Treptower

Good call Adrian, I am the one in the video!

The debate about how best to use the electric battery doesn't just have a single answer. I've been using the Torque app (android) to study how the HF35 powertrain software operates. And what i've observed, after seeing the numbers, is that there is really 2 methods to achieve mpg's reliably between 43-47. Firstly you could have the battery charged up all the time and demand very little from the ICE. When you do this you're right, the engine will move the vehicle at 50 mph consuming 45-50mpg of fuel. Once you get into the high 60's (mphs) the engine will consume 42-47 mpg (depending of incline and wind). So yeah you'll see good fuel economy numbers. But you also need to have a close eye that the vehicle doesn't slip into EV mode. And when you're traveling below 45mph it wants to be in EV a lot. (lets keep the 70+mph regime for another thread) The second option is to intelligently use your stored electricity. While observing the torque app, it becomes clear that when charging from a low SOC until you get to the top SOC for that speed the mpgs range at a consumption rate between 25 mpg to 35 mpg. It's not until you've reach to top of your speed's SOC that the engine's load decrease and it starts sipping fuel at 40+ mpg. So if you spend a lot of time charging without using the electricity as soon as it's possible the average mpgs can be less than 40 unfortunately. But if you slip in and out of EV mode often you can get great fuel economy! Another great way to think about it is that if your traveling at 50 mph for 1 mi while charging you will be able to use electric for another mile. Again from observing the data, 50-55mph is about even for charge to discharge rates. This is where another great realization comes into play, if you're traveling for 1 mile at 25 mpg and then the engine stops but you continue to travel for another mile at infinite mpg the computer thinks you've used the same fuel to go twice the distance. This effectively returns 50 mpg average over the 2 miles. It's far easier to jump in and out of EV mode than it is to constantly keep the battery in it's max SOC. Couple that and the fact that if you're using EV mode there is less wear and tear on the engine, it makes a pretty strong case that using your electricity intelligently makes a good deal of sense. The C-Max is great because you can use both methods to get 43-47 mpg (in reasonable weather). I think it's also important to note that the instantaneous fuel consumption gauge (the one in the arch) doesn't represent the consumption rate well. It looks non-linear, seeing actual numerical results is much easier to understand how the engine is working. Thanks for watching my video! :)

*That's me in the video

I've been playing around in my mind what I would like to see in the mid cycle refresh for my beloved C-Max Hybrid. I've thrown together some "concept" ideas for new headlights (a la the Fusion) and a comically large front grill (just playing around). The C-Max could do with a little more aggressive front facia, imo. The 2013 Fusion Hybrid does a good job of this. Photoshopped some Fusion headlights and hood lines onto a C-Max but it doesn't look quite right. Apparently the 2015 C-Max refresh is going to be announced at the 2014 Paris Autoshow, Ford has released a teaser photo (seen below). items of note the head lights are now more angular similar to the taped concepts I played with and reflective of the Fusion. Also you can see by the way the sheet drapes over the front of the vehicle that the aston martin grill of the fusion is present but the mini grill the the 2013 & 2014 C-Max has is no longer there. I would say Ford is consolidating their profiles to fall inline with the Fiesta and Fusions. I'm excited by these updates, hopefully it resonates with potential buyers.

Follow on:

It's a pretty BIG engineering mistake to have miss calculated the total load road horse power (hp needed to maintain constant speed). Pretty huge mistake. I've been outraged much like the rest of you, having bought my vehicle at a rating of 47/47/47 I've been upset about the missed bragging rights. Since I can't do anything about the physical capabilities of the vehicle now, to me with the rerating means that now I can't lord the mpg ratings over the Toyota folks and lord knows they don't need more to be smug about. The reduced resale value is a very good point that I hadn't considered as yet. We could easily get screwed over here by Ford. Losing 4-6K in resale value would certainly discourage me from ever buying into the Ford Motor Company again. So if Ford wants to make this right I purpose the following: ****** To the Ford Motor Company******** Provide the owners of the 2013-2014 vehicle models that have been effected with this "re-qualification" with a guaranteed trade-in value at a rate proportional to the projected value at the time of the vehicle's EPA MPG rating. This will be a "living" statement, fellow C-Max nations please comment and append.

I love my C-Max so much that I got a little carried away and made a video for my folks back home to get to see it. Please feel free to check it out. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/a_D8fBslJfU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> http://youtu.be/a_D8fBslJfU