Cmax good in midwest?

[Sukey]

thank you for the add, I really like the idea of a cmax hybrid, however I live in northern Illinois and wondering if the car would performance well or am 

I wasting my money and need to stay will an ICE

[takingittothemax]

NYer here. The Hybrid will have its best fuel economy in the spring and fall when you're not running the climate control. Mileage goes down a bit in summer because we need it to keep from sweating, goes down a lot in winter because, obviously, I don't want to turn into a Popsicle. The heater uses engine warmth to blast heat into the cabin, so the gas engine turns to stay on a lot to stay warm enough to do that.

 

That said, even at its worst, the fuel economy is still better than you would get in an equivalent, say, Focus. Mileage won't be too bad if you're mainly do suburban driving with decent but not excessive speed. Economy is worst in the city (where I live).

[cr08]

The one thing to keep in mind just commenting on the climate usage and related efficiency losses is the climate control system is intelligent in these vehicles. Unlike traditional ICE vehicles, it's not gonna require the coolant temp to get 'to the middle of the gauge' (like you'd expect on a non-hybrid vehicle) and will happily let it run on the cooler side with the ICE off/in EV operation. However the climate set temperature is very influential in how high it wants the coolant temp to be and how harder the ICE has to work to maintain that. So if you use HI or Defrost, the ICE is going to run longer and harder. Use something reasonable like 65/67/etc and it's gonna work a lot less to maintain that.

 

When it comes to hybrid vehicles like these and all the nuances like the climate control example, each person's experience and efficiency numbers are going to vary wildly. I won't even comment myself because I own a plug-in Energi model which completely changes things up compared to the hybrid only model. But I will say there's a ton of owners who live in the Midwest and colder climates who like theirs. Hopefully we'll have some of them chime in here with their experiences.

Edited December 3, 2022 by cr08

[nogoodbum]

In response to your last words on sticking to an ICE, I would like point out a few things. Prior to buying a Ford C-Max, I was also tied to the misconception/disinformation about hybrids and their relation with total electrics. The mainstream automotive media have 'lumped' hybrids [reg. & plug-in] together with total electrics in their reporting, when the real world is vastly different. To my limited knowledge hybrids generally use about 10%, plug-ins maybe 25% [at best] electric for their energy usage. This means 75-90% of your power is via an ICE. One way to look at it is that hybrids have an Energy Recovery System to recapture energy lost during braking to use for operation [acceleration] afterwards. Having an ERS means much improved gas mileage but the added weight hurts the "stop-light wars" so many of the media are fond of. In 2+yrs of driving my C-Max, I have never needed more power than the car provided. If your looking for a good daily driver, most if not all hybrids will fit the bill. If you want a stop-light warrior with fancy look at me features [loud exhaust, fancy wheels, spoilers & other such], look elsewhere. Sorry for the long response & THANKS for the read.

[SnowStorm]

On 12/2/2022 at 7:12 PM, Sukey said:

thank you for the add, I really like the idea of a cmax hybrid, however I live in northern Illinois and wondering if the car would performance well or am 

I wasting my money and need to stay will an ICE

These cars are fantastic in winter - you'll waste money staying with ICE.

• As mentioned, ICE only runs as needed to keep you warm, not generate gobs of extra heat to dump into the environment.  We got caught in a snowstorm in Wyoming, spent the whole night 'sleeping' in the car, stayed very comfortable and only used about 0.7 gallons.  The ICE only runs about a minute out of ten.  its wonderful.
• Seat heaters are a great help too - try and find one with that option.
• Use recirculate as much as possible (when humidity isn't too high to fog things up).
• Its true that gas mileage goes down in winter but with an ICE car its "down" all year!

[Wheatridger]

The OP was asking about "performance," not efficiency. That usually means handling and acceleration, so I just can say that my C-Max Hybrid replaced a VW GTI, and I'm not disappointed. My Ford zips away from stoplights and roars over the Rocky Mountains at 75 mph, if I want to drive that way. The tall, heavy C-Max leans in corners, but the steering is sharp and sporty, too.

 

"Northern Illinois," hmm... This isn't a good snow car. I was just snowed in on my long driveway for a day in Denver. With low ground clearance, the C-Max acts as a snowplow when the snow gets deep. Do you have a "winter beater"  vehicle too? On the other hand, the C-max has never failed to start in the cold!

 

Our 2014 Hybrid SEL has averaged 38 mpg in its lifetime. That's very good, but my Energi model does almost twice as well. Both have been cheap to own. Two cars, 120K total miles over five years has totalled about $150 in repairs.