Test drove C-Max, Prius & JSW TDI

[Testdriver]

I imagine a lot of other people are looking at these three cars and I thought this would be a good place to share my impressions.

 

Prius - Test drove a base model. Cheap, distracting interior. Drives like crap. You have to push the gas in half way before you get a decent response. The engine gets LOUD above 70 MPH. The center console was constantly doing stupid, pointless animations that took my eye off the road.Even without the animations, the center console is poorly placed, not to mention the weird center panel space eating thing. But it does get 50 MPG, so why wouldn't you want it...lol.

 

C-Max - Drove the SE. Nice roomy interior. I've seen reviews state that the CMax uses high quality materials, that may be true relative to the Prius, but there is still some flimsy looking plastic in places. The center console wasn't as distracting as the Prius, but it does have a zillion buttons and could be better designed. The driver side console is pretty nice though. I thought it drove really well. Gets off the line quickly, and otherwise drives as good or better than most other cars I've driven. The brakes are a little touchy, especially compared to my uber-soft Intrigue brakes. Definitely a nice car.

 

Jetta Sportwagen TDI - Drove the base TDI, which is a pretty high trim. I think the base MSRP is 2k higher than the C-Max. This is, all around, the best car out of three, even coming from a green-ish mindset. The interior is nice and has simple, intuitive controls. It has more cargo room and on my test drive achieved 45mpg over 20 miles of maybe 75% highway & back road driving. It has a weird automatic transmission, so it drives a little bit different, but has plenty of power.

 

My verdict? Well, we have the A-plan, so the cost savings on a C-Max lease will probably be too good to pass up. Will I regret not getting the JSW? I doubt it. The C-Max seems like a great car.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Nice writeup testdriver. Check out the SEL, I much prefer the finish on that versus the SE but hey, thats jus me.

 

What sort of driving do you intend to do? If its ton of freeways the diesel is hard to pass up (there I said it) but then again, what I am seeing these guys do with the 600 Mile CMax club members is pretty astonishing the MPGs they are getting - with some stating as much as 90% freeway.

 

Welcome to the forum as well :)

[Edsel]

Do you recall what MPG you achieved test driving the C-Max?

[fotomoto]

One piece of advice:  SEL  There's several good reasons why it outsells the SE.  

 

Also, two or three days driving the C-Max will be enough to retrain your muscle memory and then you'll think the Intrigue has crap-tastic brakes.  My wife's Civic EX has "uber-soft" brakes and I can't stand to drive it now.

[Adair]

One piece of advice:  SEL  There's several good reasons why it outsells the SE.  

 

Also, two or three days driving the C-Max will be enough to retrain your muscle memory and then you'll think the Intrigue has crap-tastic brakes.  My wife's Civic EX has "uber-soft" brakes and I can't stand to drive it now.

 

Ditto what he said! Drove both, SEL is waaaayyyyy better . And at first I thought the brakes were toooo touchy, but now they seem normal and when I drive my husband's van, they feel weird!

[Testdriver]

I got about 40 mpg. 50% freeway. Only drove the C-Max about 5 miles though, so I'd take that with a grain of salt.

 

I hear ya about the SEL. I just don't really highly value most of the options in that trim though. I'm fine with the cloth seats, and actually prefer some of the non-power options (lift gate and seat adjustments are quicker without power). I don't care about the touch screen, would rather just use my tablet anyway, etc. If I wasn't looking at a short term lease I'd consider going for the nicer materials, but since I'm only planning on having the car for 2 years, I'd rather save a couple bucks.

 

One piece of advice:  SEL  There's several good reasons why it outsells the SE.  

 

Also, two or three days driving the C-Max will be enough to retrain your muscle memory and then you'll think the Intrigue has crap-tastic brakes.  My wife's Civic EX has "uber-soft" brakes and I can't stand to drive it now.

 

I'm not a fan of the super soft brakes either, and I think they're just flat out bad brakes on my Intrigue. With that said, I do think the C-Max brakes were touchier than the JSW and Prius. I'm sure it's something that I'll quickly adjust to though.

[fotomoto]

Good points about the power vs non-power as I felt the same way but like many things in life once you get them you become accustom to them.  One feature the SEL has that "I just can't live without" is the handsfree (no key) system.  Have had this on three other cars going back 6 years so now having to use a key or a remote feels barbaric!   :drool:   This is actually my biggest gripe about the SE/Ford.  It should at least come with a handsfree drivers door (cough*Prius*cough).

[PWBarrett]

Look into the base SEL, which is the same as the 300A package.

It got me all the things I wanted and none of the ones I thought weren't worth it.  Of course that's just my personal preference.

But I haven't seen any dealer stock one this way - they seem to want to load them up.  Had to order mine.

