Recumpence

Hello All, Today I drove for 150 miles with an average of 52.4mpg for the entire day. At 50 miles, I refueled as my tank was low. So, on this tank, I have put exactly 100 miles. However, those miles have been at over 54mpg. My "Miles remaining" indicator says I still have 615 miles of fuel left, though I have already put 100 miles on this tank. I think my high mileage is confusing the computer......... What are your thoughts? Matt

Hey Guys and Gals, I just had my first 600 mile tank today. I hit 601 miles with 4 miles of gas left. I know others here have hit 600. This thread is devoted to those who have hit that magic mark. :) Oh, I have 17,000 miles on my car at this point! Matt

Ditto on the ScanGauge. I have one and it is wonderful. You get instant MPG numbers, engine temp, RPM, etc, etc, etc. It also shows any error codes and resets them if you would like. Also, I can achieve better MPG than the Eco Cruise if I really try hard. However, I have been surprised that when I stop paying too much attention to the MPG and just drive the car, that I look down and find my MPG has gone way up since I last checked! Of course, I have also found that it has gone way down when I cease paying attention to it. For me, this is a $30,000 video game. I spend about 5 hours per day in my car for work and find this thing is really entertaining. Matt

Hmm, I feel as though I should chime in here...... First, my biggest pet-peeve is the fool who just HAS to get in front of the "Stupid Hybrid" and floors it at the light to get ahead of me before the lanes merge. I anticipate that and get on it when the light turns green. I have never been beat from a light in my Max if I am paying attention. Second, here in northern Illinois, the people who absolutely creep from the lights are elderly people. I respect the elderly. However, it is truely insane sometimes. I mean, really, do you have to just let the car idle and accellerate by idle only? I know some people drive slowly to be safe. But, come-on, that is actually unsafe the way some people drive. I have seen older folks driving 35mph on the expressway. That is not only unsafe, it is illegal....... Now, that being said, I am a Hypermiler. I like to try various tricks to sneak my MPG up. I have tried accellerating slowly, briskly, and everything in between. In the end, the best method I have found is to accellerate with the ICE power indicator at the second power level line. Once at 5mph over the posted limit, I back off so EV kicks in. At that point, I drop the power (now in EV mode, not ICE) to the first power line on the indicator. That normally will sustain around 35 to 40mph. The car is most efficient with the power level left consistant and the speed of the car allowed to increase and decrease with the elevation of terrain. This is, of course, if there is plenty of room behind me to make sure I am not creating a road rage scinerio with the impatient punk behind me. :) Oh, this is something I have figured out over the nearly 16,000 miles I have had my C-Max....... Matt

I have been here for a few months....... I use my car for in home service work (appliance repair). So, I put HUGE miles on it. I expect to log 36,000 miles per year. I guess I will be the high mile guinea pig. :) Matt

I just posted this in another thread...... Yesterday I averaged 50.1mpg for 140 miles. Today I averaged 51.3mpg for 135 miles. One trip was 30 miles long with a 60.1mpg average. Oh, I have 15,750 miles on my Max so far (and climbing VERY fast). Warm weather is a HUGE factor here. It has been 50+ degrees (finally) the last couple days. Matt

I have 15,750 miles on my C Max. My lifetime average is 43.8mpg currently. Yesterday (with 50 degree temps), I saw 50.1mpg for the entire 140 mile day. Today I averaged 51.3mpg for 135 miles. Yesterday I had one trip of 30 miles that was 60.1mpg. I even took a picture of the guage for posterity. On that trip, the engine only ran for 10 miles, 20.1 miles were EV only. It is possible folks, it IS possible! Matt

EV+ is like any aspect of this car; it works for some people and not for others. I think much depends on your roads and driving technique. I have to add one thing that I disagree with others regarding........ Temperature DOES indeed affect the EV. I live in northern Illinois. If the weather is lower than about 15 degress outside, the available amperage for accelleration goes WAY down to almost nothing. This is normal for LI batteries. I work with electric bicycles as a side business. That is the way these batteries behave. The internal resistance goes way up and the available amperage goes down. However, once the battery cycles a couple times, the core temp of the cells increases and the battery performance goes back up. I can tell you I like the EV+. However, I have to hit the gas once in a while in EV+ to force the engine to run if I sense the voltage getting low enough that I know the engine will start immediately the following day. Some of the mileage of this car is related to when you time the engine to run. For instance, if I want to go one direction from home in the morning, I know I have some open road to drive before I have to stop. In that direction, I will let the engine start because I am driving anyway and it can warm up while I drive. If I leave in the other direction, I get to a left hand turn stop sign that normally requires alot of waiting. If I decide to go that direction, I do my best to keep it in EV mode until I can turn left. Otherwise, the engine will run to warm the emmission controls while I sit there doing nothing. That drops my mileage tremendously for my first trip of the day. There are many little tricks like that I have found help with this car. I have many other things I have learned to help the MPG. But, I do not want to drift this thread too far off topic. Matt

