catsailor

u want to go far get a recumbent bike with a fairing and a smal electric motor and you'll go far my friend :)

Matt, In life there is more to driving than gas mileage alone...SAFETY is another HUGE consideration and when we talk lower profile cars we need to discuss being in the blind spot of almost every large SUV and forget tractor trailers that is a forgone conclusion they won't see you. Its a big reason I don't own a Miata, If I am diving side by side to a semi truck I like to think my roof line is higher than the wheel of a truck....betcha that Prius C barely gets there :) No thanks I will give back a few mpg's and drive a vehicle that can be seen.

I have been noticing less emphasis on the gas mileage issue as of late on car reviews and press articles in the the printed and web media I have seen. My last 4 tanks if you count the one I am currently on are at 43.5, 47.8, 48.7 and this one with 530 miles at 46.8 mpg BUT I have been running more A/C with this tank and can easily break another 600 mile tank range. My lifetime is now up to 42.3 mpg and I picked up my Max Sept 23 2013 right as the weather started getting cold and I had not benefit from your input and advice just about 9850 miles right now. I drove with a salesman this past week in a new Lexus IS 250 and could not wait to get out of that POS which rode harsh and so low to the ground, visability sucked too. I should have drove that day :) What a great car all around the C Max is...........I think most are now looking at the overall virtues of the car and not obsessing on the EPA test although Recumpence (Matt) can surely put that test to shame in real world driving. My next fill up will be with top of the line premium gas to see if this gives me a bit of a mileage boost and since I am entering heavy A/C season that won't hurt. So glad to own my C Max and seriously thinking to what technology will be next for Ford, will they ever think of adding a diesel engine as part of the hybrid power train?

I am having a hard time driving my wife's Ford Escape, I want to pump and glide and I want to brake re-gen and I can't :) I miss the coaching I get by driving with the instruments and I MISS getting +45 mpg right now. Don't think I can drive a regualr car anymore and I certainly don't miss getting 285-325 miles to a tank full. What about you, do you feel the switch, do you crave 18-22 mpg back in the day ;)

I ordered my car sight unseen, but then again I have owned 5 Fords and have trust that my dealer will fix it sooner or later. I was SOLD on the car once I SAT IN IT, see I am a road warrior and seating eronomics are paramount so I needed to sit taller and more comfortably that a small compact would sit including the Focus which was too low for my tastes. My last car was a Ford Edge with ZERO issues but then again I opted out of that first gen syn :) Great car and really great mileage.....averaging over 47 mpg on my last three tanks now.

Matt, U are my freaking hero...... i think you can get 70 mpg if you tired :) I for one will fill up next time with premium just cause I want to try to beat your numbers (i know this is a pipe dream, but you got to set lofty goals). I tired a very early gas tank with premium but saw no difference but that was when the car was new and it was cold outside.

Well I cut my challenge short due to an early morning flight out of National tomorrow and had to fill up this evening...hummm 12.1 gallons at 589.2 miles driven for an average of DRUM ROLL please 48.7 mpg BEST TANK EVER that was preceeded by an average tank of 47.8 mpg and the one before that at 43.5 mpg. Forget 600 miles to a tank, I was not even on my RED warning signal and I had to fill up as I saw no need to drive another 11miles to make 600 miles/tank. The car is freaking great. My drive home from the gas station albeit down hill and flattish was around 3 miles at 122 mpg :)

Help me decide :) So my last tank of gas I broke 600.1 miles at 12.5 gallons of fuel and what 47.8 mpg, that was April 23. So here is where I am today 554.5 miles driven 48.2 mpg and 11.48 gallons used............ I can brake +600 miles easily do you want me to go for it :) root me on please

I think the Fuelly collective numbers for this model will speak to what real world aveages are. Before I buy a car I like to see what the masses are getting and I always look at the mean and what the greatest number of drivers are getting. My lifetime avaerge is creeping up to 41.9 right now from a low of 41.2, that is with over 9000 miles driven.

500 plus miles to a tank I have done many times, I usually filled up cause I found cheaper gas and I wanted to save $$ filling up. Its when you guys set the challenge to go 600 miles and the weather warmed up that I took you guys seriously to get to 600. My current tank is at 48.0 mpg at over 250 miles driven so far but I was in a 2 hour traffic jam on the DC beltway returning from National Airport Thursday which knocked me down from 49 mpg. To do +600 you need weather and the right roads and conditions and to me its no biggie anymore. I am at the point now that I want to test the car at 66 mph on the hwy and see what driving faster will yield. Once I turn over 10,000 miles I may clear my lifetime average and start anew, this is in another 800 miles to go. BTW life avaerage is at 41.6 mpg now.

Congrats ....671 is incredable and I tip my hat to you.

set the a/c temp higher than 68F , To maximize my mileage I set my A/C at this early time of year to 73F so the compressor does not run as long.

I was sweating the accuracy of the whole system cause you're really driving a fine line...I carried NO SPARE can of gas with me. I recall the yellow comming up at +45 miles to empty and red came up with 10 miles BUT my gas consumption said I had used 12.5 something gallons. The Max is what a 13 gallon tank or is it 13.5 can't recall.

