C-MAX Fuel Mileage. What are you getting?

[JayCo59]

I've had my car for just a few day's now (150 miles on the odometer) and I'm trying to learn how to drive the car for better fuel economy. Last nights commute home was pretty bad traffic (I-84 E\I-91 N in Hartford,Ct.) and I was "taking it easy" on the accelerator during start off (but on the highway I was doing 65-70 mph when I could, which wasn't very often) and I was able to get 48.5 MPG for the ~15 mile trip. I thought that was pretty good!

Now instead of cursing out the traffic jams I look forward to them so I can use more motor than engine and save gas! Crazy I know! :drool:

Jay

[scottfisher]

Here's a new one, did a 220 mile trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway thru mountains of North Carolina and Virginia, speed range was 35 to 50, elevations running around 3500 feet, of course up and down, had a rough start, first 20 miles or so was only around 20 MPG, but things equaled out and at the end, ended up with a 48 MPG average.

[Recumpence]

I just picked up my SEL last night. I have 40 miles on mine so far and here is my (admittedly short) experience with my mileage.

 

The car had 99 miles on it when I picked it up. The average showed 36mpg (lifetime) when I took delivery. I reset the lifetime mileage average and set the car for EV plus and Eco Cruise. With those settings, I have driven 3 separate times with the car and saw 42.4mpg on one trip, 46.4mpg on another, and finally a 53mpg trip! The 53mpg was done with no traffic (very early this morning) and I did everything I could to hyper-mile. However, I did drive it 50mph and stop and go through neighborhoods to get a feeling of mixed driving. I will say that, so far, the C-Max seems to be sensitive to driving style much more so than a Prius. That being said, this thing is quick, and very stout for an eco focussed car!

 

I bought this car for work (I do in-home appliance repair) and drive 28,000 miles per year. By my calculations, 1/2 of my $513 per month payment will be offset by gas savings alone, versus my Caravan I have been using.

 

Matt

 

I am totally thrilled!

[darrelld]

I have noticed various sites try to compare Prius mpg vs the C-Max even though they are in different EPA size classes?

 

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=33010&id=31767

[C-MaxJaxon]

My average after a week of city and highway driving under 70 mph has stayed in the 47-49 mpg range. I've had trips as low as the 30s and some in the high 60s. It may depend a lot on whether the engine is fully warmed up, but seems to mainly depend on how much you can keep it in EV mode.

[GoBlue]

 

You are correct, I believe (but need to verify) that stations sell 10% ethanol around here - year round. The EPA tests are run with 100% gas (no ethanol). That's still only about 2mpg lost to e10, which moves things closer to 47mpg for me, but not quite within reach. Possibly winter blends could be a further hit on mpg, but I am not sure by how much.

 

Two other things to keep in mind include dropping mileage as the weather turns cold. In our old 2nd gen. Prius (great car) the mileage would drop by at least 5 miles per gallon in the Michigan winters. The other comment is for anyone in California. As a former long time resident I can tell you that your gas sucks. Move to most other states and your mpg will climb a bit (I am sure it varies from car to car but my experience was between 1-2 mpg. Now I just can't wait for my Impala (company car) to be replaced with the C-Max Energi currently on order so I can chime in with first hand C-Max experience.

 

(1st post, btw :rockon: )

Edited October 28, 2012 by GoBlue

[JayCo59]

I've had my car for just a few day's now (150 miles on the odometer) and I'm trying to learn how to drive the car for better fuel economy. Last nights commute home was pretty bad traffic (I-84 E\I-91 N in Hartford,Ct.) and I was "taking it easy" on the accelerator during start off (but on the highway I was doing 65-70 mph when I could, which wasn't very often) and I was able to get 48.5 MPG for the ~15 mile trip. I thought that was pretty good!

Now instead of cursing out the traffic jams I look forward to them so I can use more motor than engine and save gas! Crazy I know! :drool:

Jay

 

Same Hartford commute last Friday and got 49.9 MPG.

 

Then on Sunday I had to go to the mall with the wife. Anyway we parked at one end of the mall and later decided to eat at a restaurant a few 100 feet away (not connected to the mall) it was rainy so we decided to drive the car the few hundred feet. After I shut off the car; which made the short trip on all battery power, the MPG read 999.9 MPG. Beat that! ;)

Now if I only lived 300 feet from work I'd be all set!

