Taz

Is the EcoHitch about the only option for a 2" receiver. I can't find anything else that has a 2". I want to share one bike rack across multiple vehicles. It is a 2" one.

Under inflation is relative. Quite often car manufacturers choose a PSI level that is a compromise, like almost all other aspects of the car. Most often on a "normal" car, they bias it toward the lower end of the spectrum for better ride quality but not so low as to maybe have a significant hit on mpg. Higher PSI does reduce the risk of hydroplaning. I experienced it very severely already in the car at stock tire pressures. I am currently at 48 psi and the car has been driving great. Best mileage so far and tire wear is very good. Ride quality didn't suffer as much as i thought it might. The car is a bit more nimble too which is a nice plus when trying to conserve momentum through turns. Only on a fairly rare occasion am I reminded that the pressure is higher than stock.

Glad you are ok. That is the most important thing. Congrats on the new ride.

Thanks, very helpful. I may attempt in a parking lot somewhere in LA.

Good find. I had stumbled across some nice drop in replacements for the Cmax a few weeks ago but I forgot to bookmark them. They were 4500k and 5000k and good reviews. I hate to do my search over but I may have to as I should have bookmarked them. I am traveling almost every day for work and have no place/time to build anything. I really can't stand the lights any more.

There is more to hydroplanning than just tire pressure. If the road is grooved like some highways that lessens the risk. The amount of tread on the tire, the siping, etc. Whether you want to believe it or not, there is a relationship between tire pressure and hydroplaning. You don't have to believe me though, go here. http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/rulings/TPMS_FMVSS_No138/part5.6.html and here https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=3

Thanks for the info. I have been looking around for LEDs and most are 5500k or higher. I really can't believe how crappy the stock lights are.

Thanks for the info. It seems like their quote of $156 is a total rip off then. That puts it at about $300/hour for the work. Anyone else make a 2" hitch? I have a Thule rack I want to use from my Flex.

I was looking at the Ecohitch until I checked with the local "authorized" installer here in LA. They (Rack N Road) said they wanted $156 to install it. They don't seem to stock them either though on their website it seemed like they might. How long did it take you to install the hitch for those of you who did it? The problem I have is there is no place I can really work on the car to do it myself. i am prohibited from working on it where I am normally at. If not too long of an install, I might just try and wing it and do it in a remote parking lot myself.

Great news. I am not only interested in saving some watts but also much better headlights. How well do the new likes work in this respect? What is their color temperature? I am looking for something more around 4500k and not over 5000k if possible.

Did you have to do a timing belt change on your TDI? That was a pretty spendy maintenance item on my TDI. Just because YOU didn't pay for the maintenance on the first 40k doesn't mean it didn't cost something so it isn't accurate to say it was cheaper to maintain. VW just added it into the price of the car. I've owned a lot of diesels in my lifetime and still have a TDI. I tend to agree that the fuel costs may be lower but often there are a lot of other associated costs that people don't look at. All the little sensitive things like a bad load of diesel and you need to change your fuel filter. Really cold weather so you add some diesel fuel conditioner to help it form gelling. I could go on and on. I spent so much time on a farm working with diesel tractors and bulldozers I think my hands permanently smell like diesel. If I was 100%, or close to it on a highway, I'd consider a diesel (or another Prius). Other than that our C-max is great. I don't know if it will last as long as my longest running diesel at 470,000+ miles, but for now it is a good option dealing with LA traffic and the weekend trips.

Did they do away with some of the views for the 2014? I can't find the tach or the water temp option in the display? I access it via Torque but that isn't always handy. As for batteries, if they last 100k, I'll be happy. Almost every mile I drive is written off. So if I make it to 100k, I'll have paid for the initial purchase price of the car almost 3 times over. I originally planned on just have it for 2 years or so and for my wife mostly. I end up driving it the most since it is so cost efficient.

I have no DRLs at all. It this a selectable option? My headlights are never on my SEL (energi) unless I turn them on. I actually thought about going to a drive-in this past weekend and was worried about the headlights. I checked and noticed then that I had no DRLs.

What has worked well for me is use electric from a stop but max of 2 bars up to about 20 mph. From 20 up to cruise speed I use the ICE. Then I left off the throttle and let it cruise in electric as much as i can. I use a gentle pulse and glide without huge speed variations. If I let it vary more, I get better mileage. In traffic I keep it about a 5-7 mph variation. Current tank in the city is at 55 mpg with no pure EV running on my Energi's main pack. It is currently depleted and no chance to charge until Monday so it is in pure hybrid mode. For comparison my last tank was 39 mpg on a high speed run from LA to San Francisco in 105+ temps. That was a lot of cruising at 80-90 mph on the 5 northbound. I also had a few chances to test out the top speed limiter. Experiment with your car a bit to see what works best. My mileage really started to improve once I had over 5,000 miles on it.

Glad you got your car back. It would have been better if you got the thieves as well. Most of the time they steal it and drive it to a "cooling off" area to see if anyone shows up to get. After a day or 2 they come back for it. Did the cops check for prints? What I don't understand is why did they steal it? These things aren't exactly flying off the lots as it is. Maybe they had an "order" in for one for one from a body repair shop. I made sure to etch all my glass so they can't easily re-use that. I put a code on every window to identify where the glass came from if they steal it.

