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C-Max MPG Changed on HybridCars.com


Catmobile
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If you go to HybridCars.com you can see the C-Max is listed there on the right rail with an mpg rating of 35/40.  Apparently they've arbitrarily changed it from the 47/47/47 EPA estimate.  I posted on their forum that I thought this was unfair, as myself and other C-Max owners have reported getting mpg better than this.  I hope the administrators of that website rethink this.  I'm not sure how they came up with these numbers or why they thought it was appropriate to change the EPA estimate, at least until these cars have been on the road long enough to get a good handle on what they're getting.

 

I'm able to come close to 47 in city driving, even with the rolling hills we have here.  Highway so far has been around 41-42 average although I haven't driven a lot of highway miles yet and obviously my car is far from being broken in.  If Ford and the EPA estimate is high I would say it's on the highway/combined numbers.  But certainly I think listing it as 35/40 is unfair.

 

 

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Hell, I did 36.85MPG (33.5mpg up and 40.3mpg down) average over 500+ miles of 90% highway driving in hybird-hating conditions ala FREEZING temperatures, mountains (< 30F average) to Mammoth.

 

Normal highway is more like 40-43MPG.

 

So what are these guys doing.

 

On the flip side, I have yet to see a 47 mpg of highway driving unless its a downhill run.

Edited by Jus-A-CMax
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Even Fuelly.com is showing 39, though, and I can't for the life of me figure out why Hybridcars.com would think the city mpg would be less than the highway, not with this car.  With its ability to stay in EV up to 62 mph I'm getting a lot better mpg driving in the city than the highway.  If you read the review they haven't even driven it.

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I just got back from trip to Phoenix and back, 3880mi which gives me the dubious  honor of being the highest mileage CMAX on fuelly with 7700mi. On my trip I averaged 40.8mpg with temps 26-60deg.F. My experience tells me at 70deg.F I have no problem getting 47mpg city but at 40deg.F It's very hard. BTW my CMAX wil stay in EV at 63mph actual, tested with GPS. I did have one tank that I averaged 45.6mpg with temps in 35-45deg.F and a little tail wind. When temps are 70-85deg.F averaging 65mph on fwys around Atlanta I can get 47mpg regularly. I was wondering if anyone has checked their odometer with GPS? Mine is off by 1.5% or about .5mpg to the plus. It is amazing that Hybridcars.com would state something without testing it.

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I just got back from trip to Phoenix and back, 3880mi which gives me the dubious  honor of being the highest mileage CMAX on fuelly with 7700mi. On my trip I averaged 40.8mpg with temps 26-60deg.F. My experience tells me at 70deg.F I have no problem getting 47mpg city but at 40deg.F It's very hard. BTW my CMAX wil stay in EV at 63mph actual, tested with GPS. I did have one tank that I averaged 45.6mpg with temps in 35-45deg.F and a little tail wind. When temps are 70-85deg.F averaging 65mph on fwys around Atlanta I can get 47mpg regularly. I was wondering if anyone has checked their odometer with GPS? Mine is off by 1.5% or about .5mpg to the plus. It is amazing that Hybridcars.com would state something without testing it.

 

I'm curious, did you eco-cruise or manual for that distance. And if you P&G, what speed range did you find was the most optimal?

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I just did 200 miles in my Energi over the Oregon coast range, using "EV Later" mode so I was functionally driving like the Hybrid version. I got 40mpg, despite temps ranging from 31degrees to 40degrees (F) and lots of climbing up and down hills, and my engine is not broken in as I had only 150 miles on the gasoline engine prior to the trip...

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Changing the rating is arbitrary. They did this because the product is made by Ford. They would never make the same change for a Toyota product. Back when I got my first Prius, everyone knew you couldn't al;ways get the sticker MPG and a few people made some rumblings about it, started talking class action suit, etc. But it all blew over.

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From what I've experienced, I agree this 35/40 number is low.  That would be my worst case.  I've got a bit over 3,000 miles on mine and can get around 47 in town, 42 highway/freeway.

 

However, I've got to add that with the colder weather we've been having, the car is spending a good bit more time with the engine running, which has put my latest city runs closer to my worst case 35mpg.  

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I'm curious, did you eco-cruise or manual for that distance. And if you P&G, what speed range did you find was the most optimal?