[2AG]

I got my new C-Max last Saturday - today I drove it to work and back this is a 80 Miles round-trip about 50% Country Road and 40% Highway and 10% city road. The temperature was about 40 F to work and about 55 back home.

 

To work I got 44.3 mpg and back actually 48.5 mpg - I am confident I will get it over 50 mpg in a couple of days.

 

Since we drive another hybrid - Prius C - I am sure this helps since I allready wnet trough the learning curve on how to drive a hybrid.

Usually I manage about 55 - 65 mpg with my Prius for the same route.

[Mike]

My mileage has gone up substantially since my first report (last page), when my car had well under 1000 miles.

 

My mileage is great under 55MPH. I can choose to take the freeway to school, or the two-lane road that parallels the freeway. When on the freeway, at 65 MPH with ECO cruise and A/C off, my hour trip gets me, at most, 39 MPG so far. When taking the same trip on the adjacent two-lane road, through some small towns with a lot of stop lights, and no faster than 55 MPH in the other sections, I regularly achieve 48 to 49 MPG.

 

My car has about 1600 miles on it, so maybe I'll see a difference at 2000 - 3000 miles. So far I'm thrilled at the around-town MPG but disappointed with the highway MPG.

 

Also, I passed a couple radar-detector signs that show you how fast you are going. If they are correct, then the speedometer is off by several MPH. My speedometer said I was going 35 but the signs said 31 and 32. I'm going to take my hand-held GPS with me on my drive to school and see what the truth is. An artificially high speedometer/odometer would indicate higher MPG than we are really getting (and added mileage to the odometer). I really hope this isn't the case.

[Recumpence]

One thing I noticed today is the sensitivity this car has to drafting. In a normal gas car, I see around 2mpg better if I draft (that is about 10% improvement over the same route without drafting). However, my C-Max is extremely sensitive to drafting. If I draft off another vehicle (SUV or a truck), the mileage goes way up. I have not kept an exact track of it, but, I would say it is in the range of about 20% to 30% improvement in mileage.

 

Today I averaged 46.3mpg for 125 miles of mixed driving. This is with a full load of parts and tools for work (the seats were folded down and the car filled nearly to the headliner).

 

I am completely satisfied with my car.

 

Now, I hope it is reliable long term..........

 

Matt

[Laurel]

How close do you have to be to draft? I read that those hypermiling teams do that to get high stats. Glad to hear you are satisfied with your car. My dealer said Nov.26th for ETA of my C-Max, but that may be lip service to keep me from bugging him. I hope it is the truth.

[MSmith1915]

I've had my C-Max SEL for just about a week with almost 400 miles. Mostly around town driving I'm seeing consistently around 50+ MPG for trips under 10 miles. I do have to work at it being careful with the gas pedal, lightly applying the brake when I'm coming to a stop, and when no one is behind me I'll try to accelerate on electric only. If someone is behind I'll accelerate normally usually with the gas engine running. Overall impression - very happy so far. My overall average MPG is hovering around 44 MPG. That's with my wife driving it a few times and I think she just mashes the gas pedal and goes. I researched the EPA tesing procedures and I think it might be unrealistic to think we can consistently achieve those numbers based on the fact the tests are done in a controlled environment, in a lab, no wind resistance and no other traffic around. However, I'm seeing numbers very close to that and the car is still breaking in. Have fun with your car.

[Recumpence]

How close do you have to be to draft? I read that those hypermiling teams do that to get high stats. Glad to hear you are satisfied with your car. My dealer said Nov.26th for ETA of my C-Max, but that may be lip service to keep me from bugging him. I hope it is the truth.

I do not drive ultra close to draft. When I draft, I drive about 1 second behind the car ahead of me. That is close enough to feel the difference drafting and far enough to have a bit of a safety cusion.

 

Matt

[C-MaxJaxon]

I do have to work at it being careful with the gas pedal, lightly applying the brake when I'm coming to a stop, and when no one is behind me I'll try to accelerate on electric only. If someone is behind I'll accelerate normally usually with the gas engine running.

