Kelleytoons

Yeah, the CVT is another thing I'm not sure I'm willing to give up -- so I may have some real issues finding a CUV with a CVT (hmmm, I sense a song in there somewhere :>). If they do make a 2018 C-Max I might still be able to find a new one on a lot somewhere in 2019. Here's hoping.

Yup, might be mine as well (however, IF we get a model year 2018 C-Max I'd buy that -- don't think I can afford a new car before then). The lure of the C-Max to me is the mini-SUV build. I will NOT be buying a sedan ever again in my lifetime (that's non-negotiable - I'll go to gas if necessary).

Every 10k? Is this something my dealer would do under routine maintenaince or do I have to request it? I had the 5k thing done and at 13k I haven't done anything else, but I bought the "complete" package of care (so the dealer pays for all stuff for three years) and if this is something I should have done I'll take it to them soonest.

Does this happen when you play music on your phone via Bluetooth? (It doesn't for me, on 9.3).

While there are a few folks here who own and/or know things about the Energi, this is the Hybrid forum and you might try the Energi one to get better results.

Why did your wife question your judgment? Does she not like her own C-Max? If so, then she should understand completely why you'd want one for yourself. I'm in the opposite situation -- my wife is driving our old Durango which, while it's a 2000 and has around 180K on it as well, isn't what I'd categorize as a beater. I mean, it isn't worth anything at all via Blue Book, but the interior and exterior are still perfect, and it runs just fine. I'm hoping to get another 20 or 30K out of it (which, with my wife driving, will last another 10 years. I can even get that much more mileage out of the practically brand new tires). But if anything happened that made me decide we had to get out of it, I'd consider a used C-Max in a heartbeat (my wife would love it). In fact, I'm sure I'll get another new one in three years regardless -- although the Durango is a tank and I feel a whole lot safer with my wife inside of that, I still want to end up with two hybrids. Just hope they are still making them at that time.

Wow, *my* first Ford (my C-Max) is the quietest car I've ever owned -- the tires are almost noiseless (and I assume they are the same, although mine is a 2014 SE). Just goes to show how different strokes for different folks affect things (although you might experiment with tire pressure -- they can be run at a VERY wide range and you may well find one that suits you better). (My car is so quiet when I go up to the gate guards a lot of time they don't even come out because they don't hear me -- several have commented on this. I love running in EV "stealth" mode :>).

Yeah, the pep in the C-Max puts it *miles* ahead of the Prius (at least the one I test drove -- perhaps that new one that eludes cop cars is faster :>). It's the best vehicle I've owned in 50 years of car ownership, without a doubt.

I actually noticed an improvement with around 11K miles, and I suspect it's the battery (as others have noted, the engine machining is so good nowadays that you don't need to "break in" an engine for very long anymore. But batteries do take a while to adjust to the best charge/discharge cycles, AFAIK). It actually surprised me since I felt it couldn't get much better (IOW, I was very happy with what I was getting -- I seem to be getting the same mileage I was getting when I was *very* careful, even though I am much less so nowadays. Sorry -- just cheaper gas doesn't make me as good a hypermiler <g>). On that subject: if I have been using 87 grade gas for so long and switch now to premium am I at any risk to damage to the Max? I am really happy with what I'm getting and all, but the idea of getting more per tank interests me (and gas IS so cheap it's a good time to experiment). What are pros and cons of doing so?

Good for you -- I know you'll enjoy it (and of course you have the BEST color...). With gas prices starting to rise, our hybrids should start to get more popular again.

You might want to check to see if that road *is* included on any chip you want to buy (perhaps get on a local Ford forum or even go to the dealership and take a test drive on some car with a current chip and check that road out). My experience with GPS maps over the years is that it takes a LONG time for any particular new road to show up (we had a road in Nevada that was about a mile from our house that took about five years to finally get on there even though four years previous I put in a request to the mapping place telling them about the road -- don't remember what it was but it was a Garmin and there was some sort of place you could alert as to roads that weren't in the system). Would be a bummer to pay for a new chip only to find that road still isn't there.

Yeah, and if you wait for a few months they will come down even further (I have seen both A5 and A6 on eBay a few months after release for around $50, which is where I bought mine). The "need" for it really depends on the places you drive (in terms of what changes in the roads would be worthwhile having). I still have A5 and it's as accurate as anything I need (then again, I live in the Orlando area and there aren't a lot of new roads added very often -- perhaps in an area where roads are added more it would be more significant).

To me it isn't the noise the CVT makes (although I never hear it make any noise -- I'm guessing you do a lot of driving with the windows down, which here in Florida isn't much of an option) as the fact it just moves so smoothly throughout the entire power range. Perhaps it's a result of being an old man, but since I grew up on manual transmissions and came to automatics rather late in life (in my late 30's) I never thought ANY vehicle I ever owned did the right gear change -- it was either too early or too late. And I've owned some vehicles that were "touted" for their transmissions. So I got to the point where I kind of dreaded stepping on the gas or reducing it, because that "clunk" just irritated the hell out or me. But back issues forced me to automatics exclusively and until the C-Max I never even thought there was an alternative. Now I don't even think about it -- if I need to "go" it just goes, and when I throttle back it's smooth and easy and, as I said, I just can't imagine any other way to drive now (I'm guessing there are other CVTs out there, and hopefully on a hybrid, just in case I can't get another C-Max in a few years).