I had a very highly modified SVO Mustang. How about a SVO version of a C-max Energi? People used to snicker when I told them I had a "race diesel" until they took a ride in it. Sort of reset expectations about how quick a diesel could be. Sort of like how Tesla has shown a lot of people that electric doesn't have to be slow either...

I would love a rear spoiler too. I thought something like the old Ford Merkur XR4ti model could look pretty cool. It was a bi-plane spoiler on the rear. Sort of a double spoiler in effect. I think it could look pretty cool on the C-max. If it had a functional improvement, I'd definitely be in. See an example here. http://clunkbucket.com/merkur-xr4ti-the-inside-story/ I have also thought that the color of the car can sort of set the "tone" of the car as well. I try to keep a theme consistent to some extent with the color of the car.

Very well thought out review - kudos! My C-max Energi has an inside rear hatch release. Maybe it came with my 303a pkg. I absolutely love the option to move my foot under the bumper. It is REALLY nice when my arms are full of junk. I think I am on my 5th fill up as well but that has been in about 5 weeks. My average FE until this point was 40 mpg under pretty much terrible conditions. This tank is markedly better. Partly because I've been actually able to plug it in but also because I've learned how to drive it better. Glad you are enjoying your C-max so much. I fell in love with one when I had it in Europe with a diesel. Really wish they would bring that model to the US. I probably would have bought it and not my Energi at the time. Now i realize the Energi is a great choice as well.

Light stone in ours. The problem is after you've been driving for a few hours, there is no "breathing" or ventilation of the seats. This results ina very sweaty back and nether regions. When you are driving you can't really move around too much. Factor in that you can go about 7 hours on the highway before refueling and the seats are what dislike the most about taking a trip with the car. They could also use a bit more thigh support as well. The AC can keep the rest of the car nice and cool but the seats just don't allow for any air circulation. If that had done some serious perforations then it would have been much better. I feel like my back is coated in saran wrap and can never breath when stuck in the seats on a hot day for a few hours. As I said the sheepskin does help but I'd rather have some sort of ventilated/AC seats.

I would suggest looking in some of the bigger junkyards. Probably a few wrecked ones out there. I have the leather seats in my NRG and don't like the leather very much. It isn't ventilated and doesn't breath worth a darn in hot weather. I finally spent a few hundred to buy sheepskin to cover the leather up and make it more comfortable in hot weather.

The tires are narrow because they went with a very tall wheel. By doing this they keep a decent contact patch but reduce drag quite a bit. It was actually quite a smart way to approach it. I know it looks a bit odd but there is a reason for it.

I really liked the i3 a lot. It was a very serious contender on our short list of cars before we bought the C-max. I really like the electric B class Benz. A very nice car too even if it doesn't look so edgy. One thing about the i3 that didn't impress me was the AC. I would do some serious test driving on hot days before I took one home. I drove one in Texas and LA. It really seemed to struggle to keep up with the Texas heat and it was only 90F. In LA it seemed to be a bit better but it was only 83. I don't think the AC was anywhere near as good as the Cmax's.

In CA, diesel makes a lot of sense. Even though it is cheaper than gas there, it is still more expensive than what most states charge for gas. I am out of LA for the weekend and diesel is 30 cents a gallon more than gas here in a lot of places. Gas is $2.39 a gallon. When I left LA this morning it was at $3.99 on the way to the airport for gas. While weight is the enemy, on the highway it is less of an issue. So a diesel electric hybrid might be able to get by with a small battery pack and thereby save some weight. I think they might not do it because diesels are harder to control the noise than gas motors. Some people don't like the smell either. Put a diesel motor in a very aerodynamic platform like the Prius and you could like see 70mpg at cruise on the highway pretty easily. Sadly most of the diesel cars on the road where built with aerodynamics at the forefront of the design process.Factor ho how long the motors last and it could be pretty interesting. My current diesel is close to 200k and running great. My highest mileage diesel was 437k and was still running quite well when someone stole it. Only issues engine/drivetrain related were original turbo went at 190k and the differential went at 270k. Mercedes definitely knew what they were doing when they built their diesels.

What I would love to see is a diesel/electric hybrid stuffed in a very aerodynamic body like a Prius or Tesla. Then you could have the best of both worlds. As far as pure diesel, I have a TDI that I love. Sadly where it is at, diesel costs enough more that it offsets it superior highway fuel economy for the most part. Best TDI I had would get over 65 mpg at a steady cruise of 70 or so. It was the first gen Passat in the US with a diesel. We could easily go 800 miles on a tank without even trying.

I get where MM is going here. Sort of trying to make a ST version of the C-max. I totally understand it. I'll never buy another black car as too much maintenance and too little time. A lot of people will have no clue and putting the Ecoboost badges will confuse a lot of them. The art of misdirection can be a lot of fun. Maybe some of you like the concept of a car that is a "sleeper". In general I typically a fan of mods that are both form AND function. So I'll put better nicer looking wheels on there but almost always if they are better performing such as less drag and/or less weight. I won't put a spoiler on there just to look cool. If it helps improve efficiency AND looks good, then so much the better.