ScubaDadMiami

I just sent in my order deposit I will know the approximate ETA early next week. Right now, I am told six to eight weeks. I did get one last surprise. If you get the glass roof, you can't use the roof carrier. I sure hope I can fit everything.

I just sent in my order deposit I will know the approximate ETA early next week. Right now, I am told six to eight weeks.

Just a note about the roof: I was just informed (by my dealer) that you can't use the roof rack when you have the glass. I am going ahead with the glass, but I have now taken away an option for increased storage.

Good to know. I may just re-consider that one. Thanks!

Okay, I think I have made my choices. I have listed part numbers that I could find. Color Selections: -Oxford White - YZ -Medium Light Stone - FL Options: Equipment Group 303A -Sony 9 Speaker Audio -HD Radio -Voice Activated Navigation -Hands-Free Power Liftgate -Rear View Camera -Active Parking Assist -Forward Sensing System Freestanding Options: Panoramic Fixed Glass Roof - 43P Accessories: -Keyless Entry Keypad - 7L2Z-14A626-BA -Bidirectional Remote Start System - CM5Z-19G364-F -Vehicle Security System - DM5Z-19A361-B -Bumper Protector - Rear - DM5Z-17B807-AA -Removable Roof Rack by Thule - VDM5Z-7855100-A -Cargo Box by Thule -Front Splash Guards - AM5Z-16A550-A -Rear Splash Guards - AM5Z-16A550-B -Ash Cup/Coin Holder - 5L8Z-7804810-AAA -Cargo Area Protector - DM5Z-6111600-AA -All Weather Floor Mats - DM5Z-5813300-AA -Wheel Lock Kit - F6SZ-1A043-AA Did I miss anything important? If I can get pricing and my sale or trade to work, I think I am ready to make my move.

Here are some of the differences. Adjustable Lumbar Support: Yes/No; Bottom Seat Pivot: Yes/No. I also think that the seat heater and other items add thicker padding to the bottom seat cushion. I found a very big difference here.

I support the non-leather option. I live in a place with hot sun. People here do not want leather anything. Other people are vegan. Why not make options for them? "Options" should not mean dealing with getting a loaded SE; they should mean being able to get a power seat, loaded SEL but without leather.

I am just past half way through a 24 hour test drive of an SEL that I rented from Budget Rent A Car. (Yes, they now have them in their rental fleet!) I had previously done the traditional 10 minute dealership test drive of an SE. However, I really felt that I had not done enough of a test to make the decision to place my order. So, I decided to see about making a more extensive test. I will summarize some findings, emphasizing things that I really haven't seen mentioned before. Maybe this will be helpful to someone that is at the same stage of reaching a decision. My phone paired on the first attempt. Since this is a rental, I did not synchronize my contact information. The Bluetooth worked well, and I was super happy with the sound quality that came through using Bluetooth. Using the Android version of Spotify on my phone, I did not see any album images on the SEL's screen. There is a big, big difference in the seat comfort of the power seats over the manual seats of the SE. It just kills me that Ford does not allow an option for people of warm climates that is not leather. I have to admit it: the glass pane in the roof is pretty cool! I hope that I can afford to put it in the option list. The interior shading material seems questionable regarding holding up to the many years it may have to serve under places having strong sun. The last time I drove any hybrid, a Prius, was years ago. Yet, I immediately am getting 46.5MPG Average in the 150 miles or so of mixed driving I have completed in this CMAX. Braking is yielding 99 percent almost always, and I have even gotten a number of 100 percenters. (Sudden braking for traffic yielded perhaps as low as about 67 percent.) I am being gentle on both the gas pedal and break pedal. Temperatures are about 70F, and I am driving over flat areas of South Florida. The rental vehicle already had 9,000+ miles on it prior to my rental. I used Cruise Control (with the Economy setting for hills) part of the time, I drove manually part of the time. My rental vehicle's rear lift-gate acts inconsistently with the foot kicks, as has been reported by other vehicle owners. Voice commands have been very easy to guess, even without reading the manual. I am having no problems with this system. The backup camera and sensing system is great! Before ever using one, it seemed like a bunch of extras that you don't really need. However, it is so great and easy to use that it is something I imagine that I will quickly consider essential for all! :-} There is a big difference between having the fog lights on or off. This should at least be a pay option for the SE. I still can't imagine how they ever decided not to have HID or LED headlights on such a great vehicle. I have accidentally moved the shifter past Drive to Low, when putting the CMAX into gear from Park, a few times. Not a big deal, and I imagine that I will develop the touch to make the move second nature. My vehicle does not have the Navigation Package. How quickly I came to want to have images for navigation on that big screen! Just listening to the turn by turn directions over the Bluetooth isn't good enough anymore! Ford, you may have just convinced me! I find the ready to drive icon to be annoying and a little distracting. I would prefer that it turn on just to start, and then to go away. (What can I say?) I do not know why Ford didn't come out with some kind of covering for the driver foot rest that is not carpet. Speaking of the foot rest, I hate it. It is in the way. I either have to prop my foot up on it, or I have to akwardly turn my ankle so that my foot rests on the lower floor. On a similar note, I found that heel-toe driving of the CMAX is not the greatest. I wish that the break pedal were lower to the floor. After all, the "grabby" breaks (as people have termed it) hardly have to travel at all to bring the CMAX to a stop. I am very close to making my final decision, and I still really like the CMAX. But, one can always dream! Don't be surprised to hear about a new owner joining your ranks soon!