Yeah, and that's only over four years -- a lot of us keep our vehicles a LOT longer (I haven't owned anything I've kept less than 10 years, and the last three we owned for 15+). While the gas cost is low now, even if it stayed low I have no doubt the C-Max (hybrid, of course) will pay for itself well before we get a new one. Plus... it's a lot easier to budget for a car than it is to budget for gas. Long after our Durango was paid off we used to avoid making long trips because it just cost WAY too much. Adding $20+ to go into town for dinner made that night out just too expensive. Even with higher gas prices, we'd now laugh at that thought in Maximis -- a couple of bucks is no big deal.

Absolutely -- having more options is always a good thing. I worry all the time that when we do get around to needing another vehicle the C-Max will be gone (since we only buy new and drive the heck out of whatever we do get). I also think that in a couple of years gas prices will have gotten back (or exceeded) what we used to have and folks will definitely be feeling the pinch again. This absolutely can't last too much longer.

I've grown so used to not having an engine "shift" that it would *not* be natural for me to drive something that felt different -- that alone might be a deal breaker for me. We will surely want a new vehicle (for my wife) in two or three years, so this at least interests me to look at (but if the C-Max is around in some similar form I doubt whether I'd choose anything else).

It definitely sounds interesting, but I'd have to know just how comfortable and usable the interior is before I'd consider it a worthy competitor. I really can't ride any "cars" anymore -- just too low to the ground for this old back. That's why we were initially looking for a small SUV. The C-Max is the only vehicle other than that I've ever felt "high enough" inside to be comfortable. That and the visibility will be hard to beat in any other car. (I will give up a lot of mileage as long as I can sit high enough, but obviously that's just me -- and my wife).

Ah, thanks (yeah, I guess RTFM would have helped :>).

"supplemental fueling adapter"? Um, is this something I'm supposed to have? Or are we talking about just getting a regular funnel? I'd like to kind of know in advance just in case I ever get this issue (even on our Durango we get a similar "check fuel line" on the regular old fuel cap that has to be reset periodically).

Not only do I have multiple "Annies" but I have multiple Vets (if you have pets you'll understand). That's part of the problem with living so long <g>. And I definitely do NOT want to create a separate listing for "Wife" or "Daughter" or "Vet" (main one) because that's what Siri does best (creating those relationships internally). If the numbers change (and they do) I don't want to have to change them in multiple places. No, Siri is absolutely the best way to go for me a lot of times. But as long as I can do it one way or the other I'm fine.

Good. Yes, the paddle hold down is much longer than you think it ought to take, but it then eventually works. I kind of like it to even dial because I can use shortcuts I can't when dialing using MFT (for example, I can say "Call my wife at work" and it understands that command, whereas I have to say Call Annie Kelley Work via MFT. Which isn't bad, but I when I dial the Vet it's SO much easier to say Vet than to try and remember how it's listed exactly).

If there is anything I've learned about women (and there may well not be) it's that no amount of "reason" will do -- they go much more by feelings than most of us of the opposite sex do. And, of course, "happy wife, happy life". So if my wife decided she wanted a camel instead of a car I'd be looking to see how we would pasture it during the winter months. Just saying.

Yeah, that sounds more like it. I'm *really* skeptical that someone 5ft would have any issues at all, so my hunch is: 1) They just didn't adjust the seat far enough forward (and, as you say, they can also adjust the steering wheel) or 2) They are of the female gender. As we all know, there's no possible way to understand women, and for sure there is no way to solve a "problem" they face us with (because they don't want solutions, they just want us to listen). Now, all seriousness aside, there is some truth to that last one in terms of the C-Max. It just might be this isn't the car she really wants, and even if she can't quite define what it is she doesn't like about it (and thus uses her height as an excuse, even if subconsciously) there really isn't any way around that. IOW, a person of almost any size could drive the C-Max just fine IF that was a car that was a car they wanted to drive (like your own wife, rjam). For someone who doesn't want to drive it... no amount of "fixin'" will do. The other possibility is the car is just very different than anything she's used to -- I do admit even the much greater visibility worried me at first (didn't know if I'd like driving around in a "fishbowl") and now that seems just a very silly thing to even think about (I miss the visibility when I'm in any other vehicle). If that's the case, a few more test drives are definitely in order (and perhaps even just renting the car for a week is the best solution -- if you can find one to rent).

Oh, and for the passenger side she could always use a foot pillow so her feet won't "dangle".

Wow, that's interesting. My own DW is only 5' 4" or so (and shrinking more each day) but has no difficulties with Maximis even set up as I like it. But... that does beg the question -- did she move the seat FAR forward? I ask because a lot of folks don't think about this when considering seat height. It actually is far more comfortable for me (and I'm 5' 10") to keep the set moved very far forward so that my legs are bent. I read about this once in terms of back pain relief and tried it and have driven that way ever since (it's always a riot because every valet that parks it has to move the seat WAY back and then when I get back in... oh my). If the seat is far forward she might have to get used to holding the steering wheel a bit differently, but she should find no issue at all with foot pedals (since at the nearest position even Peter Dinklage could reach the pedals). At the very least she ought to go back and try that.