salsaguy

Big Rocco  - it looks like you havent updated your user profile info to show you now have a '15 CMax instead of your old '13 CMax. Left hand panel shows "2013 CMax in White Platinum"

;)

Steve, because of the comfort/space/luxury feeling in the Passat ? or because of the regular car feeling? or because of the seating position?

Stevedebi said:

"My wife is 4'10" and she doesn't mind driving our C-Max Energi. But she much prefers the VW Passat TDI."

This is what Im worried about with my wife (cutie75). Im worried she will find an excuse to not like it (she is already resistant on the "Ford" brand, since she is such a devout Toyota fan after owning her SUV for 17 years now and still going strong). It is very different but I keep telling her its the best choice for her with wanting high MPGs and a high seating position that she loves/is used to from her SUV and with its features and comfort. Time will tell if we end up getting the CMax or not....

Steve, I know what you mean about boxes in the garage. Luckily I still have room for my car (Passat) but its slowly getting overtaken by boxes. Time for major cleanout and reorganization for sure, Its amazing how an empty space gets filled to the max with "stuff". I bet the majority of garages arent for holding cars but instead for  "stuff" :)

Yeah its good to have a plug next to the garage entrance.  Also good to hear you dont have issues charging in the rain

Steve, I know what you mean about boxes in the garage. Luckily I still have room for my car (Passat) but its slowly getting overtaken by boxes. Time for major cleanout and reorganization for sure, Its amazing how an empty space gets filled to the max with "stuff". I bet the majority of garages arent for holding cars but instead for  "stuff" :)

Yeah its good to have a plug next to the garage entrance.  Also good to hear you dont have issues charging in the rain

Yup been watching the X- FIles (glad its back but I noticed its much more violent and graphic in nature when it comes to blood and gore, compared to when it was on last many years ago) and the Ford Explorer is very prominently placed in many of the scenes, to show off the car in all angles.

built in advertising. Also if watching the show from On Demand streaming, every single commercial (cant skip commercials in On Demand Mode) had the same "Thuinderstom?: commercial for the Explorer at every single comm. break,

Based on the OP's post #14 in that thread, it seems that SHO owner is a Ford Employee or knows someone high up to get the info to be able to do that and was a 1 off only / demo and not a mass production thing but cool to know it was able to be done

That's unfortunate, but thanks for the reply! I do appreciate you passing on the feedback.

 

In case you want to see it, here's the forum post about the Taurus SHO backfit I was referencing:

http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=128950

Here's a first drive report on this new e-Tron:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1093607_2016-audi-a3-e-tron-first-drive

The CMax and other hybrid cars are notably not the best cars to get if you live in cold weather cities. Hybrids work best in cities like Los Angeles where its nice and warm in the 65-85 deg range most of the time

We just got a new 2015 C-MAX Hybrid SEL, we now have about 600 miles on it and we are struggling to get over 35mpg. Mind you we live 40 miles NW of Chicago, IL and we are going through a bit of a cold spell. Last 2 days my morning commute started at -8F.

 

I'm confident once the weather warms up we will see much better mpg's.

Per the owners manual you arent supposed to watch the MPG or find the info valuable for the first 1000 miles as it is learning your driving habits and programming the computer in your car. It will take a while to break in the engine as well and once broken in the mpg #s will start to settle in and be more reliable

I just got a new 2015 C-Max, and the mileage is terrible.  See data here.

 

 http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac317/vonoretn/C-Max/mpg-miles_zps6qrmfnzz.jpg

 

 

I can get 42 if I stay under 60 mph, but at 70 mph plus, on the highway it drops into the low to mid 30's.  Something must be wrong with this C-Max.  I also have a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid with 124K miles and 6 years on it, and it consistently gets between 38 and 42 mpg. 

Its really sad to see how many dealerships take advantage of older people because they knoiw they can get away with pulling the wool over their eyes.

ANd I agree that training is very important for anyone buying a new car these days, even if you arent over 50.

SO much tech on these cars can be confusing for even the new generation of people. No one knows/understands the way a new product (car, TV, computer, blu-ray player, game, etc) works as soon as you buy it

Even Apple offers training services for their new Mac products.

Customer service doesnt mean getting them to get out of your shop and out of your hair as fast as possible, it means getting to understand their needs and make sure they are happy and have a GREAT experience.The customer is NOT the enemy, Mr  dealer/dealer rep! The customer is who is paying for your food and house every day. Without customers (and repeat happy customers) you will be out of a job!

Only issue with the slow trickle charger is that unless you can park right up next to your house to be able to plug it in (if you park the car outside and not inside a garage) it will be veru difficult. And if you do park your car outside what do you do if you need to charge when it rains outside? Is it water sealed even when the charge compartment is open or do they discourage you charging in rain?