I am at +180 miles and 49.2 mpg since I broke the 600 mile/tank threshold and I have been running alot of hwy with the A/C running. I think this car gets better with age :)

Well this is my last attempt at +600 miles since when I got to 575 miles and I was on empty I drove the roads less congested and closer to gas stations since I wanted to play it safe and NOT get stuck in RT 95 rush hour traffic with no gas in tank. I don't know what I get for being in the club aside from saying that we now have FOUR (4) C Max'es that have done this feat plus I know what my tank limits are. I also see with warmer weather my gas numbers going higher as my last tank was 43.5 and this one is 47.8 so who knows what the next one is but right now I have a 49 mgp average since last fill up :)

gotta tell u all, it was NOT that difficult, I think holding to posted speed limits and just learning to drive and glide and hypermile is what it was about. Fill up April 8 th to fill up April 23 rd and all driving distances and conditions. I actually pulled my mpg average up driving to and returning from Fredrickburg VA today. I had over 50 mpg on the return trip home about +40 miles.

I just joined the club.........HOORAY 600.1 miles, 47.8 mpg at 12.54 gallons

My last tank full was at an average of 43.5 mpg and I recently filled up (4-08-13) and since this tank I have run 381 miles so far at DRUM ROLL please 47.4 mpg. I am at the halfway mark on my tank indicator and the computer says I have 300 miles to empty. C Max has +8500 miles on it and I am easily 50% hwy to city driving. Its warmer out and I have run the A/C on three long trips to B More, Towson and Tysons Corner VA. I am so tuned in to driving this car I know when to pluse and glide and when to best use ECO Cruise. My lifetime avaerage is now up to 41.5 mpg and that is pretty good factoring in that I picked up my C Max late September 2012 (first car deivered to the dealer) and drove it all winter long here in the Nations Capitol so catching back up on those days when I used my heater :) and did not figure out the tricks to getting the performance I wanted. BTW I realized early in the game that I was buying a Hybrid and as such I also knew that if I wanted to drive it like my 2007 Ford Edge I would have been best served to buy a Chevy Cruze or Ford Focus. The hybrid will pay you back in spades if you learn to drive it and maintain speed within all posted limits, I laugh at speed camera's anymore cause I am looking for an excuse to SLOW down :) I do allow 10 more minutes to arrive at my clients destinations since I know I am not speeding anymore.

Dude my company reimburses me for my gas usage and I am still trying to get the best MPG's out of my Max. so I think your the only man standing that does not care....:) Just kidding as if you drive the Max like a normal car you'll still post better than 35 mpg which is still fantastic results. I am not trying to prop up the profits of BIG OIL anymore, hence the purchase of the C max and addition of solar panels on my roof.

Well since my last tank averaged 43.6 mpg I figured better days are ahead of me here in the Nations Capitol. I filled up my last tank Monday anticipating a drive north for business to Towson MD on Tuesday, my boss was late so I was forced to drive faster than I normally do (70 mph) and we ran the A/C since it was awfully warm that day. Anyway I did another longer trip to Tysons Corner and got caught in rush hour traffic Thursday around the DC beltway on my way home. Factor in a bunch of short trips to the store, bank and dropping and picking up the wife from metro and I stand so far on this +4 day old tank at 186 miles driven at 46,5 mpg. Warmer weather and a broken in car (8300 miles) and a feathery touch on the accelerator are starting to pay big divedends here with the C Max. Wishing you all much sucess and hang in there is your not figured out the C Max yet, the weather is in your favor, plus you need to work that gas pedal with a gentle touch :)

I had to fill up the night before as I had an early morning sales call to make and no time to fill up on the road. +515 miles and the computer read out of 43.6 mpg and I over filled the tank at 12.5 gallons. and right about my lifetime average of 41.3 mpg. working on my next fill up with A/C running now and about +44 mpg. The weather and familiarity with the car is making life sweeeeet driving a C Max.

I am working on probably my best tank of gas so far, 43.7 mpg at +500 miles driven so far and my trip computer shows that I have about 95 miles more to go. The competition is ON now to break a record tank for me and I can't stop at a gas station cause I want to see a conclusion to this record. Its crazy to see how much better I am getting in squeezing every drop of gas out of the C Max and how I have given up my old bad driving habits in over 8000 miles of driving a hybrid so far. I will report back the totals but I fear that a trip into DC tonight may force me to buy cheaper gas in Maryland before I cross into the district. maybe I drive the wife's car instead :)

I remember that they supposedly got a car from Ford to actually validate Ford's 47/47/47 mileage claims. Does anyone here know what that outcome was, and if not why is it taking so long to verify these figures? Does the litigation which is in California now get jeopordized based on this outcome. And lastly I recall Ford's chief engineer saying that if they re-tuned the car they could get more mileage meaning less HP and better efficiency...I tend to not buy that argument as you still have a heavy and non aero car compared to the Prius. ANY THOUGHTS or answers. Thanks

now that response is funny, I will check mine to see if there is a cover on my lens :)

SPEED camera's and RED light camera's and all I have just re-adjusted my dribving habits and I have NO FEAR of Smokey anymore and I just drive gently. I drove a rental car last week in Boston and was in a hurry to catch an earlier flight home, drove in the left lane at speed and was NOT comfortable at all there.....call that the C Max effect :)