Ajay62 Posted June 6, 2018 Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 Hello all. My name is Ajay. from Brockton MA. I am in the market for a new car and gas milage is one of my main concern. I have been looking at the 2013 and 2014 C Max (SEL) and there is a noticeable difference in price. I have read through some of the older posts in this forum looking for information and just have a few follow up questions of stuff that I may have missed. 1. Is there a difference between the 2013 and 2014 in terms of parts (meaning if items were improved in the 2014 model). the 2013 are more likely to have something going wrong that the 2014.2. How does if drive on the highway for long distances, I normally drive at 75-80 mph. Does it struggle to go uphill/keep up with traffic?. Also we are a family of 4. 3. Using the AC does it reduce MPG significantly. 4. Does the back(wheel area) sag a lot when vehicle is full with cargo and the family. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted June 6, 2018 Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 Ajay, welcome. 1) 2014 have a few enhancements over the 2013 that might make a few tenths of a mpg difference: air deflectors on side of rear hatchback window and air deflectors in front of front wheels. I don't believe there are any improvements that would affect reliability. 2) I have made about 12 cross country round trips from 3800 - 4200 miles and many shorter trips around AZ, NV, and NM traveling at 75 - 80 mph and 85+ in TX. You will have no issues going up hill and if you want, can set the pace on the interstates. :) My trips were generally with 2 adults and one 70+ pound dog and maybe another 75 pounds of stuff (say around 475 pounds). FE with the OEM Michelins with cruise at 78 mph yields about 37 +- mpg with AC on. Expect less with other tires. IMO, it is a great driving car at higher speeds. 3) Biggest effect of AC on mpg is short trips where you have to cool the cabin first. Second, higher vehicle speed decreases affect of AC on FE because less time is spent conditioning the cabin than at slow speeds. The AC compressor is electric, run off the High Voltage Battery, and variable speed and thus very efficient. I would say say at 75 mph in the southwest, it might decrease FE by 2-3 %. 4) No sagging if weight is evenly distributed. Put 250 pound in cargo area and you'll likely see rear lowered. I think the most I've hauled at one time was about 500 pounds of bags of concrete and sand home from Lowes. Lot's of sagging then. Bottom line for the price: If you want decent FE on high speed trips AND comfort and performance, get a C-MAX. If you want to sacrifice comfort and performance for better FE, get a Prius V (and likely struggle going up hills). obob and ptjones 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obob Posted June 6, 2018 Report Share Posted June 6, 2018 (edited) Hello all. My name is Ajay. from Brockton MA. I am in the market for a new car and gas milage is one of my main concern. I have been looking at the 2013 and 2014 C Max (SEL) and there is a noticeable difference in price. I have read through some of the older posts in this forum looking for information and just have a few follow up questions of stuff that I may have missed. 1. Is there a difference between the 2013 and 2014 in terms of parts (meaning if items were improved in the 2014 model). the 2013 are more likely to have something going wrong that the 2014.2. How does if drive on the highway for long distances, I normally drive at 75-80 mph. Does it struggle to go uphill/keep up with traffic?. Also we are a family of 4. 3. Using the AC does it reduce MPG significantly. 4. Does the back(wheel area) sag a lot when vehicle is full with cargo and the family. Thank you. Many of the 2013s have a greater risk of transmission failure. There was a transmission design change in late 2013 to the bearings. https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&ei=IUIYW8ruF8S3zwKS_7GIBw&q=fordcmaxhybridforum.com+transmission+fail&oq=fordcmaxhybridforum.com+transmission+fail&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i160k1l3.6340.7972.0.9117.7.7.0.0.0.0.218.632.2-3.3.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..4.3.631....0.nsuBwBEM5DQ The failures so far have been mostly fixed with the extended hybrid warranty. Edited June 6, 2018 by obob DarenHayes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obob Posted June 8, 2018 Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 (edited) 3. Using the AC does it reduce MPG significantly. When using the AC I think it saves quite a bit of fuel to put the AC in recirculate mode. (rather than bringing hot air from outside to cool off.) Edited June 8, 2018 by obob ptjones 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted June 8, 2018 Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 When using the AC I think it saves quite a bit of fuel to put the AC in recirculate mode. (rather than bringing hot air from outside to cool off.) I have to agree. Also, and this may also be obvious, set your fan speed higher rather than lowering the AC temp to achieve comfort. obob and SnowStorm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajay62 Posted July 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 Thank you for all the response guys, this sure makes my decision easier. Just need to convince my wife that the C-Max is not a "very small car". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markd Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 (edited) To answer your question about how's driving, 75-80 you're going to get about 38mpg, 70 or under you can do a little better. It doesn't lack for power, it gets up to 90 pretty quick. My 2014 sel has been trouble free, if that helps. Edited July 3, 2018 by markd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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