Oh, one cool thing; In 14,000 miles, the engine has only logged 6,000 miles the other 8,000 miles were EV only. :) Matt

The only difference in my driving between the 44mpg and 52mpg is temperature. Nearly all of my driving is town to town with precious little in the expressway. Most driving is done 35 to 40mph. I am going on a 900 mile round trip this weekend. So, I will have some very good highway speed extended driving to give you guys a FE report. We took it on a 120 mile highway drive when it was first bought and averaged 42mpg at 70mph (no grille cover). I have seen about 1mpg gain with the grille cover in town. Highway would be higher, I would assume. Also, I plan on doing some more serious aero mods on it this summer. Matt

Hey Everyone, Well, my Max logged 14,000 miles as of today! I believe that makes me the high miler on this forum (or any other forum for that matter). I use my Max for daily appliance repair work. So, I plan on driving upwards of 40,000 miles per year. I feel like I should apply as a beta tester for Ford. :~) Anyway, I wanted to let you guys know I am hovering right at 44mpg lifetime mileage and this is 100% winter driving. It is about 90% town to town, however. On the expressway in the winter weather I average around 42mpg (I do use a grille cover). Also, bear in mind, I have 300 pounds of equipment in my car at all times and I have electronic equipment plugged in all the time as well. So, I believe I am a worse case scinerio for this car other than using the grille cover. I have noticed that the first 2 hours of town to town use is noticeably lower mpg. I know the first few minutes is an issue with all cars, hybrids especially. But, when driven for the entire day, the mileage really begins to climb. When the weather goes above 50 degrees (we have had a few days like that this winter), my mileage soars to over 52mpg and that is not just one day. It is consistant, if the temp is over 50 degrees, so is my mpg. ANother thing I noticed that I have not heard anyone address is the electric assist when driving over 62mph. The engine will never shut off at that speed, but I notice the electric cycling from regen to assist depending on the grade of the road, thus evening out the mpg. I point this out because on other forums, where C-Max bashing happens releatedly (or hybrid bashing in general) the comment is constanly made that "Above 62mph, the hybrid components are just along for the ride adding weight and cost and do nothing for the MPG". This is not true. The electric equipment cycle on and off in highway driving in concert with the engine to maximize fuel economy. I will keep you all posted as my mileage climbs through the stratusphere. :~) Matt

I have 5,400 miles on my Max so far and I have been averaging 46mpg (lifetime average). I have stated earlier, and will reiterate now, temperature, elevation, and driving habits make a huge difference. Wet pavement makes a big difference as well. Oh, I highly recommend a Scanguage. They are wonderful for monitoring things Ford does not tell us. For one thing, I know that when the engine temp drops below 139 degrees F, the engine is about to start just for warmth. So, I will turn off the climate control when my Scanguage tells me the engine temp is below 140f. Also, it tells me engine RPM. This is important to reduce pumping losses. The lower the RPM, the less pumping losses you will encounter in the engine. It also tells you an exact imediate MPG. That is much better than the sweeping guage on the C-Max dash. Matt

I have 3,100 miles on my C-Max as of today. I drive 125 miles per day for work. Some days are in town and some are highway (65mph). I have given much of my findings on this thread already. However, I want to point out a couple things that I have pretty much cemented in my brain as fact; First, temperature makes a HUGE difference on Hybrids. I have friends with other hybrids who have the same issues. The cold temperature makes the engin run longer and sooner, and the air is more dense. This added density increases drag at highway speeds. Also (and I have yet to hear this addressed), battery efficiency drops when the temperature of the battery is cold. I have found that the EV range increases dramatically once the pack has been cycled a nubmer of times through normal driving. Second, mileage depends on the area you are driving in. For example, I have found that more stop and go drops the mileage. Now, that may seem obvious, but there is a drastic difference. Remember, regen is not 100% return on your energy. A 100% braking score does not mean you got 100% of your energy back, it means you did not waste any energy as friction in braking. The generator, wiring, and inverter all lose power in the process of regen. So, stop and go kills range. Also, the C-Max seems particularly sensitive to elevation changes. I do not mean obvious hills, I mean gradual elevation changes over distance. Allow me to explain; I make a certain trip for work periodically. When I drive from my house to that location (abotu 12 miles distance), I typically see anywhere from 55 to over 60mpg for the entire trip. However, going home I see mid 40s (maybe 44mpg or so). There are no noticeable hills. But, there must be an elevation change between locations. I have noticed this on other trips as well. Beyond that, I do not see why some people are getting such bad mileage. My lifetime average is 46.0mpg at this point. Heck, even in 25 to 30 degree temps today I have averaged nearly 45mpg on mine..... A few days ago when the weather was in the mid 50s, I had one day of 114 miles that was 51.1mpg and the next day of 126 miles of driving I saw 52.2mpg. One last thing, I recommend a Scangauge. This is a cool instrument that allows you to monitor engine temp engine RPM, and other bits (some of which the C-Max already displays). I find it to help knowing when the heat is about to turn on the engine and other important bits of information. :~) Matt

