C-MaxSea

All in good fun Priiii owners, all in good fun. :)

Welcome Maxx, congratz on getting the C-Max ! I have not had the issues you describe, but I hope someone with better knowledge jumps in here to help. My only issue has been losing phone connection a couple times. Those resolved after a couple restarts of the car. There may be some threads addressing your specifics, but some form of a reboot or reflash of software may be in order. Keep on Maxxing ! Nick

Great second tank RJdeeme29 ! Kind of you not to go screaming past all of us on the first try. :) Now if/when you get another chance you can paste us I'm sure. Nick

Very good stuff Frank. I'd say we are looking at Wunderkind II in the making, i.e. you are doing the very things that Ford will be throwing at the 2016/2017 redesign. Toss on some more slippery (redesigned) rear flanks, add the new nex-gen battery, and voila Wunderkind II. Wunderkind I being our current version of course. According to my calcucomputations: In extra good hands and weather, Wunderking I: 50 mpgs (Our 'test vehicle', no mods, 45 mpg ECO cruising (+-1 mph), could push 50 mpgs with some effort, ) Similary Wunderkind II: 60 mpgs in extra good hands & subject to weather Not having as much fun as you, yet, Nick (love the Giant's shoulders; we'd still be out there breaking rocks without them)

How about : LRRSBWBTYTUSWSBZAV Low Riding Relatively Small But Way Bigger Than You Think Urban Suburban Whatever Spirited But Zenny Activity Vehicle. ;) ;) ;) nick (Yikes, forgot DJAAAWOW - Does Just About Anything And Walks On Water ) ((Love The Bard - Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, BC, Bard in the parks in Seattle, ................................ ))

The Ice Princess is not too shabby either. :) Hope she is well thawed out. ;) Our moss has a nice summer crunch to it already. Time to do some cruising. :flyaway:

(per #19 above) Back to the not so silly comparison of our 'little' C-Max UAV, and some bid bad SUVs (well some not so big and bad, but....) These are Cargo with back seats up, Cargo with back seats down, and passenger volume. Ford VW BMW BMW Audi MB Lexus Kia Acura C-Max Tiguan X3 X1 Q5 GLK250BT CT200h Sportage MDX 24.5 23.8 27.6 25 29.1 23.3 14.3 26.1 14.8 52.6 56.1 63.3 56 57.3 54.7 X 54.6 68.4 100 95 X X 101 103 86 100 132 Clearly some big bad SUVs are not all that big & bad. But it is interesting that the C-Max measures up to some, and is in the same league with several which are assumed to be larger by the GP. This is just a sample, there are likely more 'overrated' SUVs out there. (Not making any value judgments on the many other merits or demerits of each.) The 'Little C-Max that Could' - if in doubt check out our "What's in your C-Max Today" thread in the "Cargo, Hauling, ........." category. Nick

Adair, The Force EVe Was With You ! (11.5/17 = roughly 68 %) & you too Frank - she accounted for 71.2 % of your propulsion on your last tank of 707 miles. (due to, of course, your judicious use of the ICE, & maxing out the C-Max's beautiful alternative charging systems) Having fun, Nick WALL-E (( Now Foto & Scuba have somehow managed 77 & 78 % over full tanks - amazing feats I for one will never reach ! ))

Paul, you are supposed to say "it's all in the aero mods, baby". :superhero: :superhero: :superhero: ((( counting on you to fill my Christmas wish list order for aero mods next winter! )))

61.6mph,48.2mpg, 646.1mi.,10:29hrs and 13.4gal Gadzooks !!! :worship: :worship: :worship: That is ding dang good Paul, but what is really amazing is your pitting skills & or bl___er control - do you shut it down and coast into the rest stops? Nevertheless, it ain't 50mpg's, so back to work for you (tehe)! Nick ((( whatever the case, no drafting allowed ))) ---- sorry for thread interruption conversation, back to best MPG 500s above ----

