stevedebi

Different states, different policies. I should have said I was in CA, which has state as well as the federal incentives, plus single rider carpool access. Here, the price was virtually identical when I bought - a couple hundred more for the Energi.

I've seen some pictures. Check in the forums here and on the Energi forum for "towing" and etc. Once you have the hitch it seems to work fine.

One of the (minor) reasons I got the Energi is that the battery will last longer than the engine. The pure EV range will go down, but it will work as a hybrid basically forever, since the HVB is so much larger. In hybrid mode I can get around 50s MPG in town with careful driving. I don't plan on keeping mine past 10 years or so (the things just get too expensive to keep in repair, and I'll want a new car before that), but I could if I wanted.

Actually, my point was that there are rebates on the Energi, but not the hybrid. That could reduce the purchase price by a lot. Of course, if you can't live with the cargo space (or lack thereof), the rebates are a moot point. But for anyone who IS able to use the Energi, it should be considered in the "new vs used" debate. A new one has rebates (check with your state laws, as always). Tesla? Not for me. I need something that can go farther than 250 miles, out here in the west. I don't need a commuter car.

Kelly, Indeed, I would be the first to say loook at the cargo space in the rear before buying. However, for cost, the SEL and the Energi are within a few hundred dollars with Federal and state rebates available on the Energi. I'm not sure if the person interested in the 2013 realizes this, but it could take up to 4-6K off the price of the vehicle. The rebates are only good on new Energi vehicles.

For 2013, the Body Control Module can be programmed to turn on the DRL, but you have to find a dealer willing to do it. They disabled the option in the 2014 model, and added DRL as a driver setting in 2015.

Yes, I believe you are correct, 300.

Actually, I got about 36 MPG on a recent 1900 mile trip, but I was doing 75 MPH average speed. If you are going on a trip of around 200 miles, you will get over 40 on the road at 70 (I do this trip all the time), because you can use the large battery to assist on hills, and of course you don't need to use gas on the trip to and from the freeway. I'd say the two are about equal on pure gasoline trips - I regularly get in the 50's around town on those few occasions when I run out of HVB and have to go "hybrid" and use gas. But I have been driving a Ford hybrid for 7 years and know how to use the techniques. The main difference is that the larger battery adds 200 lbs to the weight of the car.

AWD is needed to get out of being stuck. Many folks make the mistake of thinking it can allow them to do more without getting stuck. That would be true only of true 4WD like a Jeep, not AWD.

I'd say there were about 8 or 9 available (both C-Max and Energi) when I bought in September 2014. That is out of about 60 available on the lot. They only had 2 Energi, both with high end option packages. I think it was never ordered a whole lot - I've only seen a couple since I bought mine, but I see a lot of the other colors. There are a bunch of C-Max here in LA.

Are you sure it isn't using the GPS module from your phone?

You do realize that the auto wiper feature can be turned off? The wiper position just above the low speed "always on" setting is OFF. You have to go one step above that to enable auto wiper. The indent setting above that is for the brief wipe.

Just to chip in my opinion here. I have an Ice Storm 2014 Energi. If your daily use is less that 20 miles, you won't have to add gas unless you go on a trip or you reach 1800 miles of electric use. The engine will come on occasionally to keep the oil fresh, and the fuel has to burn off at 1800 miles to keep the fuel fresh. I love the EV driving, although I go on an out of town trip every couple of weeks. But between that - silent, EV driving! If you have only two passengers, the rear seat will fold down to provide plenty of room. If you need four seats total, then the larger battery in the back may be a problem. You can see the difference clearly at the dealer by comparing the two. If you absolutely need the cargo to be covered, then the Hybrid is the way to go. The Energy doesn't have much covered space.

The 2013 can be turned on if you can find a dealer willing to do it. The 2014 (my model) cannot be turned on if it wasn't done at the factory. The 2015 has an operator setting to enable DRL. I put a thread on this up over on the Energi board. I'm very upset with them for changing the 2014 to disable the dealer settings. Probably my last Ford, after 40 years driving them.

http://researchmaniacs.com/VIN-Number-Lookup/WindowSticker/Ford.html

I have heard that the driving coach screens are on the left side for 2015.

I used the URL I posted and it comes up as a 2015 SE Hybrid, MSRP 27,085.00. Group 203A.

Maybe an obvious question, but did you get the VIN from the front of the car? It is visible near the driver windshield, looking through the window from the outside. There is also a scan code on my 2014. You would know if it is an Energi, that model has a round charge port in front of the driver door, and a really large battery protruding from the rear cargo floor. I've never seen the VIN lookup fail to be correct. This stuff is critical because the insurance company uses the VIN to determine rates. I generally use this site: http://researchmaniacs.com/VIN-Number-Lookup/WindowSticker/Ford.html

The fuel efficiency is liters / 100 kilometers. The lower the number, the better.

DRL means that it was a fleet sales vehicle.

Starter battery? Do you mean the 12v?

Just to clarify, both the hybrid and the Energi use the 12v battery to energize the electronics so that the HVB can spin the engine to start the car. Neither one will start without the 12v being charged. The "ready to drive" problem sounds like it may be the brake sensor; the car is not picking up the fact that the brake is depressed.

What would happen if a non-savvy user hits the button by mistake? The vehicle MPG would plummet, since the ICE alone does a pretty poor job of mileage.

Just to confirm, you don't have anything plugged into the OBD port, like a Scanguage II or other monitoring device? That messes up the reporting.

No, I haven't seen it. I was aware that it was the same sensor and brakes, just used differently, but thanks for posting that - always good to have extra information! However, I believe they are used differently, since the ABS is used when braking, whereas the RSC is used when cornering (generally during acceleration, but always at speed), and the TC is used when accelerating from a stop. Same sensors, different implementation. Note that RSC would use a different sensor, to detect tipping.