50+mpg trips

[C-MAXER]

Some folks "have heard" the C-Max isn't capable of good mpg's while others only do a short test drive on a cold engine and are disappointed.  So I thought I start an ongoing thread of 50+mpg trips with picture proof.  The longer the better but even short trips are worthy since they are considered a major reason for poor fuel economy.

 

 

Edited April 16, 2013 by C-MAXER

[C-MAXER]

Part of my morning commute.

 

[Jus-A-CMax]

This was very early on but still valid...

 

 

More information here:Post #5 from Who say's it can't be done - post high

Edited April 16, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[JohnnOhio]

I get upper 50's on short trips and 47ish + - on my 33 mile highway commutes to and from work.(65mph)

[C-MAXER]

I get upper 50's on short trips and 47ish + - on my 33 mile highway commutes to and from work.(65mph)

 

Excellent results John; however, the point of this thread is to educate by showing through picture proof what the car really is capable of.

Edited April 16, 2013 by C-MAXER

[Recumpence]

I drove 150 miles today with an average of 52.4mpg for the entire day.   :)

 

Best single trip over 20 miles was a 30 mile trip at 60.4mpg.

 

Matt

Edited April 16, 2013 by Recumpence

[Adair]

54 by JellyBean439, on Flickr

 

Temps were 54* rolling hills, some stop signs/lights, 45-55 mph.

[C-MAXER]

Temps were 54* rolling hills, some stop signs/lights, 45-55 mph.

You will be killing it once you see consistently warmer temps! Also, work on bringing that brake score up.

[Adair]

You will be killing it once you see consistently warmer temps! Also, work on bringing that brake score up.

Yeah, that was this trip. I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting an !d!0T truck that pulled out in front of me. I'm usually at 95-97%

[jmckinley]

Yesterday I drove 200 miles at 70 mph and got 34 mpg.  My Chrysler minivan on the same road at the same speed gets 27 mpg. And it's a lot roomier!

 

It was 70 degrees, the car was not loaded, it has over 6,000 miles and I was not running the 

A/C.

 

I am not impressed.  Don't tell me to drive slower-- It's dangerous on I-75.  If I wanted to impede traffic, there are any number of cars that when driven slowly get good mileage and cost a heck of a lot less than the C-Max.

 

And, by the way, the GPS decided there was no SD card exactly when I really needed it.  Had to pull the card and reinsert and wait for reboot.  Yes, I've had the 13-3-11 TSB done.  I won't even get into the GPS' annoying habit of calling freeway exits "Slight Right Turn" and announcing them at the last possible moment or sometimes after you've passed the exit.

 

Speaking of not impressed, I am not impressed by all the posted short trips with huge MPG's.  There's a big hill outside of town and I can coast down it and get 90 mpg or I can drive on a flat road at 30 mph and get big numbers, but so what! I'd be interested in seeing some trip times to go with those big numbers so we can see what these guys are really up to.

[C-MAXER]

Sorry John that your having a bad time with your cmax. I've only done one interstate trip so far and saw a high on one leg of

 

And a low of 40mpg on the return leg against A constant 30mph wind (my version of hills here along the gulf plains). As they say YMMV.

Edited April 17, 2013 by C-MAXER

[RachelnLa]

Question: what are expecting to get on the interstate going 70mph?

 

47? Not likely, tho I am sure someone out there has done it. I took a trip doing 70mph and got 39 mpg. That's still 12 better than your van. How much more were you expecting? Again, 47 is unlikely.

 

Now, driving on the highway you could expect that same 47! Highway speeds are a bit slower than interstate and frequent speed changes.

 

My point? Time is money. Or in this case it's mpg. If you have the time enjoy the scenery and take the highway. I can hear you now asking who has that kind of time??? Then you'll pay for it with mpg.

 

At least the cmax is sportier than the van, fun to drive to boot.

[Laurel]

Can someone tell me how you all are taking such clear pictures of mileage?  I have tried several times and have dark pictures. We are getting some stellar mileage with the temperatures warming up, but I can't prove it to all of you with my illegible pictures.  I have used my husband's iphone and my photos are awful!

[Jus-A-CMax]

Can someone tell me how you all are taking such clear pictures of mileage?  I have tried several times and have dark pictures. We are getting some stellar mileage with the temperatures warming up, but I can't prove it to all of you with my illegible pictures.  I have used my husband's iphone and my photos are awful!

