FoutsNC

Here's a quick shot that I grabbed from the cam for those who want to see a pic on the page :)

I visited NYC last week and was surprised by the number of C-Max cabs that were everywhere. I don't have any pics, yet if you watch the webcam below, you will surely see a yellow C-Max within a short period. When I just brought it up, I saw one within about 10 seconds. http://nyctmc.org/google_popup.php?cid=170

Sorry for the delay in reply. I have been away from the forum for a little bit. My "style" does lend itself to the plug in quite a bit more than I had previously thought. My commute is just over 10 miles each way. So far, with A/C and everything running, I have been able to make it both ways without a drop of gas. When I do run errrands and such, I am still averaging close to what the 2013 was in Hybrid mode. I cannot 100% confirm this since I haven't filled up and it would be crazy difficult to truly compare with the battery miles in there anyways. I would say that if the electric costs are not too high and your commute is not too crazy, the Energi can be a great option. I really like the remote start, iPhone app, and Go Times too. As for lugging around stuff, I really don't too much. I have loaded up groceries a couple of times and havne't had an issue at all with it. I also loaded up the dogs (Aussie and Golden) and took a trip around town with the wife. It was about a 50 mile trip and we didn't have any issues. For me, I don't feel like I am losing too much space to make that much difference. For full disclosure, we also own a loaded F150. We will be making a 2,000+ mile roundtrip soon to Maine and we will be taking the F150. I think that trip may push it for cargo needs with the Energi for us. It will cost at least $275 more in fuel, yet that's minor compared to any frustrations on that long of a trip. If it were just myself, I would surely take the Energi.

Plain old vent mode is hitting the fan + or -, turning the A/C off, and making sure the Recirc is not on from the Auto Setting. I had to figure it out when I used to smoke in the car. Thankfully I quit and don't have to go through that routine anymore :) As for my response to the forum Like - The overall handling of the car Dislike - No HID or LED options for exterior lights yet.

Thanks for the information Plus 3 Golfer. After reading that line on the IRS form, it does look I was misinformed by several people and the primary page from the IRS about the rebate. I am still good with my deal at this point, yet I will pass the info along to my dealership.

Thanks for the post. I am glad you found it helpful. I did not know about the HP difference in Hybrid Only mode. It does make perfect sense though. It's surely nice to have :) The A/C noise difference, for me, is actually very noticible to me from outside the vehicle. I still have the 2013 and just started them up side by side to check. They were both sitting in the same amount of sun and the interiors should have been about the same. I turned them both to Max A/C and the 2014 is much quieter. Now that I think about it though, the 2013 might have something wrong with it. If they didn't change the compressors (not sure), then it shouldn't be that much quieter. If I drop by Ford with it before lease end, I might have them check it out. I think you are very correct about the MPG differences. The seals and rear changes "might" make a little difference as well. My commute to work is 9.8 miles. The 20 or so miles per charge should work perfectly for my situation. Since our electric is pretty cheap (10c per KWH), this should save me between $40 and $50 per month over the 2013 Hybrid. I am looking forward to another great C-Max experience :)

Yes, I did lease the vehicle. From my understanding of the rebate, my conversations with FMC and the finance manager, and my signed paperwork, the rebate does apply to lease terms of 36 months or more. It's also stated on the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Plug-In-Electric-Vehicle-Credit-(IRC-30-and-IRC-30D) Even with all that information, I may still be wrong. I will find out when my taxes are prepared next year. If this is a deal breaker for you, please check with FMC and your tax preparer. UPDATE - Plus 3 Golfer provided the information from the IRS form that only the Lessor can claim the credit. This would be FMC. My reference to a job well done for Ford was actually not in reference to the deal or the rebate. The job well done was to the changes in the car itself, from the 2013 to the 2014. Are they major changes, no. They are minor details that have been discussed on this board several times Even if it turns out that the rebate information is completely false, I still like the deal and the changes. With the all the other rebates and incentives, it made it the right time and right deal for me. I posted this information to help those who may be looking into getting a "good" deal on a C-Max right now. I also thought some might be interested in some of the changes and the possibility that this forum is actually making a difference. Thanks to all the helpful posts over the last couple of years!

The ford.com site states that the Energi currently starts at $32,920. I honestly don't remember our exact sticker price. When lease negotiation is giong on, the last thing I worry about is sticker :) It's all about residuals, payments, and costs to carry. For cash deals, you should be able to get them a little off of that and still have some good rebates. With the rebates on our lease deal, I think getting the lease for the rebates and purchasing it from that point might be the best option at this moment. You would have to look at all the differences though for yourself. By the way, this cycle ends July 6th if you are looking to get something now.

