valkraider

My daughter added "I absolutely LOVE this sunroof!"

Yes, it will switch back to EV Auto and pop up a message (I forget exactly what it says) like "Engine enabled for climate control". However it will run in EV Now mode too - it seems to judge when it needs more juice for climate...

When I called them today they told me that the reason my Energi couldn't do the update yet was the built in NAV, because they need to also send new SD cards for the NAV, and those are not ready yet. According to them f I update the system but don't have the new NAV SD card, nothing will work. As always, your mileage may vary.

Starting a picture thread...

Day one: About 50 city miles on the ticker. Energi SEL, 303A, Panoramic roof, Blue Candy I really like this car! A lot. It is powerful, quiet, fun to drive, good looking, etc etc. Here are our notes thus far: 1. The passenger seat height is pretty tall, but passenger seat height is completely non-adjustable. Strange, considering the drivers side adjusts infinitely and we got the SEL with the highest package. I would have thought even if manual, it could crank up and down like most of my past autos... *dislike* 2. The owners manual for much of the menu configurations doesn't actually tell you what the stuff does, but instead just repeats the menu choices. Ford: I can read the menu choices fine, but what does selecting one of the choices mean? *dislike* 3. One grocery and mall trip and the kick-to-open hatch has already paid for itself. Brilliant! *like* 4. I am incredibly disappointed in Ford that they don't have MyFordMobile ready for these cars. *dislike* 5. It is really easy to forget to close the charge port door - I drove around a couple times with it open, like an idiot. We could use a warning inside... *dislike* 6. The instrument clusters are really cool, but also seem like kind of redundant without enough customizability. I would like to see a little more ability to customize - even the "My Screen" (or whatever) only has fairly redundant options. *neutral* 7. Defrost almost always kicks in the ICE. Which is a bummer, because while Portland is not drastically cold - it is very damp, and windows are always foggy. So this kid of sucks. Once the initial defog is done, the ICE will cut off but still the climate control defog sucks about 5 miles from the electric range. Even set at 67 degrees and lowest fan setting. *neutral* 8. Brake coach is really cool. *like* 9. It is easy to spend all your time watching the fancy gauges, and not the street in front of you. Be careful out there! *like and dislike* 10. The A-Pillars are just like our New Beetle's were. Completely in the way. Portland has lots of bicycles and pedestrians, so it is tricky to check for people crossing the street while I am turning. Just needs an adjustment in driving behavior. *neutral*. 11. Energi cargo space is fine. I played with it and filled it up at the grocery store, and it worked just fine. *neutral* 12. There is no little nook or spot to put our mobile phones, for either driver or passenger. Major 2012 fail. There really should be some little tiny hole or cubby to set a mobile phone. *dislike* 13. Engaging the transmission takes some getting used to. If my foot is not on the brake when I press the engine start/stop button, the car turns on but does not go into "ready to drive" mode. If I place my foot on the brake and press the button again, it engages. It made us look stupid at the dealership. :) *neutral* 14. The automatic wipers work well. *like* 15. The MyFordTouch is easy enough to use, and no better or worse than other infotainment systems I have used. I think there is much ado about nothing with regards to it's complexity. I will like to see how 3.5.1 changes things though. *neutral* 16. Sync paired and works seamlessly with our two iPhone 5(s). As expected. *neutral* 17. There is a TON of road / background noise when using the hands-free phone setup. Way worse than our past vehicles, and I was only going about 30mph. I bet on the freeway it would be really loud. *dislike* 18. It took 2 hours and 37 minutes to charge from dead using the Blink Level 2 charger at the mall. (note: Blink charges in hourly chunks, so that final 37 minutes still costs a full hour when using Blink.) *neutral* 19. I forget who mentioned it, but thanks for the tip about removing the bottom rubber nubs on the license plate, and using some normal snap in mounts from an auto store. Being able to use all 4 bolts makes the license plate not rattle when the door opens and closes. *neutral* 20. I wish outside temperature was displayed more prominently, Preferably in the "climate" area of MFT or something - so that passengers could see it too. *dislike* 21. While plugged in this morning, I did a remote start from the keyfob (since MyFordMobile doesn't work yet). Plugged in using the basic Level 1 charger. Set to use "auto" climate control, with defrost off and to run for 15 minutes. Parked in my garage, probably about 45 or 50 degrees ambient temp. The ICE did not turn on, but a couple loud fans in the front of the car turned on, and a loud clacky motor sound (which based on other discussions here I think is the air conditioner motor) turned on - so it sounded like maybe the ICE was running. But it was not, and I constantly checked the exhaust pipe to make sure - there was never any air flow from the exhaust, nor any warmth generated there at all. *neutral* That's enough to bore you for now.