 

This has been my strategy. The Empower view on the left screen lets you see how much power you can draw before the gas engine starts. The threshold is a bit odd because it sometimes increases as you press the accelerator harder.

 

I can stay in EV mode for extended distances when doing this and often have short trips in the 50 to high 60 mpg range. My average is down to 47 after peaking above 49 briefly and staying around 48 for a while. The weather has been cold, so mileage suffers when the engine has to warm up.

[darrelld]

One thing I noticed today is the sensitivity this car has to drafting. In a normal gas car, I see around 2mpg better if I draft (that is about 10% improvement over the same route without drafting). However, my C-Max is extremely sensitive to drafting. If I draft off another vehicle (SUV or a truck), the mileage goes way up. I have not kept an exact track of it, but, I would say it is in the range of about 20% to 30% improvement in mileage.

 

Today I averaged 46.3mpg for 125 miles of mixed driving. This is with a full load of parts and tools for work (the seats were folded down and the car filled nearly to the headliner).

 

I am completely satisfied with my car.

 

Now, I hope it is reliable long term..........

 

Matt

 

Good info on drafting, will try that on my next highway trip.

[joe]

Regarding the subject of drafting other vehicles - I did some quick math using the following assumptions. Gas is $3.50 a gallon. By drafting, you increase your mpg from 45 to 47. The gasoline per mile cost at 45 mpg is .077 cents. The per mile cost at 47 mpg is .074, or less than a penny. Rounding the number to 1 cent per 2 mpg increase, and assuming you drive 10,000 miles a year. Overall savings would be $100 a year.

The cost if you rear-end someone - your insurance deductible, usually around $250, higher insurance premiums, any lawsuits, and the ticket for following too close. The cost of death or physical injury is not included in this calculation.

There are some conditions, such as the DC Beltway, where you have no choice but to draft but I would avoid the technique if possible.

[Laurel]

Joe I like the way you think. I don't think I am a drafter by nature--sounds a little scary. I like to keep a good safe distance. Yesterday I saw two semi's in the right lane beside me and my wee Smart Car. One was seriously tail gaiting as they approached an on ramp to the freeway. I had a preminition that bad things were about to happen and I moved my car as far left in the lane as possible. The semi in the lead almost came to a dead stop with his gears grinding and the semi following him swerved into my lane to avoid hitting his butt. That was one example when the smallness of the Smart Car came in handy as a bigger car would have been smushed.

[Recumpence]

Hey Guys and Gals,

 

I figured I would let you know a couple more things I have figured out about mileage on our beloved C-Max;

 

First, for those ina colder climate such as myself near Chicago, the climate control forces the engine to start to provide heat to the cabin. This draws the overall mileage way down. So, I use the heated seats to warm me up while I drive down the road until the engine starts on its own to charge the battery. Once the engine starts and runs a while, I start the climate control. Then, I monitor the engine and the interior temp to shut the climate control down as soon as it is warm enough in the cabin.

 

Second, I do everything I possibly can to maximize the duration the car stays in EV mode. This may sound obvious, however, when I bought the car, I assumed that it would start the engine and run a given percentage of every mile based on road conditions and speed. However, what I have found is, the longer you can keep it in EV mode, the better the mileage. For some reason the car runs best when running in EV mode for long durations, then when the battery is very low, I allow it to start and accellerate at a moderate rate to get up about 10mph (right up to the speed limit). Then I allow it to run in EV mode and even allow the car to slow down about 6 to 10 mph while very cautiously watching the battery gauge in Empower mode. As the power in the battery drops, I drop my power requirement allowing it to slow down a touch to stay in EV mode for evey last second possible. Then I accellerate again and repeat the process. This sound tedious. But, really, it becomes second nature in no time. In fact, as I drive like that with people in the car, no-one even notices the way I drive. I have learned to make this second nature. At this point, the car always has hundreds of pounds of weight in it (my work equipment and parts) and I seem to have no problem staying above 50mpg on most evey trip throughout the day. In fact, the 47mpg EPA is extremely easy to stay within. In fact, my wife drives right at the 47mpg rating and she does very little to hyper-mile.

