4000 mile trip in my new C-Max

[bkawaii7]

Start

Heading out for a 4000 mile trip in the C-Max today, have been averaging 40mpg in the mountains of NM back and forth to work everyday, I hope it does that good on the trip. Check engine light came on yesterday, had the dealer check it. Seems the fuel filler cap sensor detected a fault. No problems to fix this time. Will post again with the trip mpg.

(Added Cargo container pictures to my first trip post), Have drove the C-Max for two days with the container, no wind noise or buffeting on the road. I am sure the cargo container will hurt my mpg.

 

Day One

First leg done, Abq to Seattle, the C-Max is a great car to take a trip in, Drives smooth and is easy to handle, We did 1500 miles in two days, no sweat. Now for the not so good, Had strong head winds the first day, lots of mountain roads, plus carrying a Yakima cargo box on the roof loaded with luggage, guessing 65 lbs, The MPG was 31.5, I was hoping for a little more than that but, that's the best it could do. Still have another 2500 miles to go on this trip, will keep posting, the next few days will be short local trips so the mpg should be better.

 

Day Two

Well today was much better on the mpg, driving county roads 50 to 60 made 40.0mpg full EV on the downhills by staying under 60 really helped the mpg. Plus no wind to speak of so the cargo box was not generating a lot of drag. I would say Ford designed the car to do well in stop and go traffic and it does, driving on the interstate at 70 to 75 with a full load it not what the C-Max was desgined for. that being said, I am still happy with the car. It is comfortable to drive and and 30+mpg at 75mph is not bad, since my previous car only did about 14mpg.

 

The cargo container rack is all Yakima, I used the standard Q pylons Q128 clips and 58” wide bars. Don't remember the measurements, have to check that when I get back if anyone is interested. I had to set everything up and then fit and tweak several times before I got it to fit, if you look in the Yakima catalog they do not show any of their racks fitting the C-Max. Guess cause it is new. Do not do this if you do not know to fit the rack it will come off while driving if not done properly. The cargo box is just standard Yakima, I think I have the 21cuft size.

 

Day Three

Was driving in lots of rain today on and off. The rain sensing windshield wipers are great don't know how I got along with out them before. If you get any options at all get the wipers.

 

On using the Nav, it works good once you figure it out, be sure to put the dest in before the waypoints, also the screen is really sensitive when setting the route start, you must only touch the icon, if you touch the screen anywhere else you have to start over.

 

Be careful with the touch door locks, if is hard to be sure the doors are locked by just touching the lock. A indicator of some sort would be good, if you use the key fob it works ok, but it is nice to just touch the door handle to lock and unlock the car. I know that you can hear them and that the lights flash when they lock, but it’s still kind of hard to be sure they are locked.

 

Day Four

Still driving, Left Seattle sunday night, stayed in Spokane, mpg still around 31 on the freeway, lots of local trips here the last 2 days, mpg up to 36. the c-max handles great on the country roads we are driving, some of them are very rough, but the ride is smooth, I was suprised for such a small car, it rides well. No other problems with the car, Lots of rain the last 2 days, but no leaks from the rack mounts, the doors have 2 seals to keep any water out.

 

One of the best features of this car is the low noise level while driving, my previous car was a Inifiniti QX56 which was very quiet and the C-Max is just as quiet, the low noise level really reduces the driving fatigue on long trips. We will be somewhere arould 4000 miles on this trip giving the car a real workout, I have to say it was a good buy, a little pricey but still a good car for the money.

 

Day Five

Finished the trip in my new C-Max. Last two days drove 1200miles mostly interstate some 2 lane state highways, the car now has over 5000 miles, this trip added about 4000 miles. All of my previous comments remain valid; this is a good all around car.

Gas mileage: I would like the mpg to be better than 31.5 on the interstate, but it is what it is. I did discover though that the car gets the same mpg 31.5 at 65, 70, 75, and 80mph. Once you get over 65 it gets the same mpg all the way up to 80, of course I did not drive over 80, had my wife with me. LOL. So we did most of our interstate travel at 80.