Budget Rent a Car now has the CMAX in its fleet. There are only a few available. Here is the secret to getting one for rental. First, join the Budget Fast Break Program online. Members get additional priority. You will need it.Look up your local Budget, not the 800 number.Call during regular business hours, and ask to be connected to the Fast Break representative. (If you call during high volume times, sometimes, you might get rolled over to the 800 number. If that happens, hang up, and keep calling the local office until you reach them.)Tell the representative that you need to rent a specific vehicle, not one in the same class. Let the representative know that you are local, and that you can be flexible with dates, times, etc., just so that you can get the specific vehicle. Ask that this be written into the notes section of your reservation.Ask what time you should call in the day of your scheduled rental to verify that the CMAX is available.Call to verify, and change the reservation as needed, until you get the CMAX.I am in the middle of a 24 hour rental of an SEL from Budget. This has helped tremendously in making the decision on selecting my vehicle and options. Hopefully, this will help somebody else that wants to do more than a 10 minute test drive before making the final decision.

I am in the middle of a 24 hour test drive. (Will post separately.) I am getting ready to make an offer.

I am completing a 24 hour test drive (will post separately). I found a very big difference betweent the power seats and the SE seats. The SEL seats were WAY more comfortable.

Count me in for being pro-options and no leather. I would even pay the same price, but with some type of cloth option. I am vegan, and I am having to deal with making the choice of getting a product that does not allow me to avoid this material. I would have probably already placed my order, but for this issue. I want an SEL with power seats, hands free lift gate, fog lights, all the little things that you get with the SEL, but WITHOUT leather.

I have only test driven an SE. I wish that I had also test driven and SEL to see if there is a difference in seat comfort. The SEL does have the lumbar support and 10 way power adjustment. So, I am guessing that there would be a substantial difference between one model and the other. I hate leather, but I want the electric seat and additional adjustment (plus other things that make it so that I have not choice but to consider leather). Has anybody tried both?

We have very high humidity here. So, things could be different from place to place. (I often see cars go by that have more bubble than tint.) That's my only concern. If I don't install it, that is one less thing that could go wrong, down the line. I just may get it done, in the end. I just wanted to find out if anyone noticed a big difference or a not-so-big difference.

Where is the bi-directional located? I can't tell from the pic. Is that the rear window?

I see that there is an optional ash try/coin holder. One version has no electric, and the other has the cigarette lighter. I am not a smoker, and I wouldn't plan on using this for other than coins. However, has anybody ordered this without the electric, and then wished that you had? For example, does this add a great convenience for plugging in devices to the cigarette lighter plug, or do you find more than enough outlets already, and this would not be something that you would need?

I'd like to hear from someone that used his/her C-MAX without, and then later with, the extra tinting. I was just looking at the specs for the model, and it says that the C-MAX comes with "solar-tinted" glass. My current vehicle came from the factory with the rear of the vehicle having the privacy glass. So, I am not sure if not having some equivalent would really make that big of a deal, or whether it just seems like it would. I'd prefer not to have tinting issues that come after the tinting gets old. Oh, and wouldn't getting the remote start option, which allows the air conditioning to cool the vehicle before entry, eliminate the need for the tinting? I had my last car insulated with Dynamat, and that seemed to help with both heat/cold issues and road noise. If I absolutely have to do something, I may just elect to try the Dynamat first, since that is invisible. I live in Miami Beach, Florida. Some places get hotter, but our summers can be pretty bad.

I am looking at ordering an SEL with either a 302A or 303A package. I still don't understand how some of these options work. There is a remote start system that is bi-directional with start, one that is bi-directional without start, and a 100 series. I also see a security system. Each of these has a different fob. What is the difference between these? How many fobs does the driver have to carry? My goal is to be able to remotely lock/unlock the doors and turn alarm on/off, or to cool off the interior before I get into the vehicle (combined with keyless entry).

If the black protector is anything like the one I installed on my 2004 Nissan Murano, it will work really well, and it will continue to look good. I have never had issues with the tape or otherwise. The Ford C-MAX protector looks like a piece of clear vinyl. Other than the cool logo on it, is that all it is to it? If so, I can't imagine it holding up very well over time.

I just did a test drive of an SE last week. When I tried to get specific about the options packages, my salesman very generously printed out the training materials that Ford uses to train the salepeople on the C-MAX, gave them to me, and told me to come back and to teach him! Even the materials that Ford makes for their salespeople are not what I would call ultra-clear on the option packages. So, that could explain why even the salespeople may be confused about the nitty-gritty. I also fall into the camp of people that can't get the features that they want without getting the leather. I live in Miami Beach, Florida. Nobody that lives here in the summer wants leather. I can't believe that Ford is not making some kind of regional version that has fabric seats on the SEL, or some kind of near equivalent option list for SE purchasers. Because of this, I still have some thinking to do. I am going to rent a C-MAX (they are starting to arrive at the Miami International Airport Budget Car Rental) for a full day to make my final decision about buying now, or perhaps waiting and hoping that the few "misses" people have mentioned (no LED headlights, leather required for best options) get worked out in the next year model. This is going to be a tough decision.

I have done most of my research, and I have done a test drive of an SE. I still have some issues to work out before I can say that I am going to become a buyer, but I think it is moving in that direction. Thank you to the pioneers that are making suggestions to those of us that need to know about the C-MAX Hybrid.