kuenai

3400 miles on my C Max so far. About 24 miles of my 27 mile daily commute are on the highway, and here is what I've observed: (original/current) 55 MPH = 54-55 MPG 65 MPH = 42-44 MPG 75 MPH = 35-39 MPG Overall, my mileage has slowly been creeping up - I'm getting about 2-3 MPG better on the highway now than I was when the car was brand new. That may be the break-in, or my driving, can't be sure, but I'm a hybrid driver for the last 10 years so I think it's probably some of both. I don't watch the city mileage as much any more - as others have noted, city- and below-50-MPH driving are not problem areas for this car. It's only the highway numbers that see the big drop-off. So far I'm greatly enjoying our new car. She is quiet, smooth, and well-mannered. Oh, and kind of fun to drive. :wub2:

Cabling: there is a small cutout in the lid, towards the passenger side, that is large enough for two or three cables, so you can leave a cable plugged in there and quickly connect/disconnect your phone or ipod. The downside is that the natural place to put said device is in the cupholder right in front of the armrest, which only leaves one cupholder free. If you need both cupholders to hold cups, then there's not another place to put the device that won't leave a cable dangling and in the way. On a separate but related note, the lid only unfolds to the straight up position, so if I'm in the storage digging around, it's awkward to put my hand into it from the driver's side. (My elbow can't go straight back because the lid is in the way.) For me it has not been much of a problem, as I just reach around BEHIND the open cover, and my forearm and hand then fall pretty naturally into the open compartment. But even though it's comfortable, it seems like a strange arrangement. It seems like a horizontal rear slide opening would have been better, or at least have the hinged lid open 180 degrees, not 90 degrees.

Someone reported that their capless fuel system wasn't shutting properly, which caused a check engine light. I'm pretty sure there was another light that came on as well, though, so probably not helpful. Good luck!

I much prefer the stone. In most light it looks distinctly like a beautiful light tan, but under direct, bright noon sunlight the eye has a hard time telling whether it's tan or very light gray. Many people will first see it in this light, on a dealer's lot on a weekend day, though, so it's worth noting.

Yes, it was some concern. I have owned a 2003 Civic Hybrid for the past nine years, and had to replace the battery to the tune of $1700, and therefore have been highly motivated to research the topic. The short answer is that you should not be greatly concerned. There's tons of data now, and it says that you have roughly a 1 in 20 chance of ever needing to replace the battery. Both NiMH (as found in the Prius) and lithium ion (as found in the C Max) both have routinely logged over 200,000 miles without failure. Some efficiency loss, yes, but not enough to affect vehicle performance much, and not enough to need replacement. If you want extreme examples, Google for hybrid fleet use. The taxi studies jump right out, but there are others as well, and they have hybrid vehicles with 300 & 400 k miles on them. If you are one of the unlucky 5%, current replacement costs generally run $3000 or so, and can sometimes be gotten cheaper. (Think pulling a pack from a wrecked vehicle.) I've also seen reports where they are expecting lithium ion batteries to drop by 75% by 2025, but I wouldn't depend on it. (Great for all of us if it happens, though.)