It wasn't called an Early Bird Program exactly, as it used to be. The $500 was a promotion that I saw when I was on Ford Credit paying my last payment. It's still shows up on my account as "Lease Renewal Cash". The payments were actually paid by the dealership through negotiation. I updated my post to reflect that. I have purchased several cars through this dealer and have a good relationship with them, which may help a bit with that portion of the deal.

After almost 2 years of loving our 2013 C-Max Hybrid, the lease was coming to an end and we needed to check out our options. We had actually found a 2013 Energi on a lot and thought we might be able to really get a good deal on this one. After much negotiation and a couple of overnight trips, we chose to get the 2014 for a few reasons. The rebates on the 2014 Energi actually make it a bit cheaper than the Hybrid right now. Oddly enough, the 2014 had a better total incentive for us than the 2013. The dealer was willing to make the 2013 a little cheaper, yet they couldn't overcome the difference in CAP cost (residual for leases) between the 2 for us. We received $5757 in Ford rebates (lease) and another $500 for lease end incentives. The local Ford dealer also picked up our last payments for the 2013 for us. With the $4000 Federal Tax Rebate (UPDATE - Plus 3 Golfer provided the information from the IRS form that only the Lessor can claim the credit. This would be FMC.), that's well over $10,000 in savings! I also have the X-Plan for some additional savings. The differences between the 2013 are minimal, yet they do make a much bigger difference than I first thought. I think Ford is really listening to what this forum has to say! First, the chrome trim around the door pulls and side vents are gone! This caused a bit of a glare in the 2013 that could be troublesome in the sunlight. They added a tray to the cavernous console to help make better use of the area. A pocket was also added to the side of the passenger seat for small documents, a phone, or similar type items. A mesh pocket was also added to the side of the console in the passenger area that's perfect for holding a phone. The steering feels tighter and the overall pep seems to be much better in EV (These may be due to a newer car feel?). I have also noticed that the A/C compressor is almost unnoticable in comparison to the 2013. The A/C on the 2013 was honestly embarrasing to me at times when the car itself was so quiet. It's been almost 100 degrees here over the last couple of days, and it's been great to have that quiet A/C running :) I am also averaging much better numbers in hybrid only mode than I was expecting. We will see how it goes in the long run for us. I think the other differences have been hashed over several times. These are the things I have noticed so far that I can think of. I loved our 2013 C-Max Hybrid and bought a 2014 because of how much I enjoyed it. I didn't expect the rebates to make the Energi cheaper for us, and I really didn't expect all the nice small touches! Job well done Ford!

I set mine at 3 clicks up on the dial and it always seems to work perfectly for me. I didn't realize how much I liked it until we picked up a new F-150 in August. I kept on having to play around with the dial during a trip in some misty showers in the mountains. It was really annoying after not having to do it for years with my Explorer and then the C-Max. I am now thinking that this will have to be standard with any new vehicle for us now.

This is a first year car for Ford that has MFT for most of the built vehicles sold. The MFT is what puts it overboard on the rankings. I think most of us can admit that the MFT does have some issues and some training curves. As for the car, I think the reliability is on par with any other first year release of this kind. Just look at the Volt or Prius in their first years. As for Consumer Reports and bias, we need to first understand that EVERY organization has bias of some sort. To say that your rankings are completely unbiased would be a complete lie. I had a CR subscription for many years until I found that their rankings didn't match up with my experiences or with online reviews from many others. I would rather use word of mouth from many sources nowadays and just understand that there will always be a bias. This way I am not paying a company to lie to me. If you don't think they are biased on vehicles still, go to Google Maps and pull up the street view for the parking lot for 101 Truman Avenue Yonkers, NY 10703. That is the Consumer Reports Headquarters. Across from the building you will see the employee parking lot. Take count of how many Domestic vehicles you can find in the parking lot. I found 2 (Both Dodge products) before I got bored. What I did see was a large number of Honda, Nissan, and Subaru, in comparison with national averages. Just like us, writers are going to have a little bias to what they are familiar with if they enjoy it. Let's see if they give a better review to the 2014 after the tweaks made, or if they correct their MPG statements after testing with the FE updates. Then they might gain some credit with me again.

Traction control can be turned off :thumbsup: The C-Max is an extremely fun car to play around with. Yes, it's a hybrid, but don't let that fool you :flyaway:

I am a member of Coastal and I am glad to see they are using the C-Max :) I would have to say the wrap is a bit crazy though.