What type of a C-Max driver are you?

[Jus-A-CMax]

I really enjoy reading how all the owners/posters here drive and achieve in all the different ways. I am a 1st time hybrid owner myself and quite astonished to see my driving habits changed to what we call "hypermilers" and getting into the MPG game.

 

2 years ago, I would have said,"hyper what?".... "hyperdrive" right? :confused:

 

 

So what type of driver are you NOW in your CMax?

 

• Hypermiler - someone who does pulse & glide, easy on the brakes and watches the light but not PO the rear cars.
• Real World drivers - like what you see on the road, hard press gas to race to the next light and hit the brakes hard.
• Somewhere in between "real" and "hyper".

 

This last class is the most interesting to me - what is it that you do to put yourself "somewhere in between"?

 

Do you miss your old driving habits?

 

Does the CMax make you a better or worse driver? How?

 

Discuss away.

Edited June 27, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[salsaguy]

and maybe add question 4 to post your lifetime mpg if they don't have a fuelly account shown in their signature.

[Noah Harbinger]

In-between: I am accelerating a lot more gently when there are no other cars around, but feel the need to demonstrate it's not just another "wimpy hybrid" (i.e. accelerate to block rude drivers from trying to cut me off, or up onramps to match freeway speeds - unfortunately I've got some severely steep onramps to contend with). 

 

Worse: I stare at those damn power/fuel economy meters far too much! I think it is severely affecting my awareness of traffic around me. I need to break that addiction. 

 

My first full tank is coming up soon, it looks like I'll be hitting around 41MPG. My old car ('01 Hyundai Elantra) managed 26MPG on the same driving patterns. 

[JohnnOhio]

I'm the in between driver. I drive the speed limit and don't do a lot of hard exceleration. I don't use the cruise control much. I could get better milage if I did. I pulse and glide on the city streets and I keep an eye on the instant mpg gauge on the highway and try to keep it in the 40 mpg range.

[raymond963]

I'd say I'm somewhere in between. I haven't reached the Hypermiler P&G stage (yet) because I've kept busy experimenting with cruise control and speed on the interstate portion of my commute. I'll probably get to the P&G eventually....

 

I'd say I'm a better driver because it's no longer about getting up to speed quickly and I have to pay more attention to traffic and approaching stops to get better mileage in town. I'm also watching my speed closer on the interstate and don't tend to let it creep up anymore. I don't think I spend a lot of time watching the gauges, so I don't see that as a factor.

[wab]

I do accelerate easer now but evidently I was already a hyper-braker.

Brake score in the high 90’s to 100 all the time, without trying.

I can’t even remember the last brake job I had.

 

I’m a worse driver, but I’m getting better.

I had a couple of minor events, brake score in the 40’s. Playing with the new toys and not driving defensively.

BUT I’m getting better.

 

avg MPG

40.6

[Jmonty]

i'm a lot more calm while driving, part of which comes from being able to see everything around me.  that's one of the things that really impressed me about the car right away. 

 

plus i was mostly driving a mustang gt previously, and i definetly stressed while in that to avoid speeding. 

[Jmonty]

hypermiling is fun, but i can't bring myself to try it while other drivers are around.

[Jus-A-CMax]

hypermiling is fun, but i can't bring myself to try it while other drivers are around.

you'll find a street with no traffic and give it a go. its "weird" a the start but give it time.

 

2/12 says worses. wow.

[Testdriver]

I said I'm somewhere in between.

 

I hypermile somewhat around town, but I will accelerate "normally" to the speed limit (or 5 above), especially if there is a car behind me at a stop light. I definitely try not to come to a stop at a stop light if possible. That might agitate some other drivers, but it shouldn't. It might even be a more efficient way of driving timewise.

 

On the freeway, I've been driving slower than I did before, but I'm still typically above 70 mph, which takes me out of the hypermiler category, and I don't draft.

 

I'm not sure if I'm a safer driver or not. I probably average 72 instead of 80 on the freeway, however, I do find myself checking out the gauges a lot more than I did with my Intrigue. I've never caused an accident, so I guess it's hard to say that I'm any safer.

[ScubaDadMiami]

This is my first hybrid.  I have been enjoying "the bug" of trying to improve my FE with this car.  With my past car, I made little changes that increased FE by 1 MPG without hypermiling, and I was pleased with that.  With the C-MAX, I have been deluding myself that I am only testing out my new car.  Nonetheless, I find myself:

• Driving a different route than I had for the past five years to my most frequent location, increasing my drive time by a third, and adding extra distance;
• Memorizing my routes to plan on just where to apply EV or ICE;
• Taking local roads instead of the major highways;
• Trying to accelerate no faster than I can get away with, usually no more than the first Empower bar;
• Hoping I can glide to the light, which I hope will turn green, so that I can try to pick back up speed while going down a slight decline;
• Getting really enthused when I can get through a bunch of traffic lights without stopping, because they happened to be in sequence on that particular drive;
• Noticing how aggressive other drivers often are.

On the plus side, I am saving money, and I think that my blood pressure has dropped a few points.  So, it takes a little longer to get there.  Big deal.  I just try (I fail, but I am getting better) to leave a little earlier.

 

You really start to internalize things pretty quickly with this car.  So, I don't spend so much time looking at the gauges that I lose focus on the road.  In fact, I think that I am more focused on the road, so that I can see what is going on ahead.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Great summary SDM. Keep it up and you'll be hitting 650miles a tank with AC on ;)

 

When I started, there was hardly anyone on this forum so all there was no real warnings about gauge watching and I had to learn that myself. Feathering - what the hell was that? Truedat. Now every new owner/poster has a HUGE advantage from the combined knowledge of this much bigger forum.