I love Audi's look and style. They are my fav luxury car if I had the $$ to spend on one. The A6/A5/A8 series is stellar. I used to like BMW but not after they changed the styling to be so ugly. Never liked Mercedes. So I stick with my poor mans Audi... My Passat SEL

But its too bad they (Audi's) do have a bad rep for reliability. I knew Jaguar's and Mercedes had a lot of issues. But wasnt aware of so much on the Audi side.

As for hard to service, I know all abot that. I used to own a 1995 Ford Probe GT and that was based on the Mazda 626 platform and shared the same engine and they shoehorned that thing in the hood so tight it was a nightmare to service even the spark plugs was a monster. No one outside of the dealer ever wanted to touch it. More and more designers are trying to make cars easier to service as it does add to the time/cost of maintenance, but with so many new safety and tech features being added to the cars these days, there is only so much room they have to work with that it does become a very difficult chore to accomplsh,

Thats too bad. Dont you just hate it when you find something that looks and feels perfect on paper only to have your heart ripped out of you after holding it in your hands and trying it out for yourself!

Best of luck finding an alternative. Too bad more car mfg's dont offer better height adjustments. Maybe she can sit on a pad/booster seat??

The CMax really is best bang for your buck hybrid/Plug In EV car out there with lots of tech and safety and style and FUN all rolled into 1 nice package

Wow without the top grille it sure looked like a Focus to me at first glance

I wonder if removing the upper grille was only for looks or for improved performance in some category like drag or mpgs?

wont that mean the engine bay will get LESS cooling and heat up more?

which may be a good ting for those in winter areas that need to get the car warmed up faster to use less ICE and more hybrid EV mode

i think I like the 1 grille look better than the 2 grille look for sure

wonder if the 2017 model in the US will have this design

when will the 2016 be over and the 2017 launch?

maybe the 2016 will be a short launch 1/2 years worth and the 2017 and updated refresh model?

anyone know?

According to the article, they have gas, hybrid and plug-in hybrid options. Interested to see if the 2017 NA models will loose the top grill....

 

One feature that was added to Sync3 in the 2016 is the more detailed information on the trip computer for Avg Speed for trip, which is nice to determine your ACTUAL hwy/city split numbers as per Fuelly so that your % city % hwy numbers will be more accurate instead of just a guess

https://owner.ford.com/how-tos/vehicle-features/dashboard-instrument-cluster/trip-computer-and-message-center.html?model=C-MAX%20Hybrid&year=2016

http://www.fuelly.com/tips/555/Find-your-true-cityhighway-driving-splits

I made an excel chart as a lookup table for you to use

Avg speed of 48 mi/hr or better is 100% hwy / 0 % city

Avg speed of 21 mi/hr or lower is 100% city / 0 % hwy

the in between splits are based on the formula from the Fuelly link provided above

this is what the EPA uses for their city/hwy splits

each 1.35 mi/hr more on the avg trip speed (starting at 21 mi/hr) increases the % hwy % by 5%

each 2.7 mi/hr more on the avg trip speed (starting at 21 m/hr) increases the % hwy % by 10%

see attached word doc file that I pasted my excel file info into (it wouldnt let me upload the excel file)

Avg Speed Lookup Table for Fuelly Splits - Doc File.doc

You can find the incentives and rebats on Edmunds site by clicking on the MORE tab once you enter in a make and model and year in the main search bar at the top

here is the deals and incentives for the 2016 CMax Hybrids:

http://www.edmunds.com/ford/c-max-hybrid/2016/deals/

for the truecar site incentives look at the top left area after you select and build your car of choice

its to the right of : "Choose: Colors | Options" tabs under the "STYLE" text entry box

stevedebi

just wondering do you have a high output 240V charger installed in your house/garage? or do you just use the house plug to slow charge your car and when on the road at an EV station?

btw, when on the road how much does it cost to get an EV fill at one of those EV stations ?

do you have a lot of them (EV stations)in your area? and if so are they usually tied up? not many of them available at many work places unless you work at Apple or Google or Yahoo or Facebook, etc

if you have the fast charger installed how much was it? ive heard around $500-1500 depending on type and dealer and instalation factors

i would think many folks dont factor in the electricity costs in the price and just look at the incentives and state rebate cost and forget they still need to buy "electricity" instead of buying gas for the car whether it be at your house or on the road

If one can live with less cargo room, the Energi is definitely the way to go. When I bought mine in 2014, prices were within a couple of hundred between the base Energi and the SEL. So long as the Feds keep providing the rebate, and with state rebates in a lot of places, I think the Energi is going to keep up. It really evens out the prices. If the rebates end, I think both EVs and PEV are going to start plummeting unless gas goes up significantly.

