Another new owner

[rmdesantis]

Last week, I picked up a White Platinum SEL (302A package with panoramic roof). I have been reading this forum for months prior to the purchase and have found the perspective given here to be very helpful. So I thought I'd provide my initial impressions with the hope that they might help others.

 

We just moved from Ohio to Tucson, and I got permission from the boss to treat myself to a new car (my 08 Honda CRB was extraordinarily reliable, not a single thing ever was wrong with it, but we wanted better mileage than the 25 mpg I was averaging - my wife drives a Camry hybrid). The biggest factor, I think, in my choosing the CMAX was that it was made in the USA (this was important to me with this purchase). Coupled with the generally good reviews and the mileage, and it was an easy sell.

 

Some impressions so far after about 400 miles:

• I have had no problem getting pretty decent mileage - if the monitor is correct, then I'm hovering around 43mpg overall. 95% of my travels are non-highway but on pretty open roads (speed limits 40-55) which seems to be the sweet spot for this car. I have not gone to the dealer for the new mpg update (I'll wait a while before worrying about that - I'll learn to drive the car first). The brake coach makes is sooooo easy to figure out how to brake properly to recharge the batteries that after about 30 minutes I was able to consistently get 100%. I do realize that mileage is a sore subject because of the 47/47/47 advertising, but I think that I should be able to consistently average around 45 once it (and I) break in.
• I learned on this forum to try to keep accelerations at or below the 2nd bar. I confess I'm usually just a bit above that, but I do notice that in Eco cruise that the computer keep the car's acceleration at or below that level as well, so it must be the preferred approach.
• I was struck by the cab-forward design. I'll need longer arms to clean the dashboard. It was entertaining, though, to see rain drops streak off the windshield at 30 mph - I can't remember another car that I've had where that happened (and I've been driving for over 40 years).
• I have already had one instance of "Scheduled Maintenance" on the screen. Reading this forum helped me understand that 'scheduled' has a different meaning to Ford/Microsoft than I have.....
• I was able to install MFT 3.6 today - pretty painless, the download took about as long as the install (around 20 minutes). Of course, it may have helped that I was chanting the Microsoft update mantra (pleasedontbrickit pleasedontbrickit pleasedontbrickit....) the entire time

Overall, it's a pleasant ride and I'm happy with it.

 

Mike

[Adair]

Welcome Mike! I'm so glad you found our little forum helpful in making your decision. We have such a broad knowledge base here that it's easy to find answers to a lot of questions before you have to ask them. It's great (but not surprising) to hear that your first impressions are good.

 

I did the 3.6 upgrade today too, and was pleasantly surprised by some of the early features I've discovered.

 

Please contribute as much as you have the time and inclination for. And don't hesitate to ask any questions that you haven't already uncovered.

[Laurel]

Welcome Mike!  I am a little behind on my reading on the forum so I have a question for you and Adair.  I am not getting my MFT upgrade until I go in for servicing in October.  So are you saying that with the 3.6 you install it yourselves?  If so, how?  I realize I will have to wait until I get the 3.5.1 before getting the 3.6.

[Jus-A-CMax]

When an OP starts talking "2 bars" in his 1st ever post...you know he's not been 2 :airquote: real bars and know exactly what he's talking about...I think we did well as a forum :yahoo:

 

Thrown in a like & Welcome to the forum... :)

Edited August 7, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[ScubaDadMiami]

I was chanting the Microsoft update mantra (pleasedontbrickit pleasedontbrickit pleasedontbrickit....) the entire time

:lol:  :lol2:

[ScubaDadMiami]

When an OP starts talking "2 bars" in his 1st ever post...you know he's not been 2 :airquote: real bars and know exactly what he's talking about...I think we did well as a forum :yahoo:

I figured that you'd take particular notice of that!

[rmdesantis]

Welcome Mike!  I am a little behind on my reading on the forum so I have a question for you and Adair.  I am not getting my MFT upgrade until I go in for servicing in October.  So are you saying that with the 3.6 you install it yourselves?  If so, how?  I realize I will have to wait until I get the 3.5.1 before getting the 3.6.

 

On syncmyride.com there was a message saying that I had an upgrade available (I'm assuming that pretty much everyone will see this now - I think it showed up just in the past few days). Follow instructions to download to a USB drive and then follow other instructions (all laid out for you) to install it yourself. Takes about 20-25 minutes it seems (at least for me).

 

Mike

[salsaguy]

rmdesantis, welcome to the forum.we are thrilled to have another new user. glad you got a loaded SEL 302a. you won't be disappointed.

 

what are your favorite feature/things about the car so far? and your least fav?

 

good luck in your high mpg quest. lots of tips here for sure. glad you are already ahead of the game with all the info you have absorbed.

 

 your comment about the chant during the sync 3.6 update had me laughing real hard!! :) enjoy....

[rmdesantis]

rmdesantis, welcome to the forum.we are thrilled to have another new user. glad you got a loaded SEL 302a. you won't be disappointed.

 

what are your favorite feature/things about the car so far? and your least fav?

 

good luck in your high mpg quest. lots of tips here for sure. glad you are already ahead of the game with all the info you have absorbed.

 

 your comment about the chant during the sync 3.6 update had me laughing real hard!! :) enjoy....

 

Lessee - favorite thing so far is sync. Very nice to be able to say things and have the commands be processed. Least favorite? Sync. It's exasperating to tell it to find an address and then tell me 'no such address exists on that street', but then if I give it the business name, it takes me to the same address (which it displays). So far, I have this yin/yang thing going on with it. I also wish it would treat me like an adult and not disable some aspects of the system while I'm driving (for my safety).

 

I don't think I will work too hard on the mpg quest. My first fill-up was at 400 miles and I still had a quarter tank left, so I figure I would have easily gotten more than 500 miles on the tank. That's outstanding in my opinion. I will certainly try to refine my driving technique to get better mileage, but I'm not going to do any P&G. Just adapt my driving style to the hybrid world and enjoy Mother Earth's smile.....

 

Mike

[Jus-A-CMax]

Lessee - favorite thing so far is sync. Very nice to be able to say things and have the commands be processed. Least favorite? Sync. It's exasperating to tell it to find an address and then tell me 'no such address exists on that street', but then if I give it the business name, it takes me to the same address (which it displays). So far, I have this yin/yang thing going on with it. I also wish it would treat me like an adult and not disable some aspects of the system while I'm driving (for my safety).

 

I don't think I will work too hard on the mpg quest. My first fill-up was at 400 miles and I still had a quarter tank left, so I figure I would have easily gotten more than 500 miles on the tank. That's outstanding in my opinion. I will certainly try to refine my driving technique to get better mileage, but I'm not going to do any P&G. Just adapt my driving style to the hybrid world and enjoy Mother Earth's smile.....

 

Mike

 

Cool....500 miles and you're eligible for the Highest MPG CMax Club here (500 miles minimum to qualify). Then the big kahuna is the 600+ Miles Cub (breaking the 600, 700, or 800 miles for a single tank) and that is a ton of fun  ;)