Final thoughts, Ford has the C-Max listed at 45mpg city and highway obviously this is not true. I like the car anyway, but Ford should give out the real mpg numbers, not what they want it to be. Would I still buy the car at 31 hwy, maybe the price difference of $5000 between the C-Max and say a Focus Hatchback, not sure the C-Max is worth more.

[jmckinley]

Don't underestimate the drag from that roof box. It could easily take off 10 mpg. Just removing the crossbars on a typical minivan roof rack will add 1-2 mpg. I verified that on my van. So you can see what a big effect something as big as a roof box could have.

[MikeB]

Nice trip report, thanks for the info. But I should mention that Ford doesn't make up mpg numbers, they simply advertise the numbers from the EPA test. The test has problems, partly because the highway portion isn't really done at speed, but it's the same test for everybody so it's a fair comparison. And driving with a luggage box on the roof is guaranteed to reduce mileage significantly, so your numbers are probably about what I'd expect.

 

Actually, in addition to the aerodynamic effect of the roof box, extra weight also cuts mpg. Needing a roof box implies a good bit of cargo and/or passenger weight, which isn't part of the EPA test either.

Edited November 5, 2012 by MikeB

[Laurel]

Thanks for your report. Glad you are still happy with your C-Max. It would be interesting to do a comparison of your mileage if and when you take your roof rack off. Will you leave it on all the time or just for trips?

[bkawaii7]

Thanks to everyone for their input, Yes the box and bars do add a lot of drag and probably lowered the MPG considerably, I will be driving without it for the next few months. I intend to keep posting mileage reports monthly. Hopefully the mpg will get better.

Does anyone have an idea why the mpg did not change at higher speeds? one would think it would keep going down.

[RachelnLa]

Thanks for the details of your trip. I have been wondering how a car can get the same mpg between city and hwy. hybrids love in town driving. That's what they were made for. Most of my driving will be in town but knowing ahead of time what to expect on the hwy is nice. I have to agree with the box and added weight decreasing the mpg. Glad to hear you are still happy with the cmax. I would be thrilled at those numbers lol.

[Maximus]

You're saying it gets 31.5 mpg at 80 mph? That's pretty good, especially with the roof racks. 60% of the power required to cruise at highway speed is used to overcome aerodynamic effects. Aerodynamic drag increases with the square of the speed, which means its a non-linear relationship. It would not be possible for the car to get the same mpg at 65, 70, 80 mph if you are on level land and no difference in head wind. By definition you need to press the throttle more to go faster, therefore more fuel used.

Edited November 6, 2012 by Maximus

[bkawaii7]

Update, last few days back and forth to work, round trip of about 90miles, mpg is back up to 40+ it could be better but, we do lots of mountain freeway driving.

Was not to concerned that the mpg would not get better, but nice to know it will. Also having more HP available for driving the canyon and keeping up with the traffic without the engine screaming at a high rpm is good. one other note, the seats are starting to get broken in and are much more comfortable than they were to start. My wife was ready to trade off the car cause the seats were to hard, she liked the Infiniti seats the best. But she may let me keep the C-Max now.

[bkawaii7]

Talked to my dealer yesterday, He tells me that they sold 3 C-Max in Oct. Lots of people live in Edgewood and commute daily 60 to 100 miles,

Edited December 4, 2012 by bkawaii7

[bkawaii7]

Now have 7500 miles on the car, The mileage is finally getting better. Our usual daily trip of 100miles + is now up to 39 to 40 mpg. I see 50mpg + going into town (downhill) and 33 coming home (all uphill). This is 70% freeway 70mph + and 30mpg in the city. I was sort of happy at 33mpg, but I like 40 a lot better. not using any special driving techniques to get this mileage. Current weather conditions are daytime highs in the 50s and nighttime lows in the 30s. Maybe it will do better in the summer.

Starting to see lots of C-Max's on the streets in town.

[Laurel]

Thanks for the update.  All sounds good.