Kelleytoons

That's certainly a thought, but I'm not sure in practice how it would help since the seat position I like (forward so my legs are comfortable with the pedals) wouldn't allow me to bring the wheel much closer without it hitting my chest. However, I have to admit I didn't fiddle much with these things during the short test drive so it may well be solvable once I get the chance to experiment. My wife and I did both find it odd that the cars we tested (three small SUVs and the C-Max) were so inconsistent about arm rests (the best one was the Buick Encore, but even it only had a pull down arm rest for the driver and my wife was irritated by the lack of it as a passenger). You'd think that most of these smaller vehicles would realize a pull down arm rest is really the way to go since then you can accommodate any desires (but I guess cost is a consideration). Worse comes to worst I'll just engineer my own from foam and fabric (hey! Maybe I'll Shark Tank them and make a fortune! <bg>)

I do prefer the navigation with Google Maps on my iPhone -- it's really slick, well thought out, and (usually) even more accurate than our pretty accurate Garmin, but these old eyes need a larger screen (then again, when I go to the iPhone 6 I'll have a larger screen than my phone currently has <g>). Sometimes I've used both -- turned on Google maps and let her talk to me while the Garmin points out streets (which is why I've found GMaps to be more accurate at times). Eventually -- maybe even within my lifetime <g> -- we'll see the logical conclusion to this with car makers allowing complete integration with our smartphones so that the display will show up there. That way, just like playing media on that screen, you could bring up your navigation (and other) apps on the in-dash screen and otherwise operate with the phone in that manner. It just makes SO much more sense -- Ford (nor any other car maker) should not be in the computer application business. They could then leverage all the great apps available on phones and only have to worry about working with them. Trust me, some maker will do this soon and then all the others will have to jump on that bandwagon. Yes, they will lose a bit of money (because they can't sell you their own software systems) but they will get FAR more customers and have far less headaches having to deal with stuff they really aren't set up to deal with (I suspect Ford leaves all the media stuff to third parties anyway). I can see this coming because up to even just a few years ago integration with phone calls and music playing was almost non-existent -- so the other stuff is just around the corner. And who knows, it might even be retrofitted into the existing systems out there (that's my real hope).

Sorry to revisit an old thread but I also live in Florida (although central so not nearly as hot as you :>) and never heard of such things before. In looking at them it seems like a good idea but I wonder how they work in practice. In our Durango I just accept the (slight) rain that comes through when I crack a window when driving but these seem kind of cool. Have you found them working out for you? (If so, I'll put them on our own Ice Storm Max that's coming in this week).

Hopefully Ford does do some monitoring of these forums, but if you are as savvy as you say you'll understand that most official forums aren't even on any company's radar (I was level 6 on the Apple forum for many years, having racked up over 100,000 answers to people's questions, and while from time to time some Apple employees did come by to help (like FordService does here) there still is no official monitoring of the forums and no attention paid to anyone's complaints or suggestions). The lack of spare is what it is -- nearly all makers are headed that way and it's unlikely to change. It seems like the battery problem has been taken care of, so I think it comes down to somewhere in your mind other than those things you have decided the C-Max isn't for you, and that's fine. We all make our own decisions and sometimes the most important ones are made by our heart and not in our minds (heaven forbid my wife had ever tried to be logical about wanting to marry me :>). I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you end up with, just like those of us here who have chosen the C-Max are happy in that choice (well, except for the ones who aren't <bg>).

Thanks for the congrats. We got one with nearly all the bells and whistles (except it has cloth interior, which we really wanted in this hot and muggy climate). So I'm not sure what trim that ends up being (it has auto liftgate, back sensors and Nav, for example). Ice Storm which was the best color of any car and make we looked at other than the Honda CR-V (whose light blue color, whatever it's called, is truly stunning). My wife will drive it to work two days a week and for whatever other trips she needs to make when I'm playing tennis (I'm retired and play six days a week most weeks, but the courts are within three miles of our house so I can use our Durango to get there and not wince at the gas :>). I, of course, will drive it on ALL other occasions <g>.

As it turns out we ended up with the Nav system (originally our salesperson couldn't find one in the color and specs we wanted, but he then came through) so I'm happy but when it looked as though we'd have to settle without it the thought also occurred to me that you could replace the entire system with an after market one that offered all this (Crutchfield is always sending me catalogs with such things). Of course, you wouldn't have the same kind of integration but I suspect that as time goes by such third party solutions are going to be more and more integrated with existing cars. Truth be told, I'm not so sure that the in-dash navigation is going to be half as nice as our current Garmin unit offers, but I just wanted a more "clean" solution and am willing to put up with a somewhat less satisfying experience not to have to deal with cords and other awkward placement crap. (My wife, OTOH, was perfectly fine with continuing to use the Garmin. Then again, she's less comfortable with new technology in general -- took me *forever* to get her to use a Smart Phone, although now she can't live without hers :>).

Maybe it's because I sit close forward or just have short arms but the little rest that's there is WAY too far back to use. The natural place to rest my right elbow would hover directly over the cup holders. I'll try the foam one but if there are other solutions I'd love to hear them (even my wife, who is not normally a complainer about such things was bothered as both a passenger and driver).

Marc, I was told by my Ford dealer that it has to be in the system and cannot just be "added" by putting in that SD card. So it's both hardware AND software (because my question was whether I could add it to My Touch system after purchase, no matter how much it cost and was told no).

So very, very true. I have worked support on many forums over the decades and always tell people it's like a hospital -- if that was your only experience in life you'd think there weren't any healthy people in the entire world. Few people will seek out a forum just to say "hey, everything is just fine with me, just letting everyone know!"

Okay, so I'm being bad and not doing a forum search first (so I apologize in advance if this has already been asked -- just point me where if so) but the one thing (and only thing) I didn't like about the C-Max interior is the lack of arm rest for both the driver and passenger. I see on Amazon I can get a Trillium foam rest that most likely will work but I'm wondering if any others out there have come across other solutions to this I might be overlooking. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Hi, kids, my wife and I are two old folks who started off Friday looking for either a small SUV or a hybrid sedan and ended up with a C-Max after the internet salesman at the Ford dealership (a terrific guy named Ryan) called it the "hybrid version of the Ford Escape". We think that description apt if not complete. And after driving it we never even got as far as the Toyota dealer (to check out the Prius V, which after reading things makes me glad we didn't bother -- however, I've driven my friend's Prius Sedan and it's a whale that I would *never* buy). I'm actually pretty amazed we got a hybrid (even though it was on the table I was pretty sure we were going to get a small SUV since we came from a Durango and wanted the same sort of layout if not size). But this is one of those rare cases of anti-buyer remorse (you know, you go out and order a car and then start reading about it and think you made a mistake). The more reviews and info I read about the C-Max the more right I think we were and the more excited I am about getting it (the one we want is being delivered in the next couple of days and we'll pick it up Thursday). Anyway, I'll stop by here I'm sure to ask questions and look for tips and tricks (and perhaps share any we discover). It's been a LONG time since I've been as excited about a car as I am about this one (our Durango is 14 years old, bought brand new in 2000, and will now serve as only a backup).