C-MaxSea

Old, perhaps worn out take; my impression is that many C Maxes are being bought by folks with little idea of what they have under them, thus lots of complaints about 'funny noises' .....('why doesn't this car behave exactly like my old _____' ...... and much more typical ICE driving habits being applied. Great to see the rate creep up, but I would be shocked to see much more than a creep. On the contrary, Prius owners tend to be iconoclasts out to break the MPG bank. Another way to put it: C-Max, a great car with normal (fantastic) dash & more 'normal' drivers; Prius, a goofy car with iconic (goofy) dash & more iconic drivers. Perhaps I am overstating the case, but my impression from all of the readings which tend to yield 'positive'/youthful/irrational vibes for Prii (a good car, but not nearly as good as a C-Max). It will be interesting to see who survives the next decade, it could be brutal with many hybrid options, and a blood bath in the end if the price of gas remains 'low' - or the opposite (exciting success stories) if gas prices remain 'high' - 'low' & 'high' being very relative & subjective & perceptive terms. Keep on feathering, Nick

Snit, That was my first thought as well, but dang, will never know for sure. It was at the mid notch/med. delivery rate (as opposed to really slow or really fast delivery rate). Won't be back at that station again, just being spooked by it. Never thought the MFT screen would go blank - as a warning??? Nick PS, and mpg's is serious business! PSS maybe we need to better quantify the dash (overage?) bias

My fill-up recorded 13.363 gallons (and only 46.5 mpg)!!! I was calmly (yea right) breaching the 600 mile mark on the freeway with the dash showing me I had more than half a gallon left - no problem, drive until it shows 12.5 to 13.0 gallons used (correct?). I trusted the 'gallons used' info., and ignored the 5 miles left on the tank. 5,4,3, then Nav screen went blank, then showed an MFT notice, then a minute or two later popped up again into Nav. Yikes, what is happening? It now showed 11 miles left in tank, whew dodged a bullet? Made the next exit, and EV'ed down hill half a mile to the gas station of choice. What do you think, was I empty or was the pump off? Nick

Ok, I'm jumping the gun, but I could not help it. I am inching closer to the not-so-illusive 600 mile mark finally. Our C-Max has been in our garage and 'the shop' (no issues of note) way too much time, but now a nice tank going, & 250 mile run north to White Rock, BC this weekend, and we are nearly there. As long as I don't screw it up, it should be easy. Nick (50+ mpg easy smeasy off the freeways) This tank is probably about 60/40 'freeway'/'city')

Excellent Jus, many thanks for the great read. Just got back from a few weeks driving a Citroen Picasso C4 diesel in Italy - that's a noisy ouch. Glad to be back in my smooth & quiet C-Max with better lumbar support. (Love the Italian roads) Cheers, Nick

Back from a vacation to Italy. Had to drive a 6 sp diesel Citroen Picasso C4, ouch - glad to be back in the quiet & smooth C-Max with good lumbar support. Moving around so much, hardly had time to check out the Euro C-Maxes much - most differences being under the hood, the grill, and the dash. Glad to hear the Metro job worked for you BigRed, and what a great job you did Fotomoto. Looks like we all pick our own poison - $$$ at the shop, or a steal of a deal for the DIYers. Time will tell how it holds up, but good to hear that DaleB is 5 years into his and doing fine. Cheers all, Nick

Welcome & congrats Jim on the new C-max! Ours was a similer experience, being swept away by the remarkable C-Max. (Can't grouse enough about the silly-dash Prius) Sadly our C-Max has been out of commission for awhile for a body repair and I am in serious withdrawal. Anxious to get it back. Jump on that Fuelly site and help us pull up those MPG numbers. Nick

Our NAV has worked great and seems to be spot on here in Seattle. I have been able to re-route a couple times to avoid traffic or accidents shown on the NAV as well. Love it. Nick

Welcome Jon. Look forward to your input. Sure wish there was a way to charge up our hybrids with a small solar panel. We are eager to retro our house as well for better heating and energy use, but have not hit on the best plan yet. Would love to do geothermal. Lots of accounting to do before anything major. Nick

Definitely, absol....ly, emphat...ly Yes! Forget about the EPA ratings already. It is a very good car with great gas mileage! Ease of entry, ride, features................ - fab. We are still just getting acquanted with ours, but love the smooth, seemingly effortless and quiet mobility. Prius, no thank you!!! Yes there are a dozen tweaks Ford can make to improve it, but for now it has no competition - and it can only get better (solar panel sunroof, better battery, collapsing side mirrors.......................). Nick Hang in there Laurel. My wife & I will be up there in a couple weeks and will drive by. Sure sympathize with your situation there, makes no sense. Seattle is being flooded with them at the dealers, and now on the streets. That is an overstatement, of course, but I understand your concren of being the 'only one' the mechanics touch - but then again, maybe that will mean gold carpet treatment. (We were considering an import of a Mercedes B200 from Vanc. when we discovered the C-Max - so glad we did not get the B200, the first eurobox to make it across the pond)

BigRed, we had ours done at Metropolitan Detail on Bel-Red Road in Bellevue. Top notch work. Quite an extensive process & $$$. The Opti Coat was $395, after a full wash, claybar & carnuba wax, wheels, tires & interior ($145). The clear bra was $740 for the front bumper, headlights & fog lights. Nick

Sounds like a hoot with the kids. Congrats & enjoy! Nick

Crazy thought 99 - place the black aftermarket one over the OEM one to get full coverage and the thicker black. Just a thought. Nick

Another great write up ns, I think you have nailed it succinctly, esp. the note on "percent time spent in EV mode". I would love to see EV percentage plotted against mpg. I am guessing that 50% is a magic number for getting 40+ (or there abouts). I have been fortunate to launch our C-Max in a mild climate without winter extremes, and from a garage most of the time, so it has been relatively easy to get good numbers from the start. Thanks for the good analysis. Nick PS I began my 'Lifetime' at about 180 (received vehicle with 115 on odometer), so not sure if I have 518/1097(47%+-), or 518/917 (56%+-). Yes, much easier to hit the EPA numbers in the city, but I have hit several 50 milers around 50mpg with 70% freeway. Nothing finer than a warm ICE. (BTW, you have a typo in the first full paragraph on the 70 mpg rather than 70 mph.)

It's a great car dk! Do as much test driving as you can, and keep an open mind on options. Good luck on your purchase! Nick

Love the Ruby Red. Congrats, and welcome aboard Lowbar. Nick

Don't know if this has been mentioned, but I might love a retro kit to convert/replace our panorama roof into/with a solar panel for passive charging. I would assume this might be more appropriate for the Energi, but I would love to have charging potential for the Hybrid. Probably cost prohibitive. Nick

Thanks for setting the record straighter, Valk, much appreciated! Nick

And with "14" miles left in the battery, were you able to hit 30 miles @ 999? Hope so, very cool! Nick

ArizonaE, I am also a bit partial at this point to our FMC S.G.; because I'd swear our gray has so much metalic in it that it is dazzling compared to the other grays I've seen from the other brands. I can't keep my eyes off of it - got to say it again, dazzling. Nick (I may just have to park next to a few to confirm) PS It has made our BMW Granite Silber pale in comparison. PSS Love the other FMC metalics as well - dazzling!