I use a S100 but it's my work camera. But I also use my DroidX. The trick is to get the lense close and snap it. The default setting on your camera phone should be good. PM me if u need help...lets not clog this thread with how-tos  ;)

Edited April 17, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[DozerBob]

Hey John, I drive an Energi to work 61 miles through Los Angeles and Orange County traffic and have consistently gotten over 50 MPGe and on this occasion I got over 60 MPGe with just .2 kwh of plugin power. Great gas mileage has everything to do with your speed.  You obviously still have your Zoom Zoom mentality from your Miata and V-Strom. The C-Max is capable of great gas mileage in the hands of some people. You have to change your driving habits to make it work for you. If not, Sell it. Make yourself and someone else happy!

[Recumpence]

Yesterday I drove 200 miles at 70 mph and got 34 mpg.  My Chrysler minivan on the same road at the same speed gets 27 mpg. And it's a lot roomier!

 

It was 70 degrees, the car was not loaded, it has over 6,000 miles and I was not running the 

A/C.

 

I am not impressed.  Don't tell me to drive slower-- It's dangerous on I-75.  If I wanted to impede traffic, there are any number of cars that when driven slowly get good mileage and cost a heck of a lot less than the C-Max.

 

And, by the way, the GPS decided there was no SD card exactly when I really needed it.  Had to pull the card and reinsert and wait for reboot.  Yes, I've had the 13-3-11 TSB done.  I won't even get into the GPS' annoying habit of calling freeway exits "Slight Right Turn" and announcing them at the last possible moment or sometimes after you've passed the exit.

 

Speaking of not impressed, I am not impressed by all the posted short trips with huge MPG's.  There's a big hill outside of town and I can coast down it and get 90 mpg or I can drive on a flat road at 30 mph and get big numbers, but so what! I'd be interested in seeing some trip times to go with those big numbers so we can see what these guys are really up to.

And what where your MPGs around town in that minivan?

 

What drives me crazy are people who buy a hybrid that was specifically designed for high MPG in town driving and complain that driving at high speed on the interstate isn't as fuel efficient as around town. You are using the wrong tool for the job. Why complain that your small framing hammer does not drive 1/2 inch diameter spikes into railroad ties? Use a sledge hammer for that.

 

I bought my Max specifically for IN TOWN driving. I do appliance repair and drive many miles town to town and in town, very little highway driving over 55mph. Therefore, it is very easy for me to hit huge MPGs. I also live in northern Illinois where we do not have any huge hills to deal with. If I were doing mostly expressway driving, I would have bought a Cruze or another innexpensive car with 40+mpg highway mileage.

 

Now, that being said, I have had many issues with the darn Sync system. I agree it is a buggy pain in the freakin rear! I find the bugs completely unacceptable in a $30K car. So, I am with you on that. Nothing is perfect, however. But, again, I go back to the fact that hybrids are specifically honed for high in-town MPG. Your other van would barely hit 20mpg in town and that only if you were hyper miling it (I know, I have owned two of them). But, your Max would be getting over double that number without any hypermiling.

 

It is all about application, not improper claims by Ford.

[wab]

And what where your MPGs around town in that minivan?

 

What drives me crazy are people who buy a hybrid that was specifically designed for high MPG in town driving and complain that driving at high speed on the interstate isn't as fuel efficient as around town. You are using the wrong tool for the job. Why complain that your small framing hammer does not drive 1/2 inch diameter spikes into railroad ties? Use a sledge hammer for that.

 

I bought my Max specifically for IN TOWN driving. I do appliance repair and drive many miles town to town and in town, very little highway driving over 55mph. Therefore, it is very easy for me to hit huge MPGs. I also live in northern Illinois where we do not have any huge hills to deal with. If I were doing mostly expressway driving, I would have bought a Cruze or another innexpensive car with 40+mpg highway mileage.

 

Now, that being said, I have had many issues with the darn Sync system. I agree it is a buggy pain in the freakin rear! I find the bugs completely unacceptable in a $30K car. So, I am with you on that. Nothing is perfect, however. But, again, I go back to the fact that hybrids are specifically honed for high in-town MPG. Your other van would barely hit 20mpg in town and that only if you were hyper miling it (I know, I have owned two of them). But, your Max would be getting over double that number without any hypermiling.