Double :gaah: , you guys are going to give us a bad reputation with all those 'trade secrets' let out there. Time to get my 'looped trips only' soap box out again. Trust no one has employed that trick here. :redcard: :redcard: :redcard: I'd swear I can notice a mere 50' in elevation difference in my 25 mile+- trip mpg's; not to mention coasting/EVing a full two miles into town without a drop of gas. :play: Nick

Hurrumph! :gaah: Well Paul, I was thinking we might have to exclude you :redcard: (yust yoking). Still would like to come up with a third competition option. We certainly have a good tank mileage and MPG challenge. Are you sure you have done a 65 mph/500m/47 mpg? That is outrageous if you have, I'd have peed in my pants a couple times to even come close to that - no 'special tools' would be allowed you know. I'm thinking that achievement might require more than just aero mods. Scheming, Nick PS OK Paul, 65 mph / 500 m / 50 mpg, I dare you!

Weather/climate permitting. ;) (& more pointedly, where the drivers mind is)

Very cool stuff, don't miss #9 (& 10). Saw one of these and some others a year or more ago. Really great advertising they have done across the pond for a mature product line of non-hybrid versions. As I've said before, sooooo glad they brought it over here and hybridized it so incredibly well - Atkinson cycle, ....................... A Grand Slam in my book. Nick (I'm guessing they will add some of these features as/if the market here matures to the product, and perhaps couple the upgrades with the 'next gen' version of our oh so sweet hybrid battery (+20%+-)) PS I will double check, but I believe they introduced the C-Max in 2003, and these videos reflect the 2nd generation of the vehicle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_C-Max

:congrats: Frank! I thought I felt the gentle EV breeze of getting passed. Sure wish I had played my cards differently to finish our last tank. Having fun, Nick

Fordfan82. Driving the C-Max in EV esp. in city, at stop lights, in heavy traffic is much quieter (better music/listening/talking experience) than being in any ICE vehicle. (I am assuming you are comparing the standard C-Max Hybrid to a standard ICE Focus, and not the Electric Focus). Of course the C-Max Energi or Focus Electric would be an even better music experience having extended E capabilities. And, as P3G points out, the C-Max is a scosh quieter on the freeway than the ICE Focus. Your test drives should help to differentiate - nothing wrong with letting her decide though. Nick

That's a toughy Fordfan82. Maybe remind her of that back problem of yours that crops up now & then making it hard to get into the lower slung Focus. Does she like to hear her music clearer, especially in city, no comparison, the C-Max makes listening much more enjoyable. You will make up the cost difference over __ yrs Trying to help, good luck, but go with her decision if she is not fully convinced of your arguments. ;) Nick

And the winner is ................................, well looking at the data a different way, and with a different goal in mind it would be Hannah ! I was pondering a new challenge for us: highest speed over 50mpgs & 500 miles. If speed were included as the goal, Hannah achieved an average speed of 32.51 mph over his 50/500. (50.7 mpg, 508.5 miles, in 15h38m23s) Check me, I kind of got dizzy looking back at the entries here. That is very good of course, knowing all of the time we spend idling at stop lights (or sitting in the driveway playing with the dash controls) adds in to the time elapsed. The new challenge would be to push that 32.51 mph number to greater heights over 500 miles and 50mpg's. Or if that is too challenging, how about 300 miles? Hmmmm 30mph/300m/50mpg club, 40/300/50 club, 50/300/50 club??? We might need to use a 300 mile benchmark to keep crazies like me from doing unsafe things - like switching drivers at 40 mph (been there, done that in the old VW Bus - or was that 50 mph?). Just thoughts. Maybe we start another thread to discuss? 45 mpgs ? Fastest 47s? Nick

Buy from the dealer that gives you the best deal, service from the dealer with the best service department (learned that here), combine the two and you have a real winner. We assumed that would be our only option, buy one place and service elsewhere, but got extremely lucky to combine the two. (Second stickers, outrageous, yadda, yadda, yadda) Nick (Paul (below), too bad that wasn't reversed - as electric forerunners, our 'burden to bear', eh.)

