ptjones

I drove a Prius V 2017 model three from Findley Toyota Flagstaff, AZ. The car seems nice the supension was a little stiffer than the NIRO and felt a little heavier not sure about the handling it definitely accelerates slower than the Nero and of course no comparison to the CMAX. It's very obvious KIA was going after Prius owners, NIRO Salesman said Prius owners bought their NIRO's. IMO I don't think CMAX Owners would get much worse mpg's than NIRO and 2017 CMAX TITANIUM Is overall a better Hybrid. Paul

Contact cement works good. Paul

Doesn't sound like you are using Grill Covers which is good for at least 2 mpg and oil pan heater if you don't have block heater. Paul

I test drove top on line KIA NIRO Touring at Peoria KIA in Pheonix, AZ Today with mixed review . I drove16.1 miles, 7 HWY and 9.1 mi City getting 45.1MPG's working on getting good MPG's. Exterior looks nice, interior looks cheap for Top of the Line($33k) and didn't have rain sensing wippers. It reminded me of improved Prius V without the extra space, the EV Mode is gutless and above 40 mph the ICE is on all the time. NIRO is noticeably lighter, but I don't think it handles better than CMAX. As far as acceleration goes CMAX is in a class by itself. IMO NIRO Touring isn't as nice as CMAX SEL. BTW I would get around 55 mpg with my 2013 CMAX Paul

What MPG's were you getting? What trim level? Were you able to EV for longer distance than CMAX and how was the EV power, acceleration? Paul

I will make a set for you. :) Just PM me and we'll get a set out your way this week. :yahoo: Paul

I have one sheet left so I could make some more in the future if there is a need. :) Paul

I found the VELCRO for plastics at ACE Hardware, but only Large Stores would have it. I had to buy a couple 4'X8' sheets from plastic distributor in Atlanta to get it, I think $50 minimum order. You could also try using 3M Dual Lock looks promising, it all comes down to what you can find. :) Trying to get LEXAN from Lowe's or Home Depot is too expensive and they don't have the right thickness. :sad: You don't want to use acrylic, it fractures too easily. :sad: Paul

The problem I have noticed long term is with Sun exposure the VELCRO adhesive gets soft. I checked with VELCRO and they said VELCRO for Plastics handle higher temps. The solution is to increase the surface area so there is less pressure on the adhesive and VELCRO, adding the license plate increases the weight on the Grill Cover. :) Paul

If you can get Black VELCRO for Plastic strips, that's the best. Otherwise get it at Walmart, get automotive 3M double sticky foam tape at auto parts stores and you can get contact cement there too. I use computer mouse pad cut into squares to make spacer between grill and VELCRO. You should have some extra VELCRO squares to look at. :) Paul

Sounds like the Grill Covers are working for you. :) Paul

That seems odd to me too. :headscratch: I would be surprised if there was more than a hundred pounds difference between SE and SEL. Paul

Filled up today 710mi/53mpg 25%HWY temps 30-72*F and some rain and My Fuelly went up to 47.6mpg during the winter time. :yahoo: Temps probably averaged low to mid 50's. :) Paul

I got 302A, didn't want the car parking itself, Had it on my 2010 FEH and it scared me to much. LOL :) Backup camera works fine. Paul

You could expect 2-4 mpg improvement with Michelin Energy Savers and cover up those grills. ASAP :) Paul

A few weeks ago I searched the Atlanta Area on the net and a couple of dealers implied they had them when they didn't. :gaah: What a waist of time, maybe end of march or beginning of April. :shrug: It looks like they got ahead of themselves. :headscratch: Paul

Actually I'm looking at Prius too. My daughter has 2011 Prius that I could probably use in the comparison along with a Prius V and hopefully a few CMAX's. My current plan is to drive from Newnan, GA to Montgomery, AL and back on I-85 about 230 mi. for the HWY test. Figured we could start around 10AM and stop in Montgomery for lunch and then drive back to the Pilot station at Exit 41, our starting point. After filling up we could do some City driving around the Newnan area and then end up at Pilot to fill up again. At each fill up we will need to document our mileage and mpg's to generate comparison report to Post Here. :) But plans could change if we figure out something better. Paul

Welcome, don't know what you were getting with your Jetta TDI assume 44-47mpg. If you use Grill Covers and Oil Pan Heater you can get close to that this time of year. :) Paul

I was hoping I would find a few CMAX drivers in the Atlanta area that would like to have some fun being involved in a Road Test run from Newnan, GA to Montgomery, AL and back to see what gas mileage you got compared to Prius V and Prius. If not I will have to come up with plan B. :headscratch: Paul

In theory narrower tires (215/ 205 wide tires would have less rolling resistance if you stick with Michelin Energy Savers then it is a matter of getting diameter close, there is another thread where someone did this. Not sure it's worth it, I just use 50 psi in the tires and have gotten very good MPG's. :) Paul

You Think? LOL You should be using Regen anyways, You are wasting electricity if you are using the brakes. :drop: Paul

Do you think WD40 would keep them from rusting? :) With 144K mi. my brakes still look good, never use them, it waste gas. :lol2: Paul

I forgot about that. :drop: I looked back in April 2013 fillup iPhone pics and found one with 11% with temps 30*F and strong head winds. :sad: So I'm guessing CleanMPG when they did their Test in Mid February 2013 the temps were low and must of had strong head winds. Ideally we need a Prius V 2013 or close and it would be nice to have a few 2013 CMAX's, but that wouldn't probably matter either. Need to make all HWY Test and a City driving Tests. It may come down to where we can find a Prius V driver then CMAX drivers in that area. Then determine a route to satisfy our tests needs. Curious if anyone has any ideas. :) Paul

I have been Posting on CleanMPG.com Link: http://www.cleanmpg.com/community/index.php?threads/46762/ Complaining about a road test comparison done 4 yrs ago (old News I know), but I figured how they could have made the CMAX MPG's look bad by running the ICE all the time. The results were CMAX 35.5 mpg, Prius V 40.7 mpg and Prius 43.3 mpg on HWY trip from Carlsbad, CA to Pheonix, AZ. The thing that got my attn. was the CMAX display showed 359.7 mi. and only 24.1 mi. EV. That is 14% of the time and practically impossible to do. You would have to have a very strong head wind to have the ICE running all the time, and going down hill too. Also they didn't mention the gas mileage coming back. :headscratch: Wayne the Owner of CleanMPG.com suggested I do my own test so I was wondering if anyone would be interested in getting involved in this test.? I will add more to this as I have more time. :) BTW MPGomatic got these results with 14 day road test also 4 years ago.http://www.mpgomatic.com/2012/12/13/2013-ford-c-max-hybrid-gas-mileage-testing-notes/ Paul

You don't need those rear brakes, just get rid of them, it's a Hybrid. :lol2: Paul