hybridbear

We've had some discussion about this on the Fusion Hybrid Forum in this thread. I have the same issue with this. Ford isn't doing enough in the advertising to show why the C-Max and FFH are superior to other cars on the road. http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/6562-fords-marketing-of-the-ffh-c-max/

In MN it seems that they'll list the C-Max in adds on occasion but never the Fusion Hybrid. Supply is very limited here or both hybrids and Energis. It seems that many dealers have already sold out of their allocation and Ford will not give them more even though they have customers wanting to buy them. At least that's what a couple dealers have claimed when I have asked.

An Energi could probably go at least 500 miles on $20 is what they'll probably claim in the commercial. Based on higher electric costs here in MN my parents should be able to get 500+ miles for $20 of electricity out of the wall.

Hahaha that's hilarious

I'd guess that the numbers are the same because the time at high speeds is short enough on the EPA test cycles that the aerodynamic drag difference didn't have a large enough impact. In real world highway cruising there is probably a noticeable difference. The EPA test cycles are temperature controlled. The EPA sets requirements for the temp in the lab when performing the test cycles

Awesome info, thanks!!

Do they post the episodes online anywhere?

This only checks if the price is correct. I don't think that's the issue. The issue is that the gallons displayed on the pump are incorrect. That means that when the pump says 5.000 gallons it isn't really 5.000 gallons that have gone into the tank. That is what Matt experienced

Could be from Ford's media fleet. A local dealer received a C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi recently, both with around 8000 miles. They said they came from Ford Corporate and were likely part of Ford's media fleet or some other fleet of vehicles used by Ford Corporate. Crazy thing is that the used Energi is more expensive than a new Energi since you can't get the tax credit on a used one

I have startled people in our Fusion Hybrid. I imagine my parents will be able to do this a lot once their Energi arrives

Interesting. Here in MN we don't hardly have any of those gas stations, a few Shell but very few, also a few Mobil. I wonder if there's really that much difference

Exactly!! Great comment!

This video is a good explanation of the Prius transaxle which is basically the same design as the C-Max & FFH. It appears that there is only 1 final drive ratio, what varies is the electrical energy applied to the stater coil to speed up or slow down the MG1 & MG2 electric motors. Regenerative braking means that instead of applying electricity to speed up the electric motor to propel the vehicle the stater slows down the car by reversing polarity and thus generating electricity and slowing down the RPMs of MG2.

I try to get the ICE to kick in as soon as possible when accelerating. Depending on my battery SOC it's often between 5 & 15 MPH when the ICE kicks on. The higher the SOC the longer the car accelerates in EV mode. This thread helps to explain it. I need to write more on there to expand further what I've learned and the engineering behind it but I haven't had time yet

The car is measuring your actual fuel used. But it likely is only measuring the fuel that passes through one injector and then multiplying it. That is the source of the discrepancy

A block heater absolutely helps. In MN they are standard on the cars and since the EBH warms the engine up to the temp it needs to go into EV mode you spend a minimal amount of time running the ICE when first starting for it to heat the emissions components. It makes a noticeable difference in fuel economy This is because the car doesn't want to rev the ICE when it first turns on. This is actually very bad for your MPGs because since the ICE is running very inefficiently when it first turns you are only seeing instant MPGs in the 20s even while draining the battery. The best way to stop this is to flip the car into L for a few seconds as soon as the ICE kicks on. Once you put it back into D it won't go into this fuel wasting mode again

You're only seeing 45 MPG now that our weather is nice here in MN? We got about 40 MPG in winter in our Fusion Hybrid here in MN and now we're getting 50-55 MPG and 650 miles per tank. And I chuckled over your comment about AC when the temps are in the 70s but being a Minnesotan too I understand that. For those of you not from MN you have to realize that after a long cold winter all the Minnesotans are wearing shorts and putting on the AC once the temperature hits 60 in the spring because it feels so "hot" lol Interesting comments. I think you're really on to something. I hope that the final result of all this controversy is that the EPA fixes their broken test cycles and stops allowing manufacturers to apply a "fudge factor" but instead requires them to complete all the tests accurately.

What is your Lifetime MPG? Did you ever reset it? Is most of your driving in town? That's excellent mileage. I'm surprised you see a difference with premium gas.

The idea is to get the ICE to run in its most efficient range even if that means burning more fuel in the same amount of time. Sometimes that means stepping on the gas a little harder to start to first make the ICE kick on and then backing off to more moderate acceleration while not backing off enough that the ICE turns off. Once you reach your cruising speed you back off enough that the ICE turns off and then try to keep constant pedal pressure or use cruise even in the city. We use our cruise as much as possible when there aren't a lot of stops and are seeing our average MPGs rise. Last tank was 50+ MPG in still cold weather and current tank is over 55 MPG and on track to get more than 650 miles before I need to fill up again. This is all without hypermiling, but just "driving smarter, not faster"

This happens far too often with our Fusion Hybrid. Seems to happen about 1 in 5 fill ups. I always fill up at Holiday gas stations because of a discount program from a local grocery chain but at all kinds of different Holiday gas stations all over and all different pumps. I have tried using same pump again when that pump as acted up before and had it work the next time. I think the issue has to do with pressure in the gas tank or something like that

Have you tried putting some WD-40 on the hinges? I try to do this every few weeks and it makes a big difference on our Fusion and has made a big difference on every car I've owned. Slamming doors is really bad for them and can kill your electronics later on. I'd avoid it as much as possible

Geico doesn't offer a hybrid discount as a discount off your premium total, but many companies do offer a hybrid "discount" in the fact that hybrid vehicle drivers are considered to be lower risk so the liability premium is lower for a Fusion Hybrid than a gas Fusion for example. Since their expected losses are lower on a hybrid than the gas version of the same vehicle then the premium is lower which is effectively a hybrid "discount".

Great article, thanks for sharing. I believe this will come back to bite Ford in the end even though it appears that they didn't break any rules. They have tried to get as close as possible to the line without crossing and that might have nasty consequences

I reset one at every fill-up and the other every 1000 miles. The 1000 mile trip meter provides a longer-term data point than the tank by tank readings but is a smaller data point than the Lifetime Summary. Right now I am debating resetting my Lifetime Summary when I hit 10,000 miles or just leaving it forever. My thought is to reset it at 10,000 miles because Fuelly will be my "forever" MPG average. However if I reset the Lifetime at 10,000 miles then I will lose my accurate EV miles & Regen miles counts...decisions, decisions!

Thanks everyone for the great information and thoughts. My parents test drove an Energi on Saturday and really liked it. They found the seat height & space to be adequate. While not as big inside as their Nissan Murano the space is enough for them to be comfortable using the Energi for the majority of their driving around town. I have set them up with the salesman who sold my wife and me our Fusion Hybrid and they are going to go order it on Thursday. The payback period calculations are not the final decision maker, just an important part of understanding the value of the vehicle to make a decision. They asked me to come along when they test drove the Energi on Saturday and they were very pleased with the EV Now operation. They like the idea of driving a car that is better for the environment too.