10,000 for hybrid, "not more than 20,000" for the Energi.

I have been curious. What is a "bi-directional" remote start? I have a vision in my head of the car starting your key fob... :) Isn't it sort of a unidirectional thing? I push the button on the fob, it tells the car to start...

My problem with Microsoft is their UI. Their reliability has improved drastically in the par few years, my Windows 7 has been rock solid. But they just don't get UI sometimes. Our XBox interface is the most terrible thing. I have tried to spend money with on XBox Live and Microsoft makes it really really hard. By comparison Apple makes it easy for me to give them money. Microsoft just makes us jump through weird hoops and twists us into strange contortions. But I am pro Microsoft now. Now they are the little guy again... :)

US made and affordable had nothing to do with my choice. I just liked it better than the Prius or the Volt. My last Ford was garbage. Lets hope things have changed in 20 years.

On the train, headed to the dealer to pick up our Energi. :)

Someone filing a lawsuit is not the same as someone *winning* a lawsuit.

No, it does not. But it will use your phone's data if you set it up that way and pair it.

The manual says that reverse is limited to 22mph. :(

I wish people would remember that the USA is a big place, and not all freeways are the same. Oregon's maximum speed limit is 65m, we even have several 50mph speed limits on our freeways. People here drive slower than other places in the country too - lots of people cruise I5 in the Willamette valley at a pokey 50 or 55 mph - even with the 65mph speed limit there... Alaska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Vermont, New Hampshire, Delaware, Massachussets, Rhode Island, and Connecticut are all 65mph speed limits, California has 70mph speed limits unless you are in a vehicle towing a trailer or a truck. Texas has the highest speed limits, with one even having an 85mph limit. Hawaii has the lowest at 60mph. Most of the mountain west and central plains are 75mph. Almost the entire midwest and southeast are 70mph. And this doesn't even take into consideration the city/rural divide... Or take into account mountains vs. flatlands, or elevation differences. Weather and temperature differences, pavement materials even. Take all of that then throw in personal driving behavior, the weight of the person+cargo, and other factors like climate control preferences and electrical gadgets in the vehicle... This is why there is no single way to accurately tell someone what fuel economy they will get in a car. This is why there is the "Your Mileage May Vary" statement. As always - SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT

Still waiting. :) I am hoping today, but it is snowing and in Portland that means the end of the world so there's that.... (Maybe the Mayans were right? Now where did I hide that Ouzo...)

All of my recent "electrically controlled" cars have defaulted to outside air every time the car is restarted. By electronically controlled, I mean where the setting is not a physical switch or toggle, but instead just something that is controlled by the computer when you hit a touch-screen or a button. Only cars with an actual switch or toggle would stay in recycled air.

Ours in in our city. Lets see how long the off-load and delivery to dealership takes. :)

We loved our TDI, but found that 95% of all of our driving is stop&go city. The TDI isn't all that good at stop&go. Since we can't afford two cars, we decided to go with the better choice for city driving, which is also a decent choice for highways as well. Know thy self... ;)

My truck drops to 5mpg at 80, my van dropped to 12mpg. 32 at 80 will be pretty good. :) I can pile on about the Jetta. My TDI Jetta was about the same as those mentioned here. It loved those super slab miles. It downright moved... ;)

Yeah, the board is being sucky tonight. It looks like the post doesn't go through but it really is. :)

None of those are from manufacturers of the phones. In fact a lot of the "advice" is just from users. Well, as a user of more than 8 models of iOS phones, 1 Samsung phone, and countless other tech devices - and as an IT professional, I say that rebooting is nothing but cargo-cult behavior. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult#Metaphorical_uses_of_the_term I almost never reboot, even my Windows PCs...

If that's the case than MFT will be the first infotainment system across 3 manufacturers which blames the phone. I have had GM, Chrysler, and VW paired with all kinds of phones for years. If MFT is this poor then it certainly deserves all it's bad press. I won't be quiet about it. Blaming the phones is just poor excuses, considering my phone pairs with tons of other infotainment and hands free devices just fine - including my motorcycle, a home phone system, various home speakers and a $7 speakerphone. If MFT is not stable by now, Ford deserves every ounce of bad publicity. I pick up my car in the next couple days. I hope MFT doesn't make me feel bad for dropping $35k on my first Ford in 20 years...

Since 2007 my phones have only been rebooted when we update the OS. ;)

In Oregon and NJ it is against the law to pump our own gas, so we are at the whim of the attendant. It's hard to get a consistent fill up every single time...

I use one on my motorcycle. :)