Good idea Shinytop - a spare thin key in the wallet to compliment the spare in each of two fobs. I have never worried, always having the key in the ol pants pocket whenever driving - no picky pocket, no problem. :wub2: the system - no fiddling with keys, unless rolling down the windows from a distance to air the car out while approaching it.

Daveymars said: "I really love the car... I just wish others did too!" 98% (or is that 99%?) of us do !!! :victory: (The tail wags the dog here sometimes. ;)) (17 months, $ 0.00 maintenance & repair costs, Zero inconvenience, 100% reliable for what matters, 90% reliable for what does not matter)

Great write-up Marshtex2. :clapping: Kudos! Sonora Pass - that is up there!!!

I've got to agree with Frank & Jus - no sign. issues with the interior, rather an appreciation for the appropriate selection of materials & styling for a midrange vehicle. In fact, it was the interior that put us over the hump on a purchase - not exactly our style, but ............ Addicted to leather ............... it had a BMW lite feel to it for us, better than expected. (didn't hurt that the bezeled styling cues matched all of our media room components either ;) ) I have even come to appreciate the raked dash which allows me to put my feet up (for medicinal reasons of course :)), so I'm a dead give away being the only dude driving down the road with his left foot on the dash (well officer it's like this.............). Still two Germans & a Ford in the driveway, or is that three Germans? (The 93 BMW days are numbered) ( Oh, and the CT200h - tripple zonk, slow as molasses, no headroom, no storage space, a very slow toy car at best; not even in the ballpark for our purposes ) (((Seriously, how can anything be slower than a Priiius?)))

"All cars benefit from careful driving" (certainly) - oh yeah, not much of difference, as I sit 20 minutes a day in my idling ICE vehicle at stop lights or heavy traffic, or accelerating & idling down a grade that should require little if any gas. (The C-Max is very different than an ICE car, like 50% different for me, it's called EV) Ranges for EPA estimates - gee what a great thought. Fixed numbers went out about 40 years ago (in my experience at least). The EPA has had decades to think clearly - fixed numbers should never have been considered. There is nothing more problematic, confusing and disrespectful than a fixed number. What a colossal waste of money. Just my stupid opinion. n

Been drinking the hybrid coffee for 20+ years - the real stuff that is, it's called half caf. ;) And could never swallow the 'drive by committee' dash of the Priiius. So right Marc, I could never buy a pure ICE car again - so antiquated, gives me the heeebie jeebies just thinking about it. (Hope there's a full EV or equiv in my future. - let's see, would that be full caf or no caf? ;)) (PS We gotta have some fun with those Priiiiiuses - all in good fun.) (PSS Could not swallow the battery hump of the Energi either, even though it is the best car on the planet) Soooooo NOT upset with Ford for bringing out the two best hybrids on the market. Oh, and getting 46-48 mpgs like any good tree hugging granola type like me should/could/can if they choose/really care - at least in fair weather Seattle where it is cloudy and cool (40-60 degrees) 360 days of the year! ;) ;) ;) miserable, wet, mossy, snails, slugs,eeeeeeeeky weather! PSSS John, you have hinted at the crux of the 'numbers problem' - the EPA 'tests' do not test appropriately for the hybrid design of the C-Max. The C-Max is designed for caring/careful driving, not accelerator/brake driving like our culture has ingrained in us. ("accelerator brake, accelerator brake" line from Bob Newhart) The C-Max is ahead of the curve, and the EPA (as always) trailing the curve. IMHO As an example, the C-Max is way more temperature sensitive than speed sensitive, and should probably be rated for climate conditions rather than 'speed' conditions (think California vs Upper Michigan e.g.) Maybe after they kill a few good cars they will figure it out. Drive like you care, but only if you wish and never too slow, fair weather / save the planet it's the only one we've got, nick (and no we don't hypermile, we ECO cruise and drive to minimize ICE exhaust)