 

Matt

Edited November 3, 2012 by Recumpence

[darrelld]

Hey Guys and Gals,

 

I figured I would let you know a couple more things I have figured out about mileage on our beloved C-Max;

 

First, for those ina colder climate such as myself near Chicago, the climate control forces the engine to start to provide heat to the cabin. This draws the overall mileage way down. So, I use the heated seats to warm me up while I drive down the road until the engine starts on its own to charge the battery. Once the engine starts and runs a while, I start the climate control. Then, I monitor the engine and the interior temp to shut the climate control down as soon as it is warm enough in the cabin.

 

Second, I do everything I possibly can to maximize the duration the car stays in EV mode. This may sound obvious, however, when I bought the car, I assumed that it would start the engine and run a given percentage of every mile based on road conditions and speed. However, what I have found is, the longer you can keep it in EV mode, the better the mileage. For some reason the car runs best when running in EV mode for long durations, then when the battery is very low, I allow it to start and accellerate at a moderate rate to get up about 10mph (right up to the speed limit). Then I allow it to run in EV mode and even allow the car to slow down about 6 to 10 mph while very cautiously watching the battery gauge in Empower mode. As the power in the battery drops, I drop my power requirement allowing it to slow down a touch to stay in EV mode for evey last second possible. Then I accellerate again and repeat the process. This sound tedious. But, really, it becomes second nature in no time. In fact, as I drive like that with people in the car, no-one even notices the way I drive. I have learned to make this second nature. At this point, the car always has hundreds of pounds of weight in it (my work equipment and parts) and I seem to have no problem staying above 50mpg on most evey trip throughout the day. In fact, the 47mpg EPA is extremely easy to stay within. In fact, my wife drives right at the 47mpg rating and she does very little to hyper-mile.

 

Matt

 

Good info.

[Laurel]

Why not buy a block heater? And perhaps an interior space heater for the car?

[Recumpence]

Actually, I am curious about the battery in the winter (I park outside). I may get a simple heating pad and lay that on the battery to keep it warm when the car is not in use. A block heater may not be a bad idea either.

[MSmith1915]

Took a 50 mile drive down the turnpike last night and here are a couple of observations. At 70 mph, AC off, cruise control on, I was getting about 40 MPG. With the AC on it was about 38 MPG. At 65 mph, there was about a 10% increase in mileage to 44 mpg (AC off). If I let the speed drop to 61-62 mph the electric motor would cycle during cruise. I couldn't stay there very long as the traffic was pretty thick at times. I think the 47 mpg advertised would be attainable at a speed 62 mph or below. However, I am still very happy with the 40 mpg at 70 and 44 mpg at 65. The car is still breaking in with just over 500 miles. Something interesting to note, while the battery was charging during the initial part of the cruise, the mileage was more like 35 mpg until the battery reached a steady state charge of about 80% then the mileage went up to 40 mpg at 70 mph. So far, I like the C-Max a lot. I said this several months ago, Ford is going to sell a ton of these cars.

[AMSDPS]

Is anyone else getting lower fuel mileage at say 62 than at 70?

 

What is happening is that when I am going 62, the car is switching between EV and gas. When it switches over to gas, the instantaneous MPG goes down to about 20. Whereas when I am going 70, the gas is getting 40 MPG. The amount of EV driving can't compensate for the low fuel mileage at 62.

 

Also, I have about 5k miles on my C-Max and am getting about 38MPG total. Tiny bit disappointed, but I am in sales and this is awesome compared to what I was getting with my last car.

[littlebitfarm]

Put about 1200 miles on the C-Max this weekend. Highway miles, with AC on, 2 adults, 3 Scotties, and luggage, from Illinois to Georgia (through mountains in other words!). With me driving, about 75 mph, I averaged 38.9 mpg. With my friend driving, not a mileage friendly driver, speeds around 80 mph, average dropped to 34.4 mpg. Back roads of Georgia hills, 30 to 50 mph, I got 41.9 mpg.

 

Short trip around home. Just over 5 miles, much of down hill and in town I averaged 81 mpg!!

 

Love the ability to switch to EV at over 60 mph!! Old hybrid wouldn't think about EV until under 30 mph and then it wasn't an automatic switch, had to encourage it a bit.

[Laurel]

Littlebitfarm that is very impessive!