[DR61]

I just sold a 2009 VW Sportwagen TDI and bought a C-Max Energi.  The TDI is a fine highway car, and if you do a lot of that, a good choice. On a per pound CO2 or $ basis rather than gallon basis, the fuel economy is not that different from the C-Max in highway driving. Has lots of cargo space but less passenger space that the C-Max.

 

The TDI can't touch the C-Max for urban driving fuel economy, however, especially for shorter trips.  Also in cold weather the TDI gets a huge hit in MPG, more than a gasoline car, in short trips.  Diesel engines take a long time to warm up.

[SnowStorm]

Also, the TDI forces you to replace the timing belt (C-Max has a chain) periodically which adds significant cost to long term ownership.  (Of course for a lease or short term ownership it just becomes someone else's cost.)  The dealer quoted $1100 so that is 1.1 cents per mile or about an extra 45 cents per gallon!  Add in the higher cost of diesel and the C-Max probably comes out ahead even on 100% Interstate.

 

My wife and I tried two JSWs before going with the C-Max SE.  Never tried a Prius.

[Testdriver]

We picked up our new C-Max on Saturday. We actually had the dealer get a vehicle on a lot 200 miles away with the color and options we wanted -- 202a (MFT) and the winter package -- so it already had 450 miles when I picked it up. I actually saw that the dealer in Ohio listed the car with 290 miles on the car, which I naturally freaked out about and paid for a carfax on the VIN. Turns out they did a dealer trade for the car in Michigan prior to sending it back to Michigan for my purchase. That was OK with me -- I was mostly just worried about it being a buyback, and looking at the carfax, it almost certainly was not the case.

 

I'm real happy with the car so far. I love the spaciousness with the high ceilings. I'm glad we sprung for the MFT, not so much because it's an awesome device -- it's OK -- but it looks WAY better than the dash-o-zillion-buttons that it replaces in models without MFT. After about 50 miles (60% highway), we're averaging 41.6 MPG, and that's including a bunch of less than 5 mile trips. 70 degree weather has helped. It got down to 35 degrees this morning, and I only got about 33 MPG on the 3-mile drive into work. I noticed that the motor ran until the battery filled up completely, so it definitely will use the engine to heat up the battery on cold days, and poor MPG performance is to be expected on cold short trips.

 

We're taking a big trip in a few weeks to the Carolinas. It will be interesting how it performs on that trip. Anything over 40 MPG will be a major bonus, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep myself from staying under 70 MPH the whole time  ;)

[JAZ]

"We're taking a big trip in a few weeks to the Carolinas. It will be interesting how it performs on that trip. Anything over 40 MPG will be a major bonus, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep myself from staying under 70 MPH the whole time

 

40 mpg wouldn't surprise me, but the more you exceed 70 mph, the less likely that will be.

[Testdriver]

One thing I forgot to mention, it was strangely very satisfying being able to open and shut the rear gate as quickly as I liked. On our test drives, the models all had the power liftgate, which is dirt slow. I'm guessing it takes at least 5 seconds to shut. I would've paid $1000 to have that option remove. Well, not quite, but it was annoying  :)

Edited May 27, 2013 by Testdriver

[fotomoto]

. It got down to 35 degrees this morning, and I only got about 33 MPG on the 3-mile drive into work. I noticed that the motor ran until the battery filled up completely, so it definitely will use the engine to heat up the battery on cold days, and poor MPG performance is to be expected on cold short trips.

 

The EV battery heating/cooling is only controlled by air temps.  The air intake vents are located just above and behind the rear seats.  Your engine was running to warm up itself and, if you had the HVAC on, the interior.   The majority of the time the engine runs (called ICE in hybrid speak), it spins the electric motor/generator which adds charge to the battery till it fills or you drop into EV mode.

Edited May 27, 2013 by fotomoto

[Phil1336]

Living in South FL, I have absolutely no love for Leather Seats, period.  That makes (for me) a no brainer for Ordering an SE with Cloth Seats, thank you. I also think (IMHO) that the "Black" Window Moulding Trim looks far better and blends into the Vehicles design better then the shiny (Chrome) overlay they put on the SEL that adds nothing to improve the looks.  The Fog Lamps do look better on the SEL then the Black knock out Plugs on the SE but since they are not utilized as LED Daytime Running Lights, how often does anyone actually put them on?  I will order the upgrade Sirius/XM Radio which has the nicer looking larger Dash and LCD Screen rather then the multi-button design that is used on the Base Fiesta and Focus despite the fact I have (zero) use for MFT and its  High Tech Complicated Gadgets regardless what updated "3.5" OS its loaded with. As far as Navigation goes, A $70 Garmin works like a charm, its easy to operate and can be transfered from one vehicle to another. Just waiting for MY 2014 Order Scheduling to Open despite the fact that the preliminary MY2014 C-MAX Order Guide shows no changes whatsoever.

