Among automakers, it’s a bit of a race right now to see who can be the one to adapt to the electric vehicle future better than the rest.

Ford is starting to step up in this fight, as it recently announced that it will invest $22 billion in electric vehicles (and $7 billion in autonomous vehicles) through 2025. And it’s already selling new EV offerings such as the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning.

One step short of a full EV is a plug-in hybrid (or PHEV), and I recently had the chance to test a Ford offering in this realm: The Ford Escape PHEV. This type of vehicle is a good step for people who aren’t quite ready to rely on a fully electric vehicle, but want something other than a traditional ICE ride — either for environmental reasons, or just to get a break from the yo-yo gas prices we so often see.

I tested a 2021 Escape PHEV, but it carries over to the 2022 model year pretty much as-is, other than some new paint options.