Hey Paul, I am looking into some serious aero mods like wheel discs, lowered front air dam, full lower body pan, and grille block panels like you are doing. I have been told at Ecomodder.com than these mods should be good for around 5mpg on the highway. As for my personal mileage, I am at 3,100 miles right now and my average is well over 47mpg at this point. My lifetime mileage (including early poor mileage from various people driving it hard) is 46.7mpg. My mileage is nearly identical calculated at the pump versus the dash estimate. I think this improves with time. When I am on the freeway at 65mph, I see low 40s (42 to 43mpg). Matt

Nope, you are incorrect. There are moving louvers in the center grille as well. Mine is an SEL. Maybe this is not the case with the SE models, but mine absolutely has louvers in both the lower and center grilles. Matt

Ahh, OK, you are correct.

I just had my best day ever. I drove 126 miles (averaging about 35 to 40 mph most of the time) and saw 52.2mpg the entire day. :~) Oh, as for taping off the grille, one thing to bear in mind, the C-Max has louvers that open and close to regulate engine temp. You have to look closely, but you can see them inside the grille opening. You may actually be seeing an aero increase more than a temp increase. Lastly, I gassed up today and saw 47.9mpg for that entire tank. This was volume calculated, not the dashboard reading. My dashboard reading is off about 1mpg. Matt

What I am confused about is why the mileage differs so much from one trip to another. I mean, I understand the cold weather does it. In fact, this car is extremely sensitive to cold weather (temp affecting MPG). But, there are times I drive the car for 15 miles and see low 40s (without being hard on the pedal), and other trips of similar distance and speed, seeing well into the 50s. That being said, this is the finest car I have ever owned, period........ When I bought it, I did my gas cost savings based on 42mpg. So, anything above that makes me happy. Oh, I completely agree that most Prius owners are able to exceed the EPA rating fairly easily, while it is not as easy on the C-Max. Matt

I did some gas engine only running today (65+mph highway driving) and averaged 43mpg with the engine running the entire time. As mentioned earlier, once the battery charge gets near the top of the charge, the mpg with engine running really climbs. As the weather have changed, my mpg has dropped a touch (about 2mpg). I completely agree that you must calculate mpg based on real world useage and full tank calculations. On my last fillup, my math showed 46.4mpg for that entire tank. The previous two fillups were lower than that. Every fillup improves about 2mpg. I can say this for certain, my C-Max loves 35 to 40mph. That is where the highest mpg is found. It is not hard to exceed 55mpg at that speed range and 60mpg is not impossible. Highway mileage is where the mileage suffers. Oh, today I had to floor it twice. It is really nice having so much power on tap when needed. That being said, it is also easy to dip into that and ruin your hopes of beating your previous high mpg. :D Matt

Yup, I know what you mean. The first week I was so thrilled that I watched the MPG gauge a lot. The second week, I forgot to look at it much oft the time as I have gotten used to the car. Now, in my thrid week, I am back to watching it again. However, now it is to test theories I have regarding my mileage and seeing how I drive versus the ECO cruise. I had gotten used to a digital MPG gauge on my van (I installed that on my own a while back). So, I was already in the habit of paying attention of my mileage. I must say, this car is very good at maximizing mileage on its own. I have watched the gauge when my wife drives and the engine kicks on and off at about the timing I would like to see it happen. Ford got the software right. Now if we can get them to fix all the freaking infotainment bugs............. Matt

