HotPotato

Amen. Plus, that spot can display graphics -- so people who are paying extra for navigation via Sync Services could actually get useful graphics in that space, instead of the arrows with the invisibly small heads that show up for just a moment in the center screen. I know on some Ford nav-equipped cars the right-hand screen gets road sign graphics, which is great, but even if they can't do that for the simple non-map Services navigation, then why not do like the Verizon Navigator service for dumbphones and have a big blue left arrow and a big red right arrow (and a big gray straight arrow), along with distance to turn and street name, and let it display 100% of the time when navigation is underway? It wouldn't take more memory, and it would be a lot clearer and easier for the driver. (It would be even cooler if the arrow started off light blue/red and got more color-saturated as the turn drew nearer.)

Per C-Max Chat blog (http://cmaxchat.com/?p=2225), the Kiplinger's personal finance publications have named Ford C-Max Hybrid “A Best Value” and Energi “Most Fuel-Efficient Wagon.” You can see Kiplinger's comments on the C-Max Hybrid at http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/cars/T011-S001-10-best-values-in-new-car-models-2013/index.html and on the C-Max Energi at http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/cars/T011-S001-14-most-fuel-efficient-cars-2013/index.html

I have accidentally put my iPhone in Private mode using the steering wheel controls...but not yet deliberately. :-)

http://www.autobytel.com/auto-news/awards/autobytel-2013-alternative-fuel-car-of-the-year-ford-c-max-114559/ Against some pretty stiff competition, including Chevy Volt, Tesla Model S, and VW Jetta Hybrid, the C-Max wins it.

(First: I feel ya...The sound in my SE certainly isn't as good as in my old Passat with Monsoon sound, but it's acceptable with the treble turned up.) So re your issue: My local car audio shop tells me that for proper soundstage you shouldn't have rear speakers at all; or should fade them completely out; or at the very least should have ones without tweeters. In other words, your barely audible rear speakers may actually represent "good" car audio principles...

No need for a visor clip -- there's a sunglasses compartment on the ceiling (the little gray dealybob in front of the rearview mirror-- it pops open to store stuff).

Me too! I am not a hybrid guy, I went in expecting to come home in an ST, but wasn't stoked on its cramped interior and harsh ride. I drove the C-Max and was so impressed with the refinement, spaciousness and responsiveness that I ordered one up in Tuxedo Black. The car is just a pleasure in every way: precise steering, fold-flat seats, silence at stoplights, the addictive faint jet whine of EV mode, flawless 2-zone automatic climate control, surprising scoot on demand and the fuel economy of a featherweight subcompact in a substantial little van with the driving dynamics of a premium European compact. And MyFord may be kludgy, but I like its Bluetooth connectivity, Applink, and voice commands. The car has been dandy for errands and long road trips alike. My biggest complaint is the turning circle: how can something a foot shorter than a Focus sedan have the turning circle of the Queen Mary? I literally have to back up and re-approach corners in the parking lot at my work...

I found a vinyl cargo cover at Marshall's. Has backpack-style adjustable straps with click-in connectors -- used them to secure it to the cargo tie-downs in back and the headrest posts in front. Here's a pic from a member who has the same item: http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/index.php?/gallery/image/220-img-042904/

But why would you top off? Generally, when the pump clicks off, the tank is full. Overfilling can pollute the environment with fumes, get you charged for gas you don't get, damage your vehicle's vapor recovery system, and damage the station's vapor recovery system. That's why (at least in my state) every single gas pump has an EPA sticker on it specifically saying not to top off. Here's the lowdown: http://www.epa.gov/donttopoff/ Sorry to be a party pooper...those fumes are precursors to smog, and I have family members with asthma, so this topic is a bit personal to me.

Me too! Just installed it last week. The ProClip mount does open a slightly noticeable gap in the trim, but the position, angle etc. are perfect. Great for iphone users: if you use your phone for navigation, you'll find the next-turn indicator is where you can easily see it; and the Siri button (which works over the car's Bluetooth) is where you can easily reach it. Why no obvious factory phone spot? Probably because Ford's big safety push is to eliminate the need to ever look at the phone, by leveraging voice commands over Sync. I wasn't sure whether to bother getting a mount, because until now I've just dropped the phone in the console connected by USB and used Ford's AppLink feature to control Pandora, or Ford's Services feature together with the Destinations app to get directions, etc. But honestly, that stuff is a bit kludgy...and until Ford implements natural language processing, instead of making you memorize specific command sequences, I am not sure it does as much as it should to reduce distraction.

