish plastic or fake wood we've seen.

Ford estimates that 5% (or less) of Fusion/Milan buyers will option for the stick, but we hope the Blue Oval continues to buck the trend and keep it around. It's a great alternative for those who need a family-sized sedan, but aren't willing to completely compromise on driving dynamics. Our SE tester, equipped with the Sun & SYNC packages, stickered at $22,165, although these days, it's likely you can get one for quite a bit less. The time we spent with the Fusion was hopefully our last wave of frigid temps before spring arrives, so perhaps as a result of blasting the heaters and de-foggers, our mostly city fuel mileage was down more than we expected.

Over our week with the Fusion, we averaged 25 mpg compared to official EPA numbers of 22 city and 29 highway. The S, with its smaller wheels, gets up to 31 mpg on the highway, but the larger wheel and tire combo seems like a worthy compromise. Our numbers were only three mpg worse than the Milan Hybrid we drove earlier, and we might take another look at both powertrains when the weather gets warmer and gas prices inevitably climb

China Vies to Be World’s Leader in Electric Cars

Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that.

The goal, which radiates from the very top of the Chinese government, suggests that Detroit’s Big Three, already struggling to stay alive, will face even stiffer foreign competition on the next field of automotive technology than they do today.

“China is well positioned to lead in this,” said David Tulauskas, director of China government policy at General Motors.

To some extent, China is making a virtue of a liability. It is behind the United States, Japan and other countries when it comes to making gas-powered vehicles, but by skipping the current technology, China hopes to get a jump on the next.

Japan is the market leader in hybrids today, which run on both electricity and gasoline, with cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. The United States has been a laggard in alternative vehicles. G.M.’s plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt is scheduled to go on sale next year, and will be assembled in Michigan using rechargeable batteries imported from LG in South Korea.

China’s intention, in addition to creating a world-leading industry that will produce jobs and exports, is to reduce urban pollution and decrease its dependence on oil, which comes from the Mideast and travels over sea routes controlled by the United States Navy.

But electric vehicles may do little to clear the country’s smog-darkened sky or curb its rapidly rising emissions of global warming gases. China gets three-fourths of its electricity from coal, which produces more soot and more greenhouse gases than other fuels.

A report by McKinsey & Company last autumn estimated that replacing a gasoline-powered car with a similar-size electric car in China would reduce greenhouse emissions by only 19 percent. It would reduce urban pollution, however, by shifting the source of smog from car exhaust pipes to power plants, which are often located outside cities.

Beyond manufacturing, subsidies of up to $8,800 are being offered to taxi fleets and local government agencies in 13 Chinese cities for each hybrid or all-electric vehicle they purchase. The state electricity grid has been ordered to set up electric car charging stations in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin.

Government research subsidies for electric car designs are increasing rapidly. And an interagency panel is planning tax credits for consumers who buy alternative energy vehicles.

China wants to raise its annual production capacity to 500,000 hybrid or all-electric cars and buses by the end of 2011, from 2,100 last year, government officials and Chinese auto executives said. By comparison, CSM Worldwide, a consulting firm that does forecasts for automakers, predicts that Japan and South Korea together will be producing 1.1 million hybrid or all-electric light vehicles by then and North America will be making 267,000.

The United States Department of Energy has its own $25 billion program to develop electric-powered cars and improve battery technology, and will receive another $2 billion for battery development as part of the economic stimulus program enacted by Congress.

Premier Wen Jiabao highlighted the importance of electric cars two years ago with his unlikely choice to become minister of science and technology: Wan Gang, a Shanghai-born former Audi auto engineer in Germany who later became the chief scientist for the Chinese government’s research panel on electric vehicles.

Mr. Wan is the first minister in at least three decades who is not a member of the Communist Party.

And Premier Wen has his own connection to the electric car industry. He was born and grew up here in Tianjin, the longtime capital of China’s battery industry, 70 miles southeast of Beijing.

Tianjin has thrived in the six years since Mr. Wen became premier. It now has China’s first bullet train service (to Beijing), a new Airbus factory and an immaculate new airport. Tianjin has also received a surge of research subsidies for enterprises like the Tianjin-Qingyuan Electric Vehicle Company.

Electric cars have several practical advantages in China. Intercity driving is rare. Commutes are fairly short and frequently at low speeds because of traffic jams. So the limitations of all-electric cars — the latest models in China have a top speed of 60 miles an hour and a range of 120 miles between charges — are less of a problem.

First-time car buyers also make up four-fifths of the Chinese market, and these buyers have not yet grown accustomed to the greater power and range of gasoline-powered cars.

But the electric car industry faces several obstacles here too. Most urban Chinese live in apartments, and cannot install recharging devices in driveways, so more public charging centers need to be set up.

