PbF00T

If anybody is interested in the real world mileage results, I just did a 650 mile trip with a large roof box on my c-max. I'm running the Thule aero-bars with a Yakima SkyBox Pro, it is a pretty big box, the combo is taller than a Ford Expedition. I had a good 150 lbs in the roof box and four people and a full trunk. The trip was 50/50 highway (68 on cruise) and hilly rural two-lane (55-65) through the Adirondack park. Regular old corn-gas in the tank. Temps in the high 80's with the occasional massive thunderstorm added in for good measure. According to the car, the average for the trip was 38.7mpg - I'm pretty happy with that! This was my first drive in the car after the 3.51 update, the GPS is improved a little from a usability standpoint, but still not as good as GPS's I've had in other cars. Bluetooth stuff is improved a little, but bluetooth audio for music from my phone is still rather unpredictable and annoying. Same with iPod integration, it drives me nuts when it goes back to the beginning of an 8 hour book.

Anybody with the 2" Torklift out there? Does it end up too close to the ground? Does 40lbs that low and that far back cause the rear of the car to sag? I have a 2" Thule T2 platform bike rack I want to use with it, which sits kind of low, hence my concerns. Incidentally, I have the Thule roof rack with aero bars on the roof. Minimal impact to mileage with just the bars up and the fit is perfect. The install instructions are no better than cave drawings. The side load bike carrier works great for mountain bikes but is not trivial to take on and off the bars. The rack works very well with a giant Yakima Skybox I have from a long gone SUV. The box mpacts my mileage but still way way better than my old 11mpg pickup truck.

We all knew it was probably coming and here it is. Ford hybrids mentioned specifically. http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/1954967

I'm also in Vermont. Purchased at the end of December, been cold, snowing or both for all 1700 miles, lifetime average is 31.5. Can't get it out of the high 20's during the past two weeks and I rarely use the heat. It does push the high 40's on those unseasonably warm days we have had, but below zero puts this car in the mid to low 20's. There are times I wished I purchased a Focus ST, that will probably change this spring.