Judging by dozens of road tests, Fuelly results, owner-submitted fueleconomy.gov trackings, etc., typical Prius users get the MPG they expect and typical C-Max users do not. Blaming the driver and the weather is dubious. I live in sunny Southern California, and recently decided to drive like Mr. Hybrid Guy: I watch the Empower meter to stay in EV, I have EV+ turned on, I accelerate gently and use cruise to keep my speed at or below the speed limit, my braking score is near perfect, and I still can't crack 35.4 mpg average. For me it's not the end of the world...I bought this car for a lot of other reasons besides MPG, and I wouldn't buy a Prius anyway. But to someone who bought a C-Max over a Prius for MPG, this would be cause to grab the torch and pitchfork. You raise a good point about variability in results...it is pretty crazy to me that there are people on here getting 43 mpg and others getting 32... and that some road tests get the car to 60 mph in 7 seconds while others need 9.5. It kind of makes me wonder if quality is inconsistent--my car has a couple of minor interior quality hiccups (seat cable missing, headliner not tucked in properly) which I hope aren't indicative of mechanical build quality. I'd mention that in my new-owner survey online, but speaking of quality -- I when I filled it in and pressed Submit, Ford's system crashed. No joke. Would running a vehicle health report unearth a trouble code for fouled plugs? Maybe I'll try that.

The way they're able to offer the big 7" screen standard, is that it's not a touch screen...hence all the buttons. There's a case to be made that tactile buttons are safer than touch screens...but AFAIK, only when they are shaped so you can find and identify them by feel, like Mercedes seat buttons or the "soft keys" on a C-Max SE... I will say, they did a great job styling the Buick inside and out. I can't imagine a more challenging design job than making a lifted Chevy Sonic look anything short of ridiculous...let alone making it look larger, tougher, and sophisticated and expensive.

So GM has introduced its new subcompact crossover, the Buick Encore: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/healey/2013/01/19/test-drive-buick-encore/1566430/ Like the C-Max, it's a short-but-tall wagon with unexpected luxury features and a focus on fuel efficiency, and it stickers in the very same price range. Unlike the C-Max, it uses extra-small size and a small-displacement turbocharged gas engine to achieve fuel economy: it produces 138 hp, less than the C-Max's gas engine alone and 50 hp less than the C-Max's combined output. How well does it work? In their test, USA Today managed just 19.5 real-world MPG in the Encore. The C-Max has more space, more power, and nearly double the real-world MPG for the same price. That sound you're hearing is me patting myself on the back for making the right choice...and slapping with a wet noodle those who claim a conventional powertrain could match our fuel economy in a small crossover.

Wingrider, I share your frustration. I "only" get about 35 city, 38 highway, 35+ combined. But the truth is, we could not have matched our MPG with the Focus, Titanium or otherwise. We could not have matched our MPG in an Escape. We couldn't match the city MPG even in a Fiesta, for Pete's sake. The numbers are all here: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSearch.do?action=make&path=4&year=2013&make=Ford&srchtyp=yearMake -- EPA estimates and real-world reports. Make no mistake, the discrepancy between sticker and pump is glaring; perhaps Ford ought to give us gas cards like Hyundai did for their disgruntled owners. But MPG is still better than any ICE-powered equivalent, and most tests find real-world mileage of the C-Max and its competitor the Prius V to be pretty close.

I heartily second that. I bought my Mazda from Galpin a few years back. My local dealer had lied to me and lost my business. Galpin agreed to match my desired offer right over the phone. When I arrived, there was zero sales pitch, just honest answers and willingness to find the car I wanted. Instead of trying to steer me to overpriced dealer financing, they actually encouraged me to contact a credit union to see if I could get a better finance deal there. They honored the deal as promised over the phone, no static. And my straight-shooting, fair-dealing, no-pressure salesman was later promoted to sales manager. (The F&I guy sold me one thing that maybe wasn't in my best interest, but unfortunately that's to be expected at any dealer and now I know better.) And the whole experience was in-and-out in the minimum possible time. This time, I bought my C-Max locally instead, from the same dealer that had fibbed to me the first time. And everyone was nice, truly. But they also each did at least one thing that seemed shady to me. The quoted payments didn't match the agreed-upon price and interest rate; I caught it and they backpedaled. They said Costco pricing didn't apply; I called Costco and they said that wasn't so. I had come in with pre-approved financing at a low rate; the dealer told me the bank was now demanding a higher rate; I called the bank and it appeared the dealer had put through a new loan application for me (perhaps with a fat commission built into the interest rate?) instead of sending the paperwork for the low-rate loan the bank had already okayed. They sold me a service plan that would save me money based on the 5000 mile service intervals they said the car had; it turns out the car has 10,000 mile intervals so I paid for double the service I can use, and I'm still waiting for the promised refund check on that...and they made that refund promise verbally only, despite repeated requests to email me. On top of all that, they had me waiting for no apparent reason on two consecutive days until I was so tired and hungry I would have signed whatever they put in front of me just to get out of there. Oh---and then the car was delivered with a defect that should have been caught in dealer prep, and I have take the car into their shop a second time to get it fixed since they didn't call me the first time to tell me the part had been back-ordered. I won't put the dealership's name here, because my sales lady really does seem to be willing to advocate for me to get stuff resolved, and it's possible it could have all been a series of honest mistakes combined with unusually busy traffic, but... the whole experience smelled a little off to me. If I were to do it again, I'd go to Galpin.

