rotozuk

Went into to San Francisco and saw a lot of C-max taxis in the city. Not sure if that is good or bad. LOL They use a fair amount of the normal size Prius for Taxis also. -Wayne

I'm still on my first tank and getting about 43mpg with mixed driving. Pretty happy with that until I see some of the numbers other folks are posting up with fully broken in cars. I will admit I have given her full throttle a few times. Wasn't really trying to optimize fuel economy at first. -Wayne

Yep, I'm not a fan of the sound quality or the navigation/features. And the free Sirius has rather horrible compression artifacts. Can't wait until the subscription for that dies as my wife will stop asking me to play those stations. Yes, I guess I am an audio snob or something... I have usually installed my own stereo systems, but this day and age that is just not an option. I'll probably add a small sub to help fill the cabin and call it good. Don't get me wrong, the sound is on par with other stock audio systems. Perhaps there is some sort of liability that keeps any automaker from putting in a decent audio system with full range of audio output. It compares favorably to the stock radio I had in my Mazda 3, but the Mazda was much easier to use thanks to having navigation buttons for jumping to different sources. In my old Isuzu Trooper I have about a $150 Sony headunit, and maybe $200 in speakers, amp and a small sub. nothing fancy at all! The options, navigation and sound all eclipse what we have in the C-max. This costs a fraction of what I paid Ford for the radio in my C-max. :cry: -Wayne

the fire marshal just stopped by my office for a little inspection and before he was done he had to ask if the C-max out front was mine. Turns out the local fire department has a number of C-max's for them to run around in. I look outside, and sure enough he has a near twin of my car in the lot. He has been very happy with his, but did comment on the turning radius. I guess you could say it turns like a fire truck. Looks like they are about to buy 5 more of them for the city. :) -Wayne

Well, Ford recently announced a poor profitability report based on all of the new vehicles rollouts they have had in the last year around the world. They have never had so many new vehicle models at the same time, this is a very expensive process. The F-150 currently gets all the advertising as it is their bread winner, most profitable model by far. So back on subject a bit. One of the cars I was originally considering was the Toyota Rav4. From there I ended up checking out the Escape, and that was parked next to the line of C-max and one thing led to another. (My dealership has about 15 C-max, 30 Fusion, 10 Explorers, 30 Escapes, 2 Transits, and almost no trucks. Very different mix for a Ford dealer.) Anyhow, my buddy stopped by my office after spotting the C-max. He knew I was very interested in the rather rare Electric Rav-4 he had just bought. (Tesla guts.) So he took my C-max for a test drive, then I test drove his Rav4. Interesting experience. I made sure he drove it a bit faster into a turn to enjoy the handling. I think he liked that. That Rav4 electric is kind of fun with all that electric power on tap initially. Put it in sport mode and the tires will not last long. But once it gets to 40mph, it feels like a normal car. The rest of the Toyota felt like a normal econobox car. Tire noise, normal gas pedal calibration and normal feeling brakes. The C-max in comparison is rather sensitive to throttle and braking. I rather like this calibration on the C-max, it seems more responsive due to this sensitivity. The calibrations tended to make the Rav4 feel sluggish to me, but it was just a matter of adjusting to it. Ultimately the C-max was the better fit for my needs. The electric Rav4 is perfect for my buddy and his business. It is fun driving other cars, especially when I keep coming back to my C-max. I really do love it. The comfort, quiet cabin, and features really add up in my mind. I could tell my buddy was loving the interior of the C-max. His electric has a different dash than the gas Rav-4, that is ashame as the Rav4 does have a nice dash. (His Rav had poor storage in the dash also.) -Wayne

They should be fine. Weathertech has the same part number for both cars for the rears. -Wayne

OK - The C-max is kind of a bastard child here in the USA. Not a lot of aftermarket available for it. What items from other vehicles can be used with the C-max? I bring this up as I recently ordered some Ford Escape floor mats, and as I suspected they are a perfect fit for the C-max. I discovered this by chance comparison of part numbers. Seems even the manufacturer was not aware of this. Here is a sample picture. So this begs the question, what else can be borrowed from other models that share the same basic platform? I'd bet some suspension bits could be shared with the Focus. Don't think I would mess with the brakes. One area I'd like to see an improvement to the C-max is the turning radius. I have not popped my head in the wheel well yet to see why on earth Ford has limited the steering so heavily. (Fucus is slightly better at 36 feet versus 38.4 on the Max.) Anyhow, these conversations tend to bring up some interesting options. -Wayne

