FreeMiles

Thanks! Her name is Lexi and she's an excellent dog! In the picture she is 4 months old.

Yeah I did block the side windows but she still has the rear... lol

Thanks Bill. And I was really looking at seat covers for the perfect fit but $600 was way out of my price range just to dog proof the car. I'm sure they work great and look amazing though!! I really wanted to make it so she couldn't damage anything at all hence the boards on each side. She's pretty good about laying down when the vehicle is moving but whenever we stop she's up and moving.

One of the reasons we went with a C-Max is because trips with our family of 4 humans and 1 dog (soon to be 80+ lbs or so) wasn't a cozy ride in our old sedan (Buick Regal). So a hatchback was a must! The Volt wasn't an option because we plan on 1 more and it only seats 4. Anyways enough of my sales pitch for the C-Max... The wife and I were trying to figure out the best way to keep our pup in the hatch and not on our leather seats... We went to Petsmart and tried to get a universal dog barrier but they do not make them small enough to accompany our enormous battery (Energi). So we decided to make one... We made it out of PVC Pipe and adapters. I don't remember the exact dimensions but if there is a demand I can get and post them. We attached it to the seats with a strap (similar to a belt [don't know the exact type]) but a sliding buckle would be the best option. To protect the seats we used a movers blanket from harbor freight but our pup chewed it up quick. This would work great if you place the bottom of a kennel in with it but we hadn't... So after she destroyed that we decided to get another movers blanket except this time we put duck cloth on top for strength and aesthetics. The movers blanket was mostly for padding. Also we have the Ford C-Max Engeri specific all-weather cargo mat just in case she pees so it doesn't soak into the carpet of the vehicle (if we don't use the kennel floor). So I'm super crazy about protecting my new investment/baby (lol) so I was worried about her paws accidentally scratching the plastic molding on the left and right of the battery, but covering up the vent ports was a NO GO for me. So I had some leftover ply wood laying around from another project and cut it out to fit the C-Max's sides and covered them in Duck Cloth for aesthetics and to prevent her from chewing on the wood (she loves to do that) and the wood splintering and leaving dust all over my car. I can just lean them up against the sides and they stay in place (surprisingly well!) and with the kennel floor in there it holds them in place. And to remove them i literally just grab them. This set-up works perfectly and cost us around $20 or so. In my opinion it looks pretty nice especially for what we paid and how protected our C-Max is! Also I recommend the rear bumper protector to prevent them from scratching the bumper as she exits. I hope you guys enjoy this. I know I wish I had a write-up for the C-Max specifically when purchasing the vehicle and making this, and thanks for reading! -Taylor

Does anyone have any expirence lowering the US C-Max? I'm not sure sure if the UK spec lowering springs would work. And if they did, if they're the correct spring rate for the US version.

Interesting. I figured Ford would stiffen the 300lb heavier rear end of the Energi. Either way I'm curious to know if we could swap ours for the Focus'. Or maybe we already have the "Sportier" suspension to compensate for the added weight over the Focus.

I was doing some research and found that the C-Max is based on the Focus platform. In my experience just about every car that shares a platform also shares suspension components i.e. Sway bars, shocks, springs, etc... Does anyone know how our factory equipped suspension compares the the Focus' performance suspension (Not the ST but the upgraded suspension package for the non-ST Focus). I'm sure that our rear springs are much stiffer then The Focus' because of our 300lb battery in the rear. But all the other components, namely the sway bars and front suspension may be much better for handling on our NRGs. (Recently posted to Energi Forum but it seems the hybrid forum is more active.) Any thoughts?