[GreenChicago]

Ditto what he said! Drove both, SEL is waaaayyyyy better . And at first I thought the brakes were toooo touchy, but now they seem normal and when I drive my husband's van, they feel weird!

Ditto again. Test drove an SE; bought an SEL and boy am I glad I did! I got used to the brakes in no time flat. I think the overall "grabbiness" that most people report when they first drive a Cmax is actually a good thing, as it trains you better to capture regen miles. At least that's my observation after 2 weeks of driving the CMAX. My old Subaru's brakes can suck it!

[salsaguy]

i believe the reason for the grabby brakes is for the regen brakes to work as well as they do. also many have commented that the brakes don't generate much brake dust compared to normal brakes. haven't test drove a CMax yet so looking forward to seeing for myself.

[BIG ROCCO]

A few comments in response to various prior posts - not in any particular order:

 

1. We hated the look and feel of the cloth seats. I like the look and feel of leather, but I can understand if some prefer cloth...just not the cloth they use in the C-Max SE.

 

2. I initially did not like the power liftgate, because I felt it was slow and added unnecessary complexity, but we ended up looking at a car that had it, and the wife liked it and everything else about the car...and it's her car...so we have it and she loves it. I have to admit I have come to like it, too - it does add a certain feeling of luxury and class to what is basically a utilitarian car. She also loves the backup camera that came in the same package; she had said she didnt' care about the backup camera and that she would never feel comfortable trusting and using it, but now she wouldn't be without it.

 

3. The comments about the effects of the weather on MPG were interesting. I haven't lived in a cold climate for more than 12 years...here in Phoenix, we never have very cold weather - upper 30s on the way to work in the morning in the Winter is a cold spell. Still, it is amazing that, even here, MPG does noticeably drop in the Winter. We just got our C-Max last month, so I don't know how it will react, but 5-10% lower Winter MPG than Spring and Fall has been the norm on our other/previous cars. Summer mileage does suffer a little due to AC use, but not as much as Winter.

 

4. The "touchy" brakes took about 10 seconds on the test drive to get used to. Now, I don't even notice them, even when switching from my Buick - they just feel normal to me now. Frankly, I like the brakes a little sensitive.

 

4. The voice control on our car works well, but I still prefer buttons.

 

5. I know built in Nav is expensive - part of the $1,195 301A package on the SEL. That package includes NAV and the upgraded radio. So, if you figure on 1/2 the cost of the package is for the upgraded radio and 1/2 the cost is for NAV, it's still ~$600. Still a lot, but it is kind of nice to have it all integrated, with nothing in the way or needed to be plugged in or moved when parked (for security reasons).

[Jus-A-CMax]

i believe the reason for the grabby brakes is for the regen brakes to work as well as they do. also many have commented that the brakes don't generate much brake dust compared to normal brakes. haven't test drove a CMax yet so looking forward to seeing for myself.

Grabby brakes does not necessarily imply that its caused by regen, I drove a 11 XF and that was as grabby as the Cmax and it was an all gas vehicle. Right on the brake dust, 16000+ and I have yet to see any, even when washing. Amazing, as I was cringed at the  thought of cleaning the Cmax wheel spokes when I first bought the car...dust. What's that...

[moytoyx]

We test drove an SEL and my wife really liked the 10 way power seats. She hates leather so we ended up with an SE. Unfortunately the SE seat doesn't adjust like the SEL - so she had to buy a wedge cushion.

[zalusky]

We test drove an SEL and my wife really liked the 10 way power seats. She hates leather so we ended up with an SE. Unfortunately the SE seat doesn't adjust like the SEL - so she had to buy a wedge cushion.

I like leather but that aside there are too many other features on the SEL to ignore.  If I really wanted to hide the leather I would get some seat covers.

Edited June 14, 2013 by zalusky

[moytoyx]

I'm with you. But it's the leather smell-she can't stand my car. At least she did go for the 202A and winter packages.

[fordfan82]

So what is so grand about the SEL model over the SE? Are the manual seats really that bad to use?? We have yet to test drive a 2014 model with the cloth seats. Can you get an SE without the winter package but includes the my ford touch , backup cam , rear sensing system? Maybe it's best to test drive both models??

[kostby]

Yes. An SE with the Equipment Group 203A has cloth seats and all the features you mentioned.

Adding the SE-only Winter Package would add heated front (still cloth) seats.

 

I created a brief overview of models, listing the most significant standard features, available equipment groups, and options.

I left suggested list prices off, because they can change during the model year.

 

2014 C-MAX model comparison.pdf

 

 

You can look it up full details for each model here: http://www.ford.com/cars/cmax/trim/hybridse

Edited May 9, 2014 by kostby

[fordfan82]

I'm debating on the power driver seat as the manual only goes 4 way. Reclining option must be nice though. We have power driver seat in our Escape currently. That chart is good to look at it does point out the differences.