Got the mats in today, and they fit very nicely but as usual, the color is pretty far off. Here are some pics showing the fit, and I also included a picture with the stock Ford carpets for a size comparison. The "velcro like" material on the back of these grips very nice. Looks to be very similar material to what Ford uses on the stock mats. I would have loved these if they were a better color match, and I knew they would not fully cover the drivers left foot rest, but still would make them a bit better if they extended further up. I debated going with the black or grey color, but I have to say that I do like being able to see things against the lighter color when they drop on the floor. I think I will be sticking with these. So, if it helps you all in floor mat selection, anything that fits a 2014 Ford Escape will also fit the C-Max. -Wayne

Ha! I haven't even lifted the hood on my C-max. I have all of 200 miles on it. I hope to god I won't have to wrench on this car. I bought new so I wouldn't have to. Trust me, I have done my share of wrenching on other vehicles, even built my own from the ground up, all suspension, chassis, etc. Cutting, bending, welding.. You get the idea. Now I don't have to. :) -Wayne

Strange how few you see on the road. Friends and family we told about our new car purchase all pretty much ask the same thing: C-max, what is that? A guess it is Ford's best kept secret after 2 years. LOL

Sorry, I'm still a new owner of the C-max, less than a week. My niece will be buying my Mazda3 that the C-max is replacing. I liked the Mazda just fine when I was driving it every day, but after driving the C-max for a few days I am amazed at how gutless the Mazda's 2.3 engine feels compared to the C-max, the brakes feel spongy, how harsh the suspension feels, and the annoying shakes when idling at a street light. Nope, I don't think I will miss the Mazda one bit. I was rather amazed at noticing these things after driving the C-max for just a couple of days. I'm not saying the C-max is all that amazing, I'm sure almost any new car would feel better than a 10 year old Mazda3, but still surprised me to have such a strong reaction. Can't wait to drive my even old Isuzu Trooper. :kookie: But that one is sticking around. I do love my old gas guzzling Trooper. Need something to tow the boat with. LOL -Wayne

For those that have a K&N and some miles on it, try this simple test. Pull off the filter and rub your finger down the filtered intake and see how much grit you find. I used to use K&N on all of my cars, but after finding dirt in all of my intakes (4x4s that saw a lot of dirt roads and street cars) I stopped using them. They were not doing the one thing they are supposed to do, FILTER. As far as a K&N messing up a MAS, I doubt it. You do not need to keep the filter dripping with oil. Though I have seen more than a few owners that would oil the filter way too often. By the way, you need to check the flow of an oiled filter after it has been in use for a few thousand miles. They need to collect some dirt (in the oil) to reach full filtering capability. LOL A lot of folks fail to do this when they flow test them. Correct me if I am wrong, but K&N used to warn users not to clean them very often as you would wash away the important dirt. I'll be sticking with the good old paper filters. No issues with those. They are cheap, they work, and they will not void warranty. -Wayne

Well, I ordered up the carpeted version of the 3D MAXpider floor mats, so we shall see. (They offer them in carpeted or rubber.) I only ordered the fronts as we rarely have anyone in the back seats. -Wayne

Yep, that is an issue with the Weathertechs. I debated the Weathertechs, then saw the Husky liners that cover the left side foot rest for the driver, but just was not very excited about the price or look of either of these. Then I ran across the 3D MAXpider floor mats. These appear to be very nice, but still do not cover the entire foot rest. http://www.amazon.com/3D-MAXpider-Custom-All-Weather-Select/dp/B00IBOLMI6/ref=au_as_r?ie=UTF8&Make=Ford%7C54&Model=Escape%7C659&Year=2014%7C2014&n=15684181&newVehicle=1&s=automotive&vehicleId=6&vehicleType=automotive I should point out that these are not listed as fitting the C-max, but I noticed that Weathertec sells the same part number for both the C-max and the Escape, so I'm going to give these a try. I think Husky sells the same part for both vehicles also. Heck, they have pretty much the same seats and dash in both vehicles also. I think they share a common platform. -Wayne

I may have ordered one of these also, but the wife and I went to the local fabric store the day before we took delivery of our C-max and picked up some nice Fleece material and cut some slits and slide it over the head rests. The main job was to keep dog fur off the carpets in the cargo area and back of the seats. We went with a nice yellow lab color, I'll let you guess why. LOL We got enough to line 2 cars and a sofa at home. For the C-max it can be suspended over either the front seat headrests or the rear. Easy, peasy and cheap. Perfect for dog abuse. We also put a little memory foam down in the rear cargo area for the dogs. They seem very happy back there. :) -Wayne