Tdefny

The good news is that the next generation of battery is very close, so the whole equation will be different the next time we are ready for a new car. The whole spectrum of electrified vehicles will make even more sense. Would you have considered the Energi if it had ttriple the EV range or the same range, but the battery the size of the one in the hybrid? How about the hybrid with a smaller battery that leaves slace for a spare tire. I can't wait to see what will evolve.

Thank you. I enjoyed that review and a few others he had posted.

It will be worth the effort.

And don't get me started on the voice regognition of Synch!

I would have been very happy with a Hybrid C-max. As noted above, there are downsides to the Energi and I doubt that a plugin ever makes sense over a hybrid version of the same car on dollars alone, so a plug-in won't be the right choice for most people until they can deliver more EV range and there are many more charging stations. This especially true on Long Island, where there are few charging stations and electric rates are among the highest in the country. Some of the other factors that influenced me were: - Lower tailpipe emissions when the ICE is running. The Energi is AT-PZEV and the Hybrid is not. - Lower overall emissions because our electricity comes from a cleaner source than gasoline. - Reduced dependance on foreign energy. Power on Long Island is mostly from natural gas and some hydro-electric. - Access to the carpool lane. - An alternate fuel if gas lines should ever return. Too bad that the recent episode after Sandy also came with a long period of no power for many people. - Support an emerging technology. - The ability to do local errands without running the engine. Small trips are when the engine runs least efficiently because the engine never quite warms up. - The possibility of being completely carbon free for most of my commute if I ever install a photovoltaic system (these also take a long time to break even). - Potential for educed maintenance costs although that may be offset by unforeseen additional costs from a more complex vehicle. - Driving an electric vehicle is cool (unfortunately this can be quite literal in the winter when turning on the heat reduces range to the point that you may not reach your destination on all electric if you do). There may be other advantages that that I haven't thought of or that might mean something to someone else. Preferred parking at an EV charging station might be one, but that means little in my neck of the woods where charging stations are rare and should probably be left free for full EVs. Many of the above advantages come at some cost, but I have to say that the Energi has exceeded my expectations so far. Of course I haven't brought the car back to the dealer yet,so that may change.

Great job there. I guess Energi drivers need not apply.

Just got my '02 Prius inspected. The front brakes are still at 80% of new. Regenerative braking is sweet!

Done!

I haven't seen any on tv or on the internet, except the ones that searched for mysealf.

Give it time and get used to the car. Nothing encourages thrifty driving like trying to reach your destination before the battery runs out, but the car is still new and you are still learning it. I found that a change in route greatly increased my electric range and I could easily get 20 or 21 miles (but that was before the colder weather and now I just make 18on a cold day).

I don't know about a modern Prius, but my '02 has a guess gauge where a gas guage should be. It looks like it should be accurate, but is very non-linear, so 30% is really about 100 miles of range. I always fill the tank when the miles driven is about 10 times the indicated MPG rather than trust the guess gauge. Also, "EV" stops at around 42 MPH, but the traction motor can contribute a percentage of the power at any speed. In fact, it is constantly doing it. The Prius is really good at this. It is hard to tell on the Energi because I always start with a full battery.I have been meaning to try it on a long run withoutj a charge, but it feels wrong to not use the battery if it is there. As nearly as I can tell, the non -EV mileage is low to mid 30s, but I have had trips that looked more like the mid 40s. Including EV, I have been averaging close to 50 MPGe and I am happy with that. Fuelly reports a higher MPG but it doesn't account for the electricity. Not a fan of pulse driving, I use Eco cruise whenever there is enough road to set it.

That's one reason I prefered the Energi over the SEL. Of course an SE with an actual key has its lure too.

Regen is nice. Our brakes will last forever because we are reecovering the energy rather than using it to wear out the brake pads. I replaced the brakes in my Prius at 100k miles because I thought I should. It is now over 200K and the brakes are still good. Thoe pleasant side effect, as you have observed, is that the wheels stay clean. No complaint here.

