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My experience with the C-Max has overall been very enjoyable. I have not done the Fuelly thing because I have noticed a discrepancy between filling up from station to station. When I have had the chance to fill up at the same station, my mileage has by doing the match has come very close to the display's mileage. From station to station, the difference is between negative 1-3 mpgs. That being said, at the worst, I am still in the 40's and that is due to driving habits. The article about the difference between 60 and 70 mph due to drag is dramatic. I hit the hwy and set the eco-cruise at 60, sit back (in the right lane of course) and enjoy the ride comfort and the amenities of the C-Max. This is perfectly legal and safe with the minimum hwy speed set at 40 mph and pretty relaxing at that. Wind direction is another factor. If there is a strong headwind then forget about it, mpg will be in the 30's. Strong tailwind, 70-80 mph still strong mileage numbers. Around town I pulse and glide lite, pulse to 10 mph above speed limit, glide back down to speed limit until battery has a nice charge and then ride out the battery on eco-cruise. Repeat as necessary. This does not piss off the other drivers too much since you are at least maintaining the speed limit. Finally, know thy red lights. Be able to anticipate when lights are going to change to red. If I accelerate thinking I might make it through the light then have to slam on the brakes then game over for the mpg if this happens often enough. Bottom line, leave on time and take it easy and you will reap the benefits of the C-Max.

Thanks for the welcome guys. As far as I am concerned, the update has worked for me. What both my wife and I have found is if we just drive like we don't care (not caring means not trying to hyper mile or other FE techniques) and follow the speed limit, we are getting the stated average 47mpg. Of course no jack rabbit starts and we do the regenerative braking. What we can't do are hit the high numbers no matter how hard we try and the more we try, the worst the numbers.Oh well, we can't compete with each other as to who can get the highest numbers anymore. That was fun.

I was able to jump start a my car with a bad battery to get it to the parts store to get a new one. I used my C-Max, just using the positive terminal that pokes out where a battery would normally be located. I could not see the battery per se because everything is sealed and tucked away on the compartment. Anyway, the trick was to keep the C-Max floored so that the ICE stayed on. After about 5 minutes it worked which is a long time but, that battery was d-e-a-d! Long story short, it is possible and C-Max is fine.

Thank you so much for this great article, us C-Max owners are so blessed to have such a great community. Question, do these techniques apply after the update? I was getting great numbers before update using these, or at least versions of these techniques, and was achieving nice numbers (50,60 and occasionally 70). After update, I found mileage suffered until I stopped caring and started to rebound into the upper 40's sometimes a lower 50 but usually in the 45-47 range. Basically, have you or anyone experienced this or is it me being paranoid? Did the whole C-Max community gain from this update while sacrificing those who relied on technique and skill to acquire the great mpg numbers? Thanks!

Did some experimenting yesterday. Did small parking lot trips, 1st: All EV no A/C got 999.9 mpg. 2nd: All EV but with A/C 68.8 mpg. 3rd: A/C running and allowed the ICE to kick in 25 mpg. Looks like short trips and A/C are a no no for this computer. Will look forward to see what I get overall when I get an average with Fuelly. Thanks everyone for your advice.

I am using the Patrick Stewart, "Engage!" Happened today, drove 1/2 a mile under 25 mph, got 17 mpg. Will reset the Lifetime and start over.

That's true, I spoke to soon saying "no load" and yes the engine was running but why would I get better mileage starting and stopping (with a/c running) which uses way more energy than just sitting (with a/c running). As far as the parking lot excursion, the computer said 0.0 gallons used but 19 mpg. I will look for that Tachometer option, I did not know it was there and was thinking how nice that would be to have. So thanks for the tip. Ultimately, my concern is the accuracy of the computer and what it says I am getting and what I am really getting. Does your computer jive with your Fuelly calculations? Just started Fuelly so I don't have any numbers yet. BTW, how do you get that Fuelly signature in your posts? Thanks

It is the last trip reading after turning off car. The first one that refers to what you just drove. I can try resetting everything and starting over, when we bought the car it had 400 miles on it and the Lifetime was at 13, we are now up to 39 Lifetime and climbing.

I have a new C-Max and am in love with this car. Have been very disciplined and have been getting the promised MPG numbers or even higher. My one concern is with the low MPG scores I get after idling (yesterday, sat for 20 minutes with sleeping baby with AC running MPG score was 25). Idling means no load on engine and should have a higher score just like when coasting when MPG gauge goes up to 60+. Also, drove across a parking lot the other day in EV mode only and MPG score was 19. (No gas used at all) Now, when I drive longer distances, 20 miles mixing city/highway, I have gotten scores between 45 and 55 mpg on these trips so I couldn't be happier. I am just worried that the low scores are hurting my Lifetime Summary when they should be higher and helping. Anyone have any experience with this and have an explanation as to why the on-board computer would tell you you got 19 mpg's but used 0.0 gallons? Same deal with the no load idling? Thanks in advance!