The Territory Hybrid is Ford Philippines’ first electrified model in the country. With the gasoline-powered Territory doing pretty well, it just makes sense that this would be their first hybrid.

When it was launched a little over a month ago, we knew it wouldn't be long before we’d get to take it on a drive. As expected, the long drive came with Baguio as our destination. As always, it’s the ideal destination for the shakedown of a new vehicle. After all, a drive to Baguio, with the long highway run and steep climbs, will showcase the benefits of its hybrid system.

Before we get to that, a little introduction of the new model is in order. The most prominent change would be the new front bumper, grille, and coast-to-coast LED light bar, which bridges the left and right daytime running lights. There’s also the illuminated Ford badge up front. It has a new hood and fender, and new rear bumper design. Notable is the laminated front window glass, lessening road and exterior noise in the vehicle.

Under the hood is a turbocharged 1.5-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine which puts out 150-Ps and 250-Nm of torque. This works with an electric motor that puts out 218-Ps and 315-Nm of torque, powered by a sealed and cooled 1.83-kWh lithium ion battery. This system is mated to a two-speed dedicated hybrid transmission, allowing for the seamless combining of the internal combustion engine and electric motor. It’s also equipped with an engine decoupling clutch, which allows the Territory to run full electric up to 50 kilometers per hour with enough battery charge. There are also driver-selectable drive modes, Eco, Normal and Sport.

Its hybrid powertrain has four modes, which it will switch to unnoticed by the driver and occupants. All Electric is when it is driven by the electric motor, powered by the battery, and the gasoline engine is off. Series Mode is when it is driven by the electric motor, powered by either gasoline engine (as generator) or battery. Parallel Mode is when it primarily driven by the gasoline engine, and the electric motor runs to assist, providing additional power and torque to the wheels, usually during spirited driving. Energy Recovery happens when coasting or braking, where the electric motor switches into generator mode to recharge the battery.

It has a new instrument cluster mode, which shows a graphical display of the power used and generated in real time during the drive. The infotainment system has a new user interface and the audio system offers Arkamys SoundStage for better audio. Another new feature allows you to still adjust the climate controls on the bottom of the screen while Apple Carplay or Android Auto is onscreen.

The Territory Hybrid now offers driver selectable steering modes: comfort, normal and sport, allowing you to choose how light or heavy you prefer the steering response. For additional safety, the Around View Monitor activates automatically when you signal for a turn at slow speeds and now comes with a ADAS package which includes – Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Keep and Lane Centering, Intelligent High Beam System, Blind Spot Information System and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

Our drive started off at Seda Manila Bay, where we would take NAIAX to the Skyway 3 and onto NLEX. Here we encountered rush hour traffic as we mixed it up with commuters on their way to work.

The first part of our drive consisted of rush hour traffic and a long stint on the expressway where we held the fuel efficiency run. This was where the organizers would get our fuel efficiency figures after we had driven roughly 231 kilometers. We got to test out some of the ADAS features, namely the adaptive cruise control, Lane Keep Assist and Lane Centering.

After that, the rest of the drive up to Baguio was via Kennon Road, where the Territory Hybrid’s power and handling performed quite well. In fact, there were areas where the roads were wet but the safety features were working behind the scenes to keep us safely pointed in the direction we wanted to go.

This is where the hybrid system really shines, switching the drive mode to sport really takes advantage of the extra power and torque the electric motor offers as it assists the gasoline engine, giving you power exactly when you need it. Even with the steering on ‘comfort’, it still gave good feedback on the twisties while keeping it light enough not to feel like the vehicle is fighting you to stay on the road.

The top results for the fuel economy challenge saw cars achieving between 17.9 kilometers per liter to as much as 20.4 kilometers per liter. We had a respectable 15.4 kilometers per liter, but I guess a little more time with the Territory Hybrid would have given us get a better feel for its hybrid system.

Admittedly, we allowed ourselves to have a good time, driving on the expressways and up through Kennon, and into Baguio. I think our results showed a good average overall. It also goes to show that if you made the effort, you could get some pretty good fuel consumption figures in the Ford Territory Hybrid.

The drive showed it’s not just a big improvement on the already impressive Territory, but a massive boost to its efficiency as well.