 

I hope more hypermilers will show up but I think the mass majority here are in the middle...

[ScubaDadMiami]

Jus, all I can say is :worship:

[frbill]

I am very much a hypermiler. Taking cues from the board I have really changed my habits and of late my driving routes. I have been accused by my salesman of driving like an elder, but that is getting me 60mpg on my latest tank. I avoid 55mph+ zones whenever possible even adding a few miles and minutes to my daily drive. While I have no intention of getting to 800+ miles per tank( at least for now ;) ) I will squeeze as many MPG as I can.

[MikeB]

I have two different driving modes. Since I have an Energi, when I'm driving locally and know I have plenty of battery range for the trip, I drive softly but don't pay attention to the MPG. I watch my brake scores but generally just keep up with traffic on acceleration. But when I'm outside my EV range, driving on gas, I pay more attention to everything. Unfortunately, that's also when I'm most likely to be on the highway, so there's little more I can do other than set ecoCruise and do some light drafting.

[HannahWCU]

I don't classify myself as a hypermiler, I call myself an ECOdriver.  To some, especially the news-media, a hypermiler is some wing-nut who shuts off his car on every down slope and drives with the windows-up and AC off in the summer heat. 

 

No offence to anyone here.  :wub2:

 

I personally enjoy getting every tenth of MPG I can get while enjoying the AC, radio and beautiful interior of my Cmax on my 27 mile journey to work every day. 

[salsaguy]

i find if you use the cruise even in the city once there is a stretch a road without to many lights or stops for a little bit ( few blocks worth at least) you can make up a lot of mpgs there without the need to even know how to p&g.

the cars computer can do a lot better job at steady acceleration than even your lightest foot.

 

 

I'm the in between driver. I drive the speed limit and don't do a lot of hard exceleration. I don't use the cruise control much. I could get better milage if I did. I pulse and glide on the city streets and I keep an eye on the instant mpg gauge on the highway and try to keep it in the 40 mpg range.

Edited June 30, 2013 by salsaguy

[SnitGTS]

I still think I fall in between but I'm definitely moving in the direction of a hyper-miler.  With that said, my driving is night & day from what it was before.  Before my goal was always to get wherever I was going as fast as possible, I was constantly tense, I didn't like driving, and I despised most other drivers.  I would step on the gas as soon as the light turned green and slam on the brakes at the last second before the next red light.  Now I'm the relaxed guy who drives the speed limit in the right lane and couldn't care less about other drivers, and the best part is I actually enjoy driving again!  I mostly accelerate at no more than the 2nd mark on the power gauge and brake well in advance to get maximum regen.  I admit I do occasionally step on it, this car is too much fun to drive not to!

 

Overall I think I am a safer driver, I feel like I pay too much attention to the gauges which distracts me from the road, but my speed, acceleration, and attitude have improved so much that overall I have to be a safer driver.  I am getting better with watching the gauges, this is my first hybrid so there has definitely been a learning curve.  I've had the car for a little over 8 weeks now and I've gotten to the point that I think I have a pretty good feel for it, so I'm using the gauges less and less as I know what the car is going to do without them.  It is very hard though coming from a car that gave you nothing to a car that tells you so much!

[spyburn]

I would call myself a hypermiler-wannabe.

 

I've had my CMax for 8 days and I am improving my FE driving skills.  I did not reset the lifetime stats when I got the car - figured to do that after one or two tanks so it reflects my "mature" driving skills vs. my "woo hoo! new car!!!" skills.  I am noticing little things I do that apparently stick a large straw in my gas tank and suck out fuel.  These instant feedback gauges are great for teaching me to drive more efficiently.  Getting the hang of "feathering" and P&G.  I've even started cutting back on the AC temp and blower to see what impact that has.  

 

My normal driving is about 80% highway, so I'm not expecting to get 47mpg, but my trips to and from work (about 65 miles round trip) are pretty consistently in the 42-44mpg, so no complaints here.  Went to the post office from work the other day (about 5 miles, admittedly mostly downhill) and got 56mpg!! I've had a few lower mpg trips, but none below 35mpg. 

 

In my last car I was filling up every 4-6 days (with a bigger tank than the CMax has).  Based on my current fuel consumption, I expect my first fill up to happen on Tuesday - 10 days since purchase.  So even if I haven't reached hypermiler status, I'm achieving my goal of flipping off the gas station as I pass it!

 

As for better or worse driver, I think I'm about the same as before.  It has been extremely tempting to watch the gauges rather than the road, but I resist lingering there.  I've just added a glance at the gauges to my normal eye rotation of keeping an eye on everything.

 

I reserve the right to reply to this post again in a month or so if I start thinking of myself as a hypermiler for real!

[SnowStorm]

4+ years down the road I'd say I'm a "habitual" C-Max driver.  Went to start our little Honda Fit today, turned key to start for a split second, let go, ICE failed to start.  Oh that's right, this is one of those cars where you have to hold the start position until it crank-cranks itself to life.  How archaic!

[NRGTi]

I was a two-thirds hypermiler with my previous car, a VW GTI (yes, seriously). Although I let 'er rip on on-ramps, where I could easily add 25 mph to posted speeds, the rest of my drive was steady cruising and long coast-downs to that red light ahead. Driven gently, the car could give 33 mpg in the highway and 29 mpg for a typical tankfull. Driven the same way -- except for those on-ramps, where the C-Max's high CG and flat seat backs discourage speed-- my NRG Ti is showing 66 mpg for the first 500 miles.