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries also have a poor reputation in China. Counterfeit lithium-ion batteries in cellphones occasionally explode, causing injuries. And Sony had to recall genuine lithium-ion batteries in laptops in 2006 and 2008 after some overheated and caught fire or exploded.

These safety problems have been associated with lithium-ion cobalt batteries, however, not the more chemically stable lithium-ion phosphate batteries now being adapted to automotive use.

The tougher challenge is that all lithium-ion batteries are expensive, whether made with cobalt or phosphate. That will be a hurdle for thrifty Chinese consumers, especially if gas prices stay relatively low compared to their highs last summer.

China is tackling the challenges with the same tools that helped it speed industrialization and put on the Olympics: immense amounts of energy, money and people.

BYD has 5,000 auto engineers and an equal number of battery engineers, most of them living at its headquarters in Shenzhen in a cluster of 15 yellow apartment buildings, each 18 stories high. Young engineers earn less than $600 a month, including benefits.

When Tianjin-Qingyuan puts its entirely battery-powered Saibao midsize sedan on sale this autumn, the body will come from a sedan that normally sells for $14,600 when equipped with a gasoline engine. But the engine and gas tank will be replaced with a $14,000 battery pack and electric motor, said Wu Zhixin, the company’s general manager.

That means the retail price will nearly double, to almost $30,000. Even if the government awards the maximum subsidy of $8,800 to buyers, that is a hefty premium.

Large-scale production could drive down the cost of the battery pack and electric motor by 30 or 40 percent, still leaving electric cars more expensive than gasoline-powered ones, Mr. Wu said.

But Mr. Wu has plenty of money to pursue improvements. He interrupted an interview at his company’s headquarters on Thursday to take a call on his cellphone, politely declined an offer from the caller, and hung up.

The general manager of a state-controlled bank had called to ask if he needed a loan, he explained.

Its Muscle Car Glory Faded, Pontiac Shrivels Up

Pontiac models, clockwise from top left: a 1968 GTO, a 1970 Firebird Trans Am, a 2005 GTO and a 2001 Aztek GT. The earlier models had far more fans.

With its history of building muscle cars like the GTO and the low-slung Firebird, Pontiac had good reason to take pride in its best-known marketing slogan from the 1980s, “We Build Excitement.”

Lately it has been using “Pontiac is CAR,” a phrase more likely to catch the attention of grammarians than car buffs.

And on Tuesday, when General Motors asked the federal government for more bailout money, it also announced a reorganization plan that included demoting Pontiac to a “focused niche brand,” signaling that its lineup of vehicles would shrink and that it would no longer be a separate division.

To industry analysts and Pontiac’s longtime fans, the downgrade provides a case study of the product missteps that helped put G.M. in its precarious state, and a reminder of the dangers in straying from a successful formula.


“When you deviate too far from it, that’s when you run into trouble as a brand and a company,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book, whose 1968 Firebird made him feel “as cool as I could be.”

More than any other G.M. brand, Pontiac stood for performance, speed and sex appeal. Its crosstown rivals followed with similar muscle cars, giving Detroit bragging rights over the cars that Japanese automakers were selling based on quality and reliability.

Though still G.M.’s third-best-selling division, behind Chevrolet and GMC, Pontiac’s sales peaked in 1984, when it sold almost 850,000 vehicles, roughly four times as many as it sold last year.

G.M.’s chief executive, Rick Wagoner, said the company’s decision to concentrate primarily on Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC left the company with a “comprehensive portfolio.”

By many accounts, Pontiac started to falter when G.M. pursued a cost-saving strategy of providing the same cars to different divisions.

It gave Pontiac vehicles like the TransSport minivan, and the Sunbird, Sunfire and Phoenix cars that were barely distinguishable from models sold by Chevrolet and Oldsmobile.

Pontiac also garnered unwanted publicity in 2001 with the Aztek, whose tag line declared, “Quite possibly the most versatile vehicle on the planet.” Its bulky looks landed it on lists of the world’s ugliest cars. Indeed, Aztek won top honors in that category from The Daily Telegraph of London last year.

Pontiac’s current plight is reflected in its Vibe, a well-regarded crossover vehicle that shares underpinnings with the Toyota Matrix, as part of a joint venture between Toyota and G.M.

While the Matrix holds 67 percent of its resale value after three years, according to Kelley Blue Book, the Vibe retains just 54 percent.

The Vibe, whose future is not clear but which was redesigned for 2009, is meant to appeal to the same age group that Pontiac’s muscle cars once did.

But many younger Americans, who were not around for Pontiac’s prime period, will not miss the brand as it shrinks, said Ron Pinelli, who is president of Motorintelligence.com, a company that tracks industry statistics.

To them, he said, “it doesn’t have any cachet unless they’re watching a late-night movie with Burt Reynolds,” whose film “Smokey and the Bandit” featured the Pontiac Trans Am.

But in its best years, Pontiacs were “highly styled and valued and really something,” Mr. Pinelli said.

Known before World War II primarily for its sedate sedans, Pontiac got a lift in the 1950s when G.M. used its cars on the racing circuit. Because of its “wide track” stance, Pontiacs quickly caught on with street racers, as well.

Tim Sampson, whose family owned a yellow Pontiac Grand Prix in the 1960s, remembered the Pontiacs that were used for drag races on President’s Island, in an industrial part of Memphis. “People used to get arrested,” said Mr. Sampson, a founder of the Stax Museum of American Soul.

Italian sports cars inspired another classic Pontiac in the 1960s, when the division’s new general manager, John Z. DeLorean, decided it needed a small, fast car modeled after a Ferrari. He hit on the name GTO — after a Ferrari coupe called the Gran Turismo Omologato.

The GTO returned this decade, as part of an effort to revive Pontiac. But G.M.’s Holden division in Australia built that car.

Its appearance barely echoed the original GTO, disappointing its core audience. It lasted only from 2004 to 2006, before G.M. stopped selling them.

The most recent efforts to breathe new life into Pontiac were put into motion by G.M.’s vice chairman, Robert A. Lutz, who will retire at the end of 2009. Known in the industry for his love of high-performance vehicles, Mr. Lutz had pushed the division to return to its car heritage.

On its Web site, Pontiac explains its new slogan more fully: “Pontiac is style. Pontiac is performance. Pontiac is culture. Pontiac is music. Pontiac is CAR.”

Now, G.M. will have to determine which Pontiacs will remain Pontiacs. So far, Mr. Wagoner and other executives have not given any indication of the company’s specific plans for Pontiac.

But unlike Saturn, which will be discontinued by 2012, G.M. does not have to dismantle a dealership lineup for Pontiac. Its franchises, for the most part, already have been grouped with Buick and GMC. Any future models, G.M. said this week, will be sold through this Buick-Pontiac-GMC organization.

“We’re the third generation, and we’re the last,” said Rick Zimmerman, whose family has sold Pontiacs in Pittsfield, Ill., since the brand came to life as part of its Oakland division in the 1920s. (Pontiac became a stand-alone division in 1932.)

Mr. Zimmerman, whose first car was a GTO, said hundreds of customers used to flood his showroom each fall when new Pontiacs — like the popular Bonneville, now a retired nameplate — were unveiled.

Now, despite positive reviews about the performance of some new models like the G8, he has trouble getting his customers interested in them.

“It’s been a good name, and had a lot of good cars,” Mr. Zimmerman said. “It’s tough to see it go.”

2009 Ford Escape Review - Features, Specs and Price

There are many reasons people love 2009 Ford Escape, but quality and price are the two main reasons. Since it has become a very popular in 2009, we have to give it a review. Here we go.

2009 Ford Escape has changed a lot compare to 2008. The major changes for ‘09 include more powerful engines, both in the base four-cylinder model and the optional 3.0-liter V6. A 171-horsepower 2.5-liter inline-4 replaces the weak and wheezy 153-hp 2.3-liter. Bolted to the newly available six-speed automatic transmission, the four-cylinder model is now as quick to 60 mph as last year’s V6/four-speed automatic model. That means right around 10 seconds, based on our test of a V6-powered all-wheel-drive 2008 version. This is very cool for Ford auto.


The new engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that should boost fuel economy by one mile per gallon in the EPA cycle. At the same time, Ford says the new four-cylinder will make 170 horsepower, an 11-percent boost over the existing base engine. The 17 additional horsepower come in part from a new variable cam timing system and from the increase in displacement over the former 2.3-liter four.

Speaking of fuel economy, hybrid Escape models will also see some changes for 2009. The gasoline portion of the hybrid powertrain gets the new 2.5-liter engine using the Atkinson combustion cycle. Revised programming helps make the transition from engine to electric motor less perceptible to drivers. A new brake pedal sensor improves feel and minimizes the sensation when going from regenerative to conventional brakes. Ford has also added a Limited trim level to hybrid Escapes.

Ford says the new Escape is more connected too. That’s because the Sync infotainment system is offered in the 2009 model, along with the Sirius Travel Link system with 911 Assist, which helps passengers get in touch with emergency workers when the need arises. We can say 2009 Ford Escape is totally an advanced Ford car.

Now let’s talk the price of 2009 Ford Escape. The base 2009 Escape starts at $20,410 (including destination), a $575 increase over the ‘08 model. But it is absolutely worth that much money since it increases a lot of cool features.