Thank you! Nice color you have...Ingot Silver seems to look great on all Ford cars.

Just got my C-Max before Christmas -- tuxedo black SE, no options. I've got about 1500 miles on it so far, all in southern and central California. Here are my impressions. It's Euro-style: Here in the US, passenger microvans like the C-Max are rare -- we've got the Mazda5 and that's it. In Europe, everyone and their brother drives a microvan -- there, they are called monospaces. After all, a monospace is reasonably fun to drive, holds plenty of people and stuff, parks easily, and doesn't use too much fuel. I drove a monospace in France and Spain, and it was lovely (it was a turbodiesel VW model...don't expect those to be imported; they'd cost over $40,000 US). The C-Max has been on sale in Europe for several years (with conventional powertrains). When the C-Max was introduced in the US, I jumped at the chance to own one. To American eyes, the C-Max's monospace profile looks like a potato (hence my username), but I don't mind the look. It's a real car, not a hybrid toy: The road manners and refinement of the C-Max are comparable to those of a German near-luxury sedan -- I should know, that's what I traded in for it. The front seats are very comfortable even on long road trips. And the car swallows cargo like a small SUV...I love those one-pull fold-flat seats (I have a big dog). Real-world MPG is excellent...by the standards of real cars (not of hybrid toys). The C-Max does a fair impersonation of a near-luxury car or compact SUV in two other areas as well: power and weight. And since the laws of physics have not been repealed, this means you will probably not see the fabled 47 mpg. My use case is unfavorable for a hybrid and I don't drive like Grandma...so I'm getting 35.4 mpg, vs. 20 tops in my old car. On 55-mph trips over two-lanes, MPG is better (just saw 42 on such a trip). My MPG went up measurably when I switched to the Empower display in the instrument cluster; it shows you how to keep the car in the electric zone. Note: These are trip computer readings, not manual calculations. It's fun to drive...kind of. Depending on which reviewer tested the car (and whether or not they turned off the traction control), magazine and online reviewers have gotten 0-60 times from 7 seconds flat (faster than a VW GTI) to 8.8 seconds (faster than molasses and/or a Prius). I find grunt more than sufficient around town and impressive on the highway. Steering is precise, with good centering and little play. Tires are of a sporty size, but not a sporty compound. One reviewer called the C-Max "the first hybrid hot hatch," but the creampuff character of the car just doesn't encourage hooning. I do find creeping along silently in EV mode to be entertaining in a different way though...feels like piloting a spaceship. Sync with MyFord is...okay. Since I have the base SE without MyFord Touch, I have Sync-with-MyFord instead, meaning I have physical buttons and a smaller screen (albeit in an arguably safer line-of-sight location nearer the windshield). Reviewers speculate that this is easier to use than MyFord Touch due to the real buttons. I doubt it, since there aren't necessarily the specific buttons to do what you want (e.g. selecting Bluetooth streaming audio or accessing Sync services). I enjoy learning and using the voice commands, but I shouldn't have to. And while Android fans will dig AppLink, Apple iPhone users like me get a hobbled implementation: apps only work if we first load them on the phone, lock the screen, and connect the USB cable---which also means only one AppLink app at a time. However, I just learned that Siri works over the car's Bluetooth -- you just push the iPhone's home button like usual to voice-command your phone to open apps, give you directions, etc. -- so I'm buying a dash mount for my iPhone. Using Siri won't push the display's information to the MyFord screen like AppLink does, but it won't require me to use Sync-specific robot language patterns to command the functions either. (BTW, if you have a smartphone, there's no need to buy Sync Services; I just did it out of curiousity, particuarly re the Directions service...which has text and voice only, no maps.) Quality...seems good, we shall see. One thing didn't work upon delivery -- it appears they forgot to install the release cable for one of the folding seats (the part is on back order). No other weirdness so far, and the car seems very well engineered and built.