Hi from the SF Bay Area

[From Speed6ing 2 C-Maxing]

I just wanted to say Hi! to you all, and briefly introduce myself and explain why I decided on the C-Max Hybrid.

 

I have been driving a 2006 Mazda Mazdaspeed6 since I bought it new in August of 2006.  I currently have 117,xxx miles on it and have averaged, 20.3mpg for the last 93,xxx miles I've been keeping track (I actually had the first 20k miles which are not tracked on Fuelly on a spreadsheet which was lost when the hard drive crashed).

 

For those who may be unfamiliar with that car, it was at the time, one of the quickest and fastest 4 door sedans for that price... and I've had a lot of fun in that car...

 

Then I got married  :).

 

I didn't really complain about the 20mpg, or the premium gas, or the price of gas, or the 6 speed manual transmission, but my wife..

1) Does not know how to drive a stick, and isn't inclined to learn to do so

2) would like to be able to save some money on gas (...by spending 30K on a new car)

 

So, we were going to get a car anyway.  It was just a matter of what.  I had considered an Explorer, but it was not fuel efficient enough for her, plus it was a big vehicle, and optioned the way I would have wanted, would have cost > $40,000.  We won't be needing the extra space unless my yet-to-be pregnant wife is blessed with triplets (no family history of multiple births)

 

I refuse to drive/own a Prius, just like I refuse to buy/use an Apple product.  I am in no means an environmentalist, but if I was forced into owning a hybrid, I wanted to make sure it was something I could enjoy driving like I have my Mazda.  I have always been partial to Ford, so Ford Fusion/C-Max would best fit our needs.

 

I look forward to many years with this car.  I have every confidence that things will work out.

 

I plan on keeping detailed fuel economy records... as you can tell by my Fuelly signature, I've logged many many many fill-ups. 

By the way, price paid was X-plan pricing $28,277 + taxes etc.  I DID pay  $1500 for the 5yr/100k Premium Care Extended Warranty, but I'm thinking I should "return" then repurchase for the lower rate? (I've seen ~$1100 on these forums?)

[kechair]

Welcome, Speed6 2 C-Maxing! I'm in the Bay Area myself and have yet to see another CMax 'in the wild'. Glad to know there is a fellow Bay Area resident in this forum. I have ~2700 miles on my Cmax now and I'm still learning how to drive it 'efficiently' (by the way, I have an SEL with the exact package you have). My SF to upper/mid peninsula commute on 280 has proven quite challenging to maintain good mpg but I'm feeling (esp with this current tank) that I'm getting the hang of how to max EV mode without totally changing my driving style. Will be interested to know your driving experiences in the coming weeks/months.