I used ECO-cruise about 25% of the time. Usually it is hard to draft and use eco-cruise. Only use P&G 65mph and below. It is best to keep your speed below 70mph to get better than 40mpg. It is also better to draft at 75mph than go it alone at 70mpg. The prefect hwy MPG for the CMAX is 65mph ,P&G,70deg.F, drafting with tail wind=55-60mpg.

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I used ECO-cruise about 25% of the time. Usually it is hard to draft and use eco-cruise. Only use P&G 65mph and below. It is best to keep your speed below 70mph to get better than 40mpg. It is also better to draft at 75mph than go it alone at 70mpg. The prefect hwy MPG for the CMAX is 65mph ,P&G,70deg.F, drafting with tail wind=55-60mpg.

 

Super...great info! Happy New Year ptjones!

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Personally, my belief is that they should not arbitrarily change their City/Hwy ratings for the C-Max, especially if every other number listed on their list of most fuel efficient hybrids are for EPA estimates, REGARDLESS of whether or not the they or we believe that the numbers from the EPA are unachievable.

 

Also, clicking on the link for the C-Max brings you to a review/preview that was written in August 2011...

 

So, their preview has not been updated, yet they update the MPG numbers?

 

PS: My belief is that the EPA numbers that Ford advertises (47/47/47) are actual numbers that would be repeatable on the EPA test cycle, and that Ford did not fudge those numbers, so this would be much different from Hyundai's numbers which would not have been repeatable on the EPA test cycle as Hyundai's numbers were miscalculated.  I also believe that Ford designed the car in a way that would maximize fuel efficiency without sacrificing performance up to a certain speed limit that is below what some people normally drive (those who normally cruise at 75mph).  I also believe that if we were all able to use ethanol free gas (real gas), our fuel economy numbers would increase.  I further believe that indeed when winter turns into spring, that our real world fuel economy numbers will go up as the temperature goes up, then possibly decrease again when spring turns into summer (AC anyone?). 

Edited by From Speed6ing 2 C-Maxing
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The "review" they have posted for the C-Max hybrid is ancient - mostly speculation about what the car will really be like when it comes out.

Seems strange they'd update the numbers with no new text to indicate that they had now driven one and changed their mind about the MPG.

You can't just choose to post EPA numbers for some cars and guesstimates for others.  The whole point of EPA numbers is to have a consistent comparison between models.  If the test is flawed, it has to be changed across the board or not at all.

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They're credibility is SHOT by doing this silly change. However, a site like mpgomatic where there is conclusive videos that the CMax is capable of > 40MPG on the highway is gaining strength. 

 

Mpgomatics reviews always seemed more balanced and objective. I loved the comment the C-Max reviewer said: "If most of your driving is highway, I'll be straightup with you get a diesel".

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Then again, there are some of us with Fusion or Cmax that cant get anywhere near those numbers no matter waht we try.  The ratings they post I wish I could get.   My 2010 FFH gets better MPG than my new one.  When I drove in 70+ temps I didnt see 40.

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If you had stated the fact that your 2013 Fusion hybrid are having some engine issues, that would explain why its not getting the mileage. Having said that, I don't yet think this is reflective and damning of all CMaxs and 13 Fusion Hyrbids as there are plenty of drivers here who are getting improving MPGs above 40+. IMO, I think these low MPGs are a combination of factors including new vehicles with engine still breaking in, winter conditions and winter fuel formula and driving habits not conducive to the batteries and hybrids in general. I hope Ford resolves your issues for you soon and yeah, I would be p*ssed too if I had the same issues, good luck and best wishes. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

35 is way low. I've got ~6700 miles with 2 trips San Diego-SF-San Diego, well over 2000 miles > 70+MPH. Even on those 2 trips I got 37 MPG, average MPG for the full 6700 miles is 39.8 (and that's with CA formulated gasoline, I'm sure I could get better MPG with non-CA gas).

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I'm wishing the C-Max hybrid had something like EV-Later mode on the Energi.

I'd like to be able to charge the battery just by regen-braking and not put a load on the gas engine, just to see how that would affect the overall MPG.

 

For you Energi owners, does EV-Later skip charging the battery while accelerating, or just skip going into EV mode?

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