 

It is all about application, not improper claims by Ford.

47/47/47

[jmckinley]

I never expected to see 47 mpg at 70 mph, but 40 would be a reasonable expectation without resorting to Dorkmiling, drafting or other extreme measures. Difference in operating cost between 34 and 40 is not that significant, it's probably a matter of principle now.

 

Certainly Ford is not lying about the EPA test results.  But, and this is a big But, they had to of known that the C Max would not deliver anything close to 47 combined and would inevitably disappoint their customers.  Simply pasting on the EPA rating and trying to blame the discrepancy on the EPA's out of date procedure was a bad idea and will in the long run cost them sales.

 

If you want to see a good analysis of the EPA procedure vs real world, see this month's Car and Driver magazine.  It's the best overview I've seen.

 

The Synch and GPS stuff, however, is inexcusable.  These systems are clearly not fully developed as delivered.  

 

My Synch pulled a "Routine Maintenance" reboot this morning, again right when I needed the GPS to do something.  And the voice recognition?  Forget about it - it will never work well.

[reedmother]

To the 34 mpg on the highway guy. You might have had a headwind. The wind makes a tremendous difference and it has been windy this spring.  We got about that going west on the NY State thruway. The return trip was much better.

[Recumpence]

That could be.

 

My wife and I have done two interstate trips with the Max averaging 70mph. One averaged 41.2mpg and the other averaged 38 one direction, and 42.3 the other direction.

 

Matt

[jmckinley]

Matt,

 

Now that is a useful comment.  You're getting 40 average at a steady 70 mph but I never get close to 40 even instantaneous unless it is a good downhill so I definitely can't expect a 40+ mpg average.  Perfectly flat road, headwind or tail wind, instantaneous consumption sits at approximately 37 mpg.

 

I think something is wrong with my car, but the dealer checked it out and said everything is OK. I still think something isn't working right with my car.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Matt,

 

Now that is a useful comment.  You're getting 40 average at a steady 70 mph but I never get close to 40 even instantaneous unless it is a good downhill so I definitely can't expect a 40+ mpg average.  Perfectly flat road, headwind or tail wind, instantaneous consumption sits at approximately 37 mpg.

 

I think something is wrong with my car, but the dealer checked it out and said everything is OK. I still think something isn't working right with my car.

 Jim, it might help the forum if you can elaborate how you drive on the freeway - whether you have it on manual pedal or if you use standard cruise or eco-cruise. I don't think you should be getting those numbers myself as my 5 trips to Mammoth Lakes  and back (560+ mile return) average above the 40s and thats with the car packed and loaded. Mine is an Oct 2012 build. As you might have seen some recent threads, ICE High MPG (using eco-cruise) may be the solution here. But lets start with some description of how you're driving, if you want us to help, that is  :)

 

Also, you might want to take your car to get a second opinion..just to make sure your current SA is not giving you the run around...

[jmckinley]

I set the Eco Cruise and keep my foot off the go pedal.  

 

No Dorkmiling

No drafting

No grill covers

40 psi in the tires

Lightly loaded, just the two of us.

10% alcohol in the gas

A/C off, windows up

Freshly washed and waxed

Oil just changed at 6K. don't know what the dealer put in.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Ok, good start, at that load, u should be getting the 40MPG - this route - is it all flat, or are there severe grades or mountainous areas? Head wind/ Tail Wind? 

 

If u recall, did you observe the battery charging, going up to 70% or above before it starts to discharge while in eco-cruise? Typically, if you say you do not touch the pedal when eco-cruise is on, this will really regen the battery to a high enough level to where the EV will assist the ICE, your instant MPG should be 38MPG or 40MPG at least. I would even suggest to you to take your CMax out again to some freeway and verify the battery is charging high enough in the eco-cruise mode, and then even throw it into ICE High MPG (which is basically double tap down on the "-"). 

[obob]

To the 34 mpg on the highway guy. You might have had a headwind. The wind makes a tremendous difference and it has been windy this spring.  We got about that going west on the NY State thruway. The return trip was much better.

I have found that change in elevation also has a very significant effect.  So I look at mileage for round trips.  One trip I make pretty regularly is downhill going and uphill coming back.  I get like over 50mpg going and under 50 on the way back bringing the average into the 40's.