 

According to my spreadsheet, I'm still saving about $11 per fill up by driving the Energi vs driving in Hybrid mode, factoring in the cost of my electricity vs the estimated hybrid mileage and current gas prices. I fill up about once every thousand miles or so.  If I were driving hybrid, I'd be filling up twice as often, and the difference would be only $5 per fill up. Some, but not really a lot, equivalent to 1.5 gallons of gas.

agreed as there is for sure a direct correlation between the two

hybrid and EV sales are usually lower when gas goes up and SUV and V6/V8 engine car sales go up when gas is low

best to buy a hybrid/ev now that gas is so cheap. you can/should convice the dealer their lot is full of hybrids due to the low gas costs and they are losing money every day the car continue to sit on the lot unsold

It would be interesting to see sales vs fuel prices. 

So how many here LOVE Sync3 compared to MFT? (even the latest version) if you had been able to play with both systems?

How many of you wished you waited for Sync3?

Is Sync3 a deal breaker for any here?

With most of the bad reviews online and in Consumer Reports about the user experience and technology low scores, I think Ford did right to make the system better for the users even though many here and out in Ford owners world loved MFT and found it easy to use/understand. I had no issues with it but I saw the videos on Sync3 and think its pretty cool esp will all the applink stuff.

I had thought they were going to use the Audi based type UI system though, where one site had a rumor about that great system in those cars. maybe down the road?

Agreed

Diesels are so common in Germany because of the Autobahn (long trips at high speeds). they perform the best for those who drive 65+ most of the time for long periods of time/long trips

For the middle of the road mixed driving, Hybrids are best for both hwy and city driving, which is most folks out there.

for mostly city driving a full electric / plug in hybrid is best for that kind of driving

I know a lot of folks drive over 40 miles one way to work and a diesel is a must so yes its going to affect a lot of folks for sure

Depends on the commute. For a long distance high speed commute, the Diesel is the way to go. MPG in the mid 40's vs mid 30's at 80 MPH. For a stop and go commute, the C-Max is better.

 

I read that the VW dealers sent their unsold diesels back to VW shortly after the scandal hit. I don't think they are even on the lots at this point. But I'm not in the market and haven't looked or asked.

Ok steve, didnt know about the reg Rav4 since Ive never seen one in person as we never looked / considered those before the Hybrid came out. Really a bad design but I understand they needed to make room for the battery under the seat and I guess for some its less obvious and intrusive looking than the visible hump on the Cmax. thats one of the only things I dont like on the CMax. Hope they future will bring smaller and more powerful battery tech

An interesting concept for sure:

A hybrid A3 that comes with a a home installation package for your own solar panels to help minimize your carbon footprint for those who are really big on the green concept:

http://www.edmunds.com/audi/a3-sportback-e-tron/2016/hatchback/review/

https://www.audiusa.com/technology/efficiency/e-tron.html

Gets 86 MPGe in EV mode and 35 mpg combined in gas mode

and goes 17 miles in pure EV mode

Another thing on the Rav4 Hybrid that sucks is that the rear cargo bay area doesnt go full flat (its on an incline) when the seats are down, which is just as bad, if not worse as having the HUMP of a CMax Energi

the Cmax Hybrid hump isnt that bad and liveable but we could never use the Energi's hump. that just takes up way too much space and which is why we arent considering the Energi even though it gets better mileage. also my wife drives a mix of both streets and hwy, and for that reason the hybrid is a better car instead of an energi which is normally best under just shoter trips / city slower driving

you can see in this pix how the cargo area floor of the Rav4 hybrid is angled/ramped up, which would cause any longer pieces of furniture or hauled items to have an issue being fit into the rear cargo area when the back seat is down, or not fit at all

http://blogmedia.dealerfire.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/256/2015/11/2015_NYIAS_2016_Toyota_RAV4_Hybrid_030.jpg

Yes I know the higher / taller body would be worse for cg (drag coefficient) and hurt the mpg a bit unless they sculpted it more to be more aerodynamic compared to the full gas version of old.

I agree V6 hybrids dont make much sense as its a net sum zero gain with the extra power and weight and gass guzzling V6 being cancelled out by any hybrid advantage

as for the spare tire on the Rav4, early on this the discussions here on the forum I read a LOT of folks who said that not having a real spare tire (even if it was a temp low mph tire) was a dealbreaker for them for not buying the CMax.

For most it wont matter till after the warranty is over. Most have AAA membership but may not want to  wait for a tow truck especially in a bad area or out in the boonies when on a long trip.

I can understand that but every ounce matters and is key in a hybrid car, just like when designing an airplane.

I think the Escape would be worse than the C-Max by at least 5 MPG city and more highway. It is taller.

 

The Highlander Hybrid had a V6. I never understood that hybrid concept.

 

As I said, the AWD on the Rav4 is not that heavy compared to a mechanical AWD (which the Escape uses).

 

What does the spare donut tire (carried inside the car) have to do with MPG (except the weight)?