Testdriver

First of all, I'm not sure what sales record the HR-V is breaking. It sold 7,700 in it's first full month. By comparison, the C-Max sold 4,800 vehicles in November 2012, which may or may not have been it's best month (couldn't dig up all the numbers) Secondly, A base HR-V's MSRP is $5000 less than a base C-Max SE. Thirdly, Honda already has a strong and loyal customer base in the CUV segment. How much is the HR-V cannibalizing Fit and CR-V sales? So, people are likely buying the HR-V over the C-Max is because it's cheaper and/or Honda's strong reputation in the CUV market.

Wow, I didn't know you could hack the start-up cycle by going into L. I'll have to try it sometime, though I doubt I'll make a habit of it :drop:

Jus - those numbers are incredible! A couple of questions. What would you say is your average trip length? IIRC, you're an assessor. Are you typically driving from place to place all day with, typically, less than 1/2 hour stoppages (so the engine stays warm between trips)? I still haven't quite cracked 600 yet, but am consistently well above 500 during the summer. I'm pretty happy with that. My typical trip is less than 5 miles, and on a cold engine, so it can be tough to average 45+ mpg in those conditions. I am curious if you're able to do better under those conditions.

These are my estimates of the MPGs I get in my CMax at cruising speeds over long distances: 25 MPH - 65 MPG 35 MPH - 60 MPG 45 MPH - 55 MPG 55 MPH - 48 MPG 65 MPH - 42 MPG 70 MPH - 38 MPG 75 MPH - 35 MPG So, if you want to achieve max MPG, slower is almost always better.

Less than 6,000 diesel Chevy Cruze's were sold in it's first year in the US. Hybrids are currently much more popular in the US than diesels. Volkswagen, by far the largest producer of diesel cars in the US, topped 100,000 sold for the first time last year. Meanwhile, the Prius alone sold 145k in the US, and Ford sold over 80,000 hybrids in 2013. It's hard to say if Ford is disappointed in C-Max sales. They never really marketed it that heavily, and sales numbers have been OK. I'm guessing it's been a moderate disappointment, but not a disaster. With that said, Ford's current hybrid line-up is kinda awkward, and it sounds like they're making some smart adjustments. The 2013+ Ford Escape is vastly different than the old model that they used to sell with a hybrid option. The new model should be able to achieve fairly close to the C-Max's MPG. It really is just a slightly bigger and taller C-Max. I'm guessing the new Ford Escape would get around 38/33 MPG. The next gen model will likely be slightly smaller and more aerodynamic, so I could easily see a next gen Escape Hybrid cracking 40 city MPG. And then replacing the Fusion Hybrid with a Prius competitor, that will presumably have actual trunk space just makes a lot of sense. I'll be sad to see the C-Max go, but I'm also excited to see what Ford comes up with in a couple years.

I received it on Saturday, $475. I bought it knowing full well that most drivers could not touch 47/47/47, and we easily exceed all three new numbers (37/42/40) in non-winter driving conditions, so these checks are a real bonus.

Thanks to a horrid Michigan winter, we're at only 40.1 MPG lifetime. We did just return from a 400 mile trip and ended up with 46.2 mpg. About 300 of those miles were at about 72mph on the freeway with little stop and go traffic. I thought that was pretty darn good.

I'd buy it again. I've had a couple minor issues, but nothing terrible and my dealer's been easy to work with (Varsity Ford). MFT is still flaky and I would ding Ford for that, but I'd still rather have it than the dash-o-buttons alternative. I think the 2014's performed well so far in the initial quality surveys. Hopefully initial quality issues are a thing of the past with the CMax.

Do you have the Energy Saver tires that the car comes equipped with? How fast do you drive in the city? If you don't go above 50mph, you should easily be able to break 40 mpg over 15 miles. Closer to 50 mpg would be more likely. Is it exceptionally hot or cold where you live right now? If you're sitting in stop and go traffic with the AC blasting, then that's going to impact you mpg pretty severely. The issues you are having with the ICE running when in EV mode are suspicious. After you have been driving for a couple miles, you should be able to easily kick the car into EV mode above 30 mph just by braking slightly. It sounds like it's worth having the dealer check out, although I'm not 100% convinced there's an issue. It could just be user error/confusion ;)

I thought the 40/45 rating was accurate, but am happy to take Ford's money. I only averaged around 29 mpg during the worst Michigan winter in my lifetime, however, I get around 44 mpg during the summer. That's with about 80% city driving, mostly short trips. I agree with this. They're going to have trouble getting people into their showroom at the current MPG rating. The C-Max will be due for a complete refresh in 2016 or 17, and it'll be interesting what Ford does with it, if anything. If they can pair their 1.0l 3-cyl ecoboost with an automatic tranny, then that engine is going to heavily cannibalize their hybrids. Why get a hybrid C-Max, when you can get the same car with more trunk space, similar performance and similar MPG for around $3000 less?

IIRC, last month Ford only sold around 2500 C-Max's. They were previously averaging around 3500. I suspect that now that Ford has publicized the MPG improvements in the '14 model, some consumers may be holding out for the new model.

Skimming through that study, it appears that it only takes into account tailpipe and powerplant emissions. Some other studies that take into account the entire product lifecycle claim that electric vehicles do more damage to the environment than conventional vehicles. That kind of analysis is pretty tricky, so a healthy dose of skepticism is warranted, regardless of what side the authors are taking. The fact of the matter is that ALL cars require a ton of resources and energy. There are no green cars, and arguing whether a TDI, Focus, Leaf, Prius or C-Max is the most environmentally friendly is kinda just splitting hairs.

That really sucks. Ford should provide some compensation or buy it back. 8 times in the first year is ridiculous. Most other C-Max owners I've run into love the car, so it sounds like yo got a dud.

I too received my check today.

The problem with the JD Power survey is that 1 report of disappointing MPG or buggy MFT is equal to 1 Model S becoming engulfed in flames. There is no weighting for the magnitude of each issue, so it's not a very useful rating system, especially when the difference between the top rated car and the bottom rated car is about 1 issue reported per car. I DO think the C-Max has some issues: the dead battery issue that seems to affect a decent number of C-Maxes, and the MPG controversy are both decent knocks against it. Most of the other frequently reported problems seem very minor, imo. Of course, the vast majority of C-Max owners who have not experienced the dead battery issue are highly satisfied with the vehicle, even if they are mildy disappointed in the MPG. That, for some reason, is not reflected in the JD Power "quality" ratings.