viennacoup

Okay, so I used to drive a Civic Hybrid, and adjusting to this car has been a little bit of a challenge, (Operates completely different) however I love my Cmax! I've seen a lot of discussion about a 1 bar burn vs a 2 bar burn, and while charging and power is better on a 2 bar burn, I don't think it is the most efficient method.

 

Something I learned with my Civic is that keeping the ICE at or below 2,000 RPM kept my efficiency up. Although the Cmax doesn't have a prominent tachometer, it can be selected in "My View". I'm finding that I have minimal FE loss when I do not allow it to go over 2000 RPM. Not great up hills, I sometimes get down to 25 mph and would never attempt it on a 2 lane highway or interstate, but gain great speed on the way down. On flat groud I find that the longer you burn at 2000 RPM the more speed you gain and often time will get up to 65-70 and a 90% battery and 55-65 instantaneous FE before dropping back in to EV mode.

 

So this is basically how I roll. I use Empower and run EV until my threshold falls below one bar and then switch to my view and maintain a 2000 RPM burn until my battery is up and it switches to EV assist or I come to a "decent" downward run. As the battery charges the engine RPMs will slowly drop below 2000.

 

After filling up the other day I ended my trip at 59.8 mpg for 27 miles, my tank is now at 49.3. It would be much higher if it wasn't for the short runs to the store over the weekend, short trips kill FE.

 

Anyway, I would like to get other drivers input on this or if anyone else has tried it, what they think.

I live in a rural county and most of my driving is done on 50 mph or less highways.  The method described by John Sparks works well for me.

 I often drive 20.1 miles from my house to Costco/Trader Joe's.  Last summer, a good result there and back would have been in the low 50s mpg.  Last Wednesday, using this method I got 58.8 mpg from my house to Trader Joe's and an amazing 61.8 mpg coming home.  This route is up and down hills, and I sometimes used 2 bars on the Empower screen to maintain the speed limit.  The big difference for me is that I am much more likely to intentionally stay in ICE if running at 2000 rpm or lower.  Before reading Mr. Sparks post, I would try to be in EV mode as much as possible.  Now I am driving more aggressively (faster) and getting better mpg.

I got the letter today.  My C-Max has keyless ignition and the recall will add a chime if you open the door and leave the key in the car.  I don't really want the update.  Can I tell the dealer NOT to make the change?

I just received mine this morning on Bainbridge Island, Washington.  FedEX left it on my front porch and rang the doorbell.  Car was purchased May 20, 2013 and my last name begins with C.  Thank you Ford.

My C-Max definitely behaves differently after the update.  For example, I start up the car and drive 0.3 miles to exit my neighborhood.  The ICE does not come on.  Great.  Now I turn right and head down a fairly long, steep hill and the battery regens and is more than half charged when I come to the bottom.  Before the update, ICE would come on while I still was in my neighborhood.  But now, as I turn right and accelerate to 40 MPH, ICE runs and when I take my foot off the accelerator, it will not go into  EV mode.  Very strange!  In any event, this does not seem to affect my mpg.  On the run described I got 59.7 over a 12.5 mile route that I usually get 50-54 on.

My only other good comparison is the 29.5 miles from my dealer to home.  The day I bought my C-Max (May 20) I drove home very carefully and got 40.5 mpg.  The next day I had to return to the dealer and, after getting some tips on this forum, got 45.3 to the dealer and 46.3 on the drive home.  More than half of this route 60mph highway.  After the update, I did the same route getting 53.2 mpg using the AC.  The car is better broken in (2300 miles) and I am more experienced driving the car, but I suspect the update had something to do with it.  I have begun to drive a bit more aggressively by willingly going into ICE mode when the battery gets below 1/2 rather than trying to squeeze everything out of the battery.  As Jus C Max and others have advised, I try not to go above two bars for longer than a couple of seconds.

I still love the car and the mpg continues to climb.

This sounds like a situation where the next software update would really help. It should allow EV mode at 70 mph uphill when the battery is fully charged.

Vienna, when you bought the car, what were your expectations for mpg knowing you got a hybrid when it was not your best choice for doing mostly NON city driving where a hybrid excels (as most already know). the cmax is not the only hybrid that would get lower mpgs on highway/freeway driving so why think otherwise? Did you do any research on hybrid technology?is this the first hybrid.? a gas or diesel car might have been a better choice but you still would be getting 35+ mpg constantly.

I had never heard of the car when I bought it.  I did some research before I pulled the trigger.  Most of the customers at Edmunds liked the car (as I did) and I saw the 37 mpg figure from Consumer Reports as well as the class action lawsuit.  My wife really liked the car so I bought with the hope that I would get 40 mpg.  My first trip was 40.5 mpg home for 30 miles home from the dealer.  I was pleased.  Now I find my mpg going up and I am disappointed when a trip is below 50 mpg.  I think a diesel would be a good choice if I were constantly on a 70+ mph freeway, but I am not.  I love my C Max and have no complaints whatsoever.

I voted other.  Almost all of my driving is highway.  Less than 5% is city or freeway.  I live in a large rural county where most of the highways are 50 mph.  There is one highway that is 60 mph but I rarely  use it.  The EPA needs three categories: city/highway/freeway.  Then the proper mpg for the C-Max might be 47/50/40 or something like that.

The battery display shows the battery charging during both coasting and regen.  The only way regen could have an advantage over coasting would be if it charged the battery at a much greater rate than mere coasting.  Personally, I have reached the conclusion that it is inefficient to give up any momentum using the brake pedal.  I am a coaster.

The trip computer shows me using 12.54 gallons.  I actually used 12.93 gallons.  If correct, it means the computer overstated my actual mpg which was 46.63 and not 48.  A few more fill-ups will be needed to accurately sync the two numbers.

I humbly submit my last trip.

In reference to some of the comments, I reset the main display mileage but I did not change the lifetime.  At the time I picked up the car, the lifetime mpg for 132 miles was 27.1!  Also, I did not reset the trip meter when I picked it up.  Instead, I made note of the starting miles driven and used that to calculate the miles for the first fill-up posted on Fuelly.

A question for you 700 mile clubbers.  How accurate is "Miles to Empty?"  Can one rely on it?

2nd question.  What exactly is "feathering?"  Is it applying just enough power in EV mode so that there is no braking effect or is it something else?

Thanks.

I live on an island that is teeming with Priuses.  Just in the last week, though, I have seen a lot of C-Maxes.  At least one black, white, blue, light green, red and two gray (or silver.)  

Me too.  I went to the dealer to buy the Fusion Hybrid and walked out with a C-Max when I realized I would not be able to get much in the Fusion Hybrid trunk.  I had never heard of the C-Max.  I chalk it up to good karma as i love my C-Max.

I am very glad that I bought my CMax before this report came out.  Had I known of this report, I would have bought another car and missed out on the CMax.  I hope other buyers will look deeper and not let this bad publicity discourage them from buying a CMax.

In the center of the roof there is a console that controls the screen on my moon roof and the ambient lighting of the dash.  There is also a slim panel.  If you push on the panel, a sunglass case descends.  Put your sunglasses in the case and push it closed.  Perfect.  You will always know where your sunglasses are in the C Max.

Greetings!

I have had my C Max for 16 days and I am thrilled by the car.  Today I registered on fuelly and posted my first mileage.  I let the pump shut off automatically and did not try to top up.  I expected 44.6 based on the car's computer so maybe i did not fill the tank to the top.  Even if you subtract a few MPG, it is still impressive at 46.8mpg