The Energi guys spend as much time here as you do. EV-later mode makes the car behave like the hybrid, except the hybrid is a little more efficient than the Energi. It is hard to know from this display how much charging is actually taking place in the battery when the ICE is on. The car doesn't seem to stay in EV very long or even to blend EV with ICE, like the Prius seems to do. As I say, I think this more a function of the display. The Prius displays energy movements very well. The C-max doesn't do that as well, but it does a much better job of letting you know the boundaries between EV and ICE, so that you can drive more economically.

I like the eject coaster - http://www.car-coaster.com/category/10292177301/1/Comical.htm

Nice shots. Thanks.

It is a lot harder to see in the Energi because the limit is higher. I plan to explore this a bit further on my next highway trip.

Interesting graph, especially that the Prii did so much better than EPA while the Max met EPA on this test at 60 (but fell off at higher speeds). Everyone keeps talking about the C-max EV capability up to 63. This may be inportant, but the traction motor still should make a useful contribution above this speed even though the ICE must run. One of the thing that Toyota has mastered in the Prius is the blend of power between ICE and traction motor. The max "EV" speed on my early generation Prius is 42, but mileage doesn't drop noticeably until above 62. There may be mechanical differences in the powersplit approach between Ford and Toyota that hinder that blending. I would have thought that the Max should blend power better with a larger motor and battery, but it seems to prefer maximum time in EV mode, rather than blending. This seems logical, but maybe isn't the best they can do. More likely, it is just a heavier car with more wind resistance and a bigger ICE and this is the best result they can get under these conditions. I do believe that Ford would have looked at all sides of the equation and come up with the best solution they could with this design. One thing is for sure. Our mileage should improve as our cars get broken in, the weather warms, and we learn the best ways to drive them. These same conversations took place with the early Prius and people had all sorts of theories of the best ways to stretch the fuel, often based on how to drive the Insight, which was a very different car. Eventually things improved and other topics dominated the forums. For me, dumping pulse and glide and driving as if I had a balloon between my foot and the pedals immediately and consistantly gave the best mileage.

Welcome. I hope it arrives soon. There are lots of good topisc on this board, but don't be shy about asking questions or posting if you don't see what you are looking for.

Interesting article from Tirerack. Aside from the obvious, I found it interesting that the difference between the best tires they tested and the worst ones tested would add up to about 2 tanks per year. Wow.

Glad mine says Energi in stead of Hybrid. People don't associate that with anything yet!

I understand that the lights draw power and have other features that are less than ideal, but I feal that the safety that they add is worth the effort. I am surprised that the auto headlights don't come on in a light rain that will start the wipers. If the autowipers come on, the lights should also come on for five minutes or so.

Sorry to hear that. I know how hard the wait can be, but it is better to fix a potential problem now than wait until after you get it. I ordered one of the first Saturns and really loved it. Then after about a month or so, they recalled it, gave me a (vastly inferior) rental car and built a new one for me because it had the wrong antifreeze. The waiting was even tougher the second time, but who knows what problems I missed because they did that?

Finally saw my first free-range C-Max. It was a white SE heading east on the NSP near Hicksville at around 11:00. Very exciting! I wanted to have mine before seeing one, but I had it over a month. They have been selling like crazy in this area after hurricane Sandy but seem to be nowhere to be found. Wow!

It took me nearly a year to learn how to get the best mileage out of my Prius, because I tried too hard on Pulse driving, which was also a big thread at the time. It drove me crazy that my wife, who knew nothing of P&G, would always trounce me on MPG. I eventually learned thet long gentle acceleration and mellow driving worked best - just like in any car. After that, I regularly got at or close to 50 MPG and 500 on a tank. That was Until I put different (non-LRR) tires and they reformulated the gas from MTBE to ethanol. After that MPGs dropped to around 42 and only if I nursed it. This brings me to the other thread from 10years ago - "just drive it". You will probably enjoy the car more. Having said that, my mileage in the C-max is also lower than I expected considering that 18-20 miles a day are plug-in. I may practice P&G after all. I will then watch my wife continue to get better mileage, as usual.