I agree and I disagree. First, I did not make the comparison to smaller cars, that was made by others here and I was objecting to that. Second, it does, indeed, get better mileage than the "V" in town. Highway may be another matter. I have to do some long distance interstate driving to say for sure. However, my personal experience shows my car is still better than the V on the highway and WAY better in town. That being said, I am light on the throttle (though I do drive the speed limit). Oh, one other thing I noticed is that the ECO cruise does a pretty good job, but I override it in certain situations. One good example of that is; when climbing a hill, the cruise may kick the engine in because it does not know where the top of the hill is. However, if the hill is not very high, I kcik off the cruise and let the speed drop 2 or 3mph to crest the hill in EV mode. This does not affect my time to my destination, but it does make a difference in mileage. I am an experienced hyper-miler and the C-Max is very sensitive to these techniques. That being said, my wife still gets 46+mpg with the car and she "Just drives it". I just got back from another 10 mile drive that was 60.9mpg. This included 5 miles over 50mph. I am not trying to be arguementative. I do take issue with some of the claims. Maybe some clarity should be made regarding the car's "Actual" mileage under normal driving and the "Potential" mileage if care is taken. I have no problem seeing well over 50mpg for 100+ miles at a time and 60mpg for 10mile drives here and there under ideal circumstances. Oh, lastly, the first drive of the day is always much lower mileage. This is because the engine needs to run a bit to get the oil moving and the transmission warmed up. This morning I saw 39.5 mpg for the first 8 mile drive. After that, I saw 60.9mpg on the [longer] drive home. So, for those who drive 10 miles, then stop for a couple hours, then drive 10 miles home, YES, they will see 39mpg average. That innital warm up hurts the mileage. That may be one major part of this discussion that has not been taken into account. For, me, I drive at least 100 miles per day. So, that innital 39 to 42mpg trip warming everything up averages in and somewhat disappers by the end of the day. Also, yes, I know the indicated is about 1 mile too high. No biggie. That makes little difference at 50mpg. :) Matt

A few thoughts here; First, I have no problem what-so-ever staying well above the rated 47mpg. That being said, I do mostly town to town driving with about 30% highway. Most driving for me is about 45mph. Second, we need to stop comparing this car to a much smaller car. This thing is actually quite large compared to other high mileage cars. I cannot believe the mileage of this thing for its size and weight. Third, as was stated a number of times, this thing has a large amount of surplus horsepower. This power equates to much lower mileage if it is dipped into. I love the fact that I can really have some fun with this thing (good power and wonderful handling), while still getting nearly 40mpg even though I am harping on it! Lastly, this car really shines in town and town to town as I drive it. The one thing I would say is, the 47mpg highway rating must have been at 55mph (this is a highway speed afterall). If I were to rate this car, I would give it a 48mpg in town rating and 44 highway. This would give a better idea to those buying the car of what it will deliver in real life use. Oh, one last thing (bear in mind, I am a very analytical person); I have found some days the mileage is not very good (maybe in the low to mid 40s), while other days it is INSANELY HIGH! I have seen 60mpg for relatively extended drives (over 10 miles) and 100+ mile days in the low 50s per gallon. I am not sure what the difference is other than maybe the weather. But, I do not use the climate control much because it forces the engine to run. I prefer the heated seat. Matt

Actually, I am curious about the battery in the winter (I park outside). I may get a simple heating pad and lay that on the battery to keep it warm when the car is not in use. A block heater may not be a bad idea either.

Hey Guys and Gals, I figured I would let you know a couple more things I have figured out about mileage on our beloved C-Max; First, for those ina colder climate such as myself near Chicago, the climate control forces the engine to start to provide heat to the cabin. This draws the overall mileage way down. So, I use the heated seats to warm me up while I drive down the road until the engine starts on its own to charge the battery. Once the engine starts and runs a while, I start the climate control. Then, I monitor the engine and the interior temp to shut the climate control down as soon as it is warm enough in the cabin. Second, I do everything I possibly can to maximize the duration the car stays in EV mode. This may sound obvious, however, when I bought the car, I assumed that it would start the engine and run a given percentage of every mile based on road conditions and speed. However, what I have found is, the longer you can keep it in EV mode, the better the mileage. For some reason the car runs best when running in EV mode for long durations, then when the battery is very low, I allow it to start and accellerate at a moderate rate to get up about 10mph (right up to the speed limit). Then I allow it to run in EV mode and even allow the car to slow down about 6 to 10 mph while very cautiously watching the battery gauge in Empower mode. As the power in the battery drops, I drop my power requirement allowing it to slow down a touch to stay in EV mode for evey last second possible. Then I accellerate again and repeat the process. This sound tedious. But, really, it becomes second nature in no time. In fact, as I drive like that with people in the car, no-one even notices the way I drive. I have learned to make this second nature. At this point, the car always has hundreds of pounds of weight in it (my work equipment and parts) and I seem to have no problem staying above 50mpg on most evey trip throughout the day. In fact, the 47mpg EPA is extremely easy to stay within. In fact, my wife drives right at the 47mpg rating and she does very little to hyper-mile. Matt

I do not drive ultra close to draft. When I draft, I drive about 1 second behind the car ahead of me. That is close enough to feel the difference drafting and far enough to have a bit of a safety cusion. Matt