CMax MPG lawsuits my thoughts

[C-MaxSea]

It's about the advertising. If you make a product and a claim, you need to add what the requirements are. I.e. 47mpg, BUT must be trained hybrid driver. Most people buy a car and expect to get what is advertised. I love my energi, but am only gettin 34 mpg ...that goes up when I have a charged battery, but I can get into a Prius and drve 50 mpg without breaking a sweat...

 

So 34 mpg??? Am chalking it up to cold weather right now, have only had the car 3 weeks, bought second hand with 4k on the clock...so we shall see.

I understand your angst Ldcarson, but only to a degree.  We have no hybrid training, don't hypermile (whatever that means), we simply drive carefully, braking evenly, accelerating modestly, enjoying rapid acceleration on freeway on-ramps, set the Ecocruise at a couple below the limit and enjoy mid 40's MPG's.  There are a number of threads here with good advice on hybrid driving because many here want to optimize their MPG's, but most boil down to simply driving carefully.  Last Saturday we drove a 60 mile mostly freeway loop with four adults (Seattle-Tacoma-Seattle), 35 - 40 degrees, and came in at 45 mpg on the gauge (43+- at the pump).  Summertime, 45 - 55 easy anytime - no Prius required.

 

BTW, I believe the Prius delivers more MPG's easily because there is so much less engine behind the accelerator.  I'll take the wonderful acceleration of the C-Max any day (not to mention a dozen other reasons to opt for the C-Max).

 

Hope your experience improves with your Energi!  Nick

 

(PS - trust you are plugging your Energi in every night and getting all of your short trips (under 15-20 miles +-) for 'free'.)

Edited January 9, 2014 by C-MaxSea

[Jus-A-CMax]

Same here, by the way...in the CMax - speaking of acceleration, slow is not always better. It pays to know when to use the thrust of the ICE and for a car this size, you can feel burst of speed. For instance, its a 35mph street and you're down to 33mph EVing - do u continue to EV. I say no, give it a short 1-2 sec of gas (press the pedal down and ease off, don't hold) up to 3 bar and come off it and as soon as you ease of the pedal, the CMax is still rocketing forward. That splurt probably uses 0.005 worth of gas but now you're travelling at 38/39mph and then kick in the EV. It's little nuances like these that give you INSANE mpgs. Did I work hard for that? Nope, one squirt of the pedal and knowing your car.

 

City street, the CMax is a KILLER, and its achilles heel is the freeway. You can blip and eco to save gas but real savings you have to play with it. The way I look at it is this...what the hell am I going to do on a long stretch of freeway. Leave it in eco or should I jus P&G and make my drive more fun...and if its too much, hey...back to eco....or mix the 2 modes of driving. Either way, you are no longer a drone driver, falling asleep...cause now, you're paying attention to the Game.

 

Also, theres nothing in the books or fines to say you have to hypermile. I always said, you choose how much MPG or speed with just your right pedal. No special POWER-ME-NOW-HONEY button.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Jus-A-CMax

[allyoop]

16.7 sec. @ 86 mph isn't bad for a hybrid... and it was faster than it's larger, heavier, "higher-mileage" sibling, per Car and Driver. Now quite Camray Hybrid territory... but there's something odd talking 1/4 mile times for hybrids.  

 

Have fun,

Frank

Kinda odd to consider acceleration for these vehicles, but kinda not: Comparisons of Cmax power and handling (and a few miles driving one) persuaded me to buy one vs Prius V. I enjoy performance (had two Taurus SHO's and a 1985 LTD LX (look it up) in my historic fleet. I don't expect the same power from the Cmax but like to merge without drama and have space under the go pedal when I need it. I agree: the Cmax provides (more than) adequate power and pretty impressive mileage. I like the mix from my Max.

[Ldcarson]

It would be nice if one of the Energi members would try Grill Covers to see how much of a difference it would make in MPG's. :)

 

Paul

I would try them, however my car is going to texas to sit at dad's house for a month, and then on the boat to Argentina for 3 years. Pm me the details, I may get them and try them out while down south.

[Rick Rowland]

Am I the only person who read 47 mpg and thought that meant the best I would ever get in the right conditions? Not what I would get or better on every trip. I am at 42 plus with a lead foot.

 

Rick

[John Sparks]

Ford would do well to put the equivalent of a training simulator in the showroom.  Give it a video game theme, and watch it sell itself.  They should also add some videos about driving techniques to all of the great videos that they have online. 

 

Ford also needs to train salespeople in a big way.  I am willing to bet that many :airquote: professionals :airquote: in the biz don't know enough about hybrids to effectively sell them.   (The first place that I tested the C-MAX made it sound like hybrids are the latest fad, and that they don't make sense unless you pay a big premium up front, and then wait for a long payback.  Who would want to buy a car like that? )

To most of them, it is yet another product to learn, and they would rather just push something that doesn't require learning anything new.  They don't understand the investment and payback that comes from it.

 

 

You hit the nail on the head. I've been at my dealership for 2 years. I'm the only one that really knows anything about our hybrids. The sad thing is if people really understood the benefits of the hybrid over a regular car, they would sell them like hotcakes. I mean most people will never need a brake job. Electric motors have practically a zero fail rate and the ICE only accumulates about half of the actual mileage on the vehicle. There is no serpentine belt to replace, the transmission is eCVT, which mean no shift shock and does not require servicing for 150,000 miles. Oil changes are every 10k, 20k on the Energi and then there's the gas mileage. The cost of ownership is quite a bit less than a regular car.

 

What's even funnier is the public perception of a hybrid. It's crazy the number of people that think they have to be plugged in. A matter of fact a lot of people think that hybrid means no gas, which makes no sense since the term is hybrid, but I digress. The real issue is public awareness and education. No one really understands it.

[Noah Harbinger]

Honestly I think you're overstating how careful you have to be. In San Francisco you just seriously cannot expect EPA mileage. When I visited, I got mid-30s myself (and you can see my average). Of course, I just LOVE roaring up those hills! (My friend lives in Noe Valley). 

 

But the thing to notice is, in other vehicles you won't have the information in front of you to be aware that your vehicle is falling far behind EPA ratings, if you happen to be someone exposed to extraordinarily burdensome driving situations. 

Edited March 17, 2014 by Noah Harbinger

[ScubaDadMiami]

You hit the nail on the head. I've been at my dealership for 2 years. I'm the only one that really knows anything about our hybrids. The sad thing is if people really understood the benefits of the hybrid over a regular car, they would sell them like hotcakes. I mean most people will never need a brake job. Electric motors have practically a zero fail rate and the ICE only accumulates about half of the actual mileage on the vehicle. There is no serpentine belt to replace, the transmission is eCVT, which mean no shift shock and does not require servicing for 150,000 miles. Oil changes are every 10k, 20k on the Energi and then there's the gas mileage. The cost of ownership is quite a bit less than a regular car.

I was in a field that involved sales skills, and I was shocked at how easy it was to be heads above any competitors by just being competent. So, it is no surprise that you can confirm this. I'll bet that you are one of the few.