The upcoming Ford Escape plug-in hybrid has faced major delays after its European counterpart, the Kuga, was investigated for catching fire while charging, as well as coronavirus-related production issues. Ford is finally slated to begin Escape PHEV production next month, meaning its luxury counterpart, the 2021 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring, can enter production as well. As a brief reminder, the Corsair Hybrid was revealed at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show but has yet to arrive on the market.

The standard 2021 Corsair is already on sale but since the hybrid was delayed, Lincoln never bothered to release official fuel economy numbers for it. Though Lincoln has yet to make an official announcement, the EPA has revealed the mpg figures and electric range of the Corsair GT. The numbers look pretty good.

The Corsair GT averages 33 miles per gallon (combined city/highway) when running on its gasoline engine alone. When running electricity and gasoline together, it averages 78 MPGe. The EPA says the car can travel 28 miles on a full charge and 430 total miles between the electric and gasoline range. For reference, the Ford Escape PHEV manages better numbers of 41 MPG, 100 MPGe, and 37 all-electric miles.

The Escape and Corsair share the same 2.5-liter Atkinson-Cycle four-cylinder engine and 14.4-kWh lithium-ion battery. But while the Escape makes do with a combined 209 horsepower and front-wheel-drive, the Corsair sends its 266 hp to all four wheels.

When it arrives later this year, the Corsair GT faces some stiff competition in the plug-in compact luxury crossover space. The Audi Q5, BMW X3, and Volvo XC60 PHEV variants offer much more power than the Corsair, with 362, 288, and 400 hp, respectively. However, the Lincoln beats the Europeans on the electric driving range since the Audi, BMW, and Volvo max out at less than 20 miles each. Since Lincoln isn't competitive on performance, pricing will be important to solidify the Corsair's value as a PHEV.