[JASmith]

Its basically the same powertrain as the Escape and I checked its user manual and online specs comparison and both say that while the ecoboost recommends 91+, the hybrid recommends 87+.

Edit: Darnon corrected that the footnote from the 40mpg hybrid announcement from Ford was referencing the Ecoboost alternative, not the hybrid. So all documentation says 87 for the hybrid! Thanks!

 

[JASmith]

as for my current hybrid (Niro), the manual actually says premium is NOT recommended……not sure how Ford thinks about this. my hybrid is 4 yrs and I have never used premium and car drives great and have had no problems whatsoever

The only harm in using higher than required octane will be to your pocketbook. Octane is basically rating how well it resists damaging inadvertent predetonation, and while its important to know what the minimum octane engine was actually tuned for, it is true that some people use higher octane under particular circumstances that can increase the chance for ping: very high mileage (carbon buildup), very hot temperatures, and unusually high loads. My truck is designed for mid-grade 89 octane for example but in the summer if towing and because I have over 150K miles on the engine I use 93. Likewise, you can often save yourself money and cause no harm whatsoever by taking a vehicle designed for 93 octane and running it on 87 octane if you're say just cruising cross country where you're just on cruise control where the engine isn't working hard and its getting plenty of cooling and ambient temps are normal or cool.

In any case, I'm satisfied seeing many different sources that the 2.5 hybrid is designed to operate on 87.