Bought a new C-Max...here's my review.

[HotPotato]

Just got my C-Max before Christmas -- tuxedo black SE, no options. I've got about 1500 miles on it so far, all in southern and central California. Here are my impressions.

 

It's Euro-style: Here in the US, passenger microvans like the C-Max are rare -- we've got the Mazda5 and that's it. In Europe, everyone and their brother drives a microvan -- there, they are called monospaces. After all, a monospace is reasonably fun to drive, holds plenty of people and stuff, parks easily, and doesn't use too much fuel. I drove a monospace in France and Spain, and it was lovely (it was a turbodiesel VW model...don't expect those to be imported; they'd cost over $40,000 US). The C-Max has been on sale in Europe for several years (with conventional powertrains). When the C-Max was introduced in the US, I jumped at the chance to own one. To American eyes, the C-Max's monospace profile looks like a potato (hence my username), but I don't mind the look.

 

It's a real car, not a hybrid toy: The road manners and refinement of the C-Max are comparable to those of a German near-luxury sedan -- I should know, that's what I traded in for it. The front seats are very comfortable even on long road trips. And the car swallows cargo like a small SUV...I love those one-pull fold-flat seats (I have a big dog).

 

Real-world MPG is excellent...by the standards of real cars (not of hybrid toys). The C-Max does a fair impersonation of a near-luxury car or compact SUV in two other areas as well: power and weight. And since the laws of physics have not been repealed, this means you will probably not see the fabled 47 mpg. My use case is unfavorable for a hybrid and I don't drive like Grandma...so I'm getting 35.4 mpg, vs. 20 tops in my old car. On 55-mph trips over two-lanes, MPG is better (just saw 42 on such a trip). My MPG went up measurably when I switched to the Empower display in the instrument cluster; it shows you how to keep the car in the electric zone. Note: These are trip computer readings, not manual calculations.

 

It's fun to drive...kind of. Depending on which reviewer tested the car (and whether or not they turned off the traction control), magazine and online reviewers have gotten 0-60 times from 7 seconds flat (faster than a VW GTI) to 8.8 seconds (faster than molasses and/or a Prius). I find grunt more than sufficient around town and impressive on the highway. Steering is precise, with good centering and little play. Tires are of a sporty size, but not a sporty compound. One reviewer called the C-Max "the first hybrid hot hatch," but the creampuff character of the car just doesn't encourage hooning. I do find creeping along silently in EV mode to be entertaining in a different way though...feels like piloting a spaceship.

 

Sync with MyFord is...okay. Since I have the base SE without MyFord Touch, