This is the decade of the hybrid. Or maybe it just seems that way. Four major automobile manufacturers are selling hybrids — and they are going fast. Toyota has the second-generation Prius, the apparent leader of the pack, the Lexus RX400h and Toyota Highlander hybrids. Honda has the Insight, the Civic and the Accord hybrids. General Motors has equipped the Silverado truck as a hybrid. Now, Ford has introduced the first hybrid SUV to market, the Escape.

This column covered the different types of hybrid and their characteristics in April. Ford has elected to mimic the Toyota full hybrid technology with a modestly sized 2.3 liter, dual overhead cam, 16-valve, 133 hp, 4-cylinder Atkinson cycle engine assisted by a 94 hp electric motor. Power from the gas motor is transmitted to the front wheels via a shiftless electronic continuously variable transmission, or CVT.

What’s Atkinson cycle? Good question. The explanation is quite complex and we do not have enough space here to cover it. Suffice it to say that virtually all internal combustion engines used in cars the world over today work with the “Otto Cycle” invented by Nikolaus Otto in Germany some 120 years ago. The “Atkinson cycle” engine, which sacrifices power for efficiency, was invented by Englishman James Atkinson at around the same time. Although not really powerful enough for non-hybrid vehicles, this configuration works well with an assisting electric motor and the CVT transmission to achieve maximum efficiency. The system components are seamlessly blended by an onboard computer.

Ford’s Escape SUV competes well with the Honda CRV, the Toyota RAV4 and the Subaru Forester.

Toyota and Ford are on the right track with a “full” hybrid where the vehicle can run on the electric motor alone at low speed, (up to 25 mph in the Escape) and using both motors during acceleration. In the Escape, regenerative braking captures braking energy and puts it back into the large battery pack. The gasoline motor shuts down at stop signs and lights and restarts when needed for acceleration. This system delivers better mileage in city driving than in highway driving. You never have to plug these electric cars in; the motor and the brakes keep the battery charged.

The EPA rates the fuel consumption of the Escape as 36 city/31 highway, which is just incredible for a small SUV. This tester did not achieve anything like that on a city/highway mixed cycle. The fuel consumption computer indicated just 22.9 mpg over some 120 miles. The car was brand new, so one should expect considerable improvement over the first 5,000 miles. Other reviewers experienced an overall fuel consumption figure of around 25/26 mpg.

Ford claims that this combo of electric motor and Atkinson cycle 4-cylinder engine delivers performance similar to their V-6 powered Escape. Well, not quite, although with some engine noise it does step out smartly during acceleration and passing situations.

The Escape is a handsome SUV, and is unchanged in the hybrid version. The interior is quite Spartan, with so-so finish quality, at least by comparison to the Toyota Prius. The ride is pleasantly stiff, although a little bone-jarring over potholes, and the car handles adequately on corners. It is very quiet at low speed when the electric motor is running, and the noise level at cruise with both motors is normal for this size of SUV.

From a size and space aspect, the Escape SUV competes with the Honda CRV, the Toyota RAV4 and the Subaru Forester, all of which offer good fuel consumption from conventional power trains, somewhere in the 22 city/27 highway range. But clean as some of these are, they all pollute the air a lot more than the Escape and don’t offer as much acceleration or passing power.

The 2006 two-wheel drive Ford Escape hybrid is priced at $26,900, some $3,000 more than a similarly equipped conventional V-6 Escape, and $4,000 more than the 4-cylinder version. $3,495 will add a navigation/hybrid energy flow graphic display, leather seats and steering wheel cover, heated mirrors, parking sensors, seven speakers and 110-volt outlet. A moonroof will cost you $585. The four-wheel-drive hybrid is priced at $28,595.

The warranty for the SUV is 36 months or 36,000 miles, although the hybrid components, including the battery have an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

If you feel like contributing to a clean air California, or you do a lot of city/traffic driving, this might just be the SUV for you. The test car was loaned by Mossy Ford of Pacific Beach. It will give you a test drive in the only SUV hybrid in the world.

Motoring since 1952, Austin Lynas has owned 55 cars and at one time raced mini-sedans in England. An aerospace engineer, he was instrumental in developing the anti-skid systems used in British military aircraft that preceded today’s ABS systems. Lynas can be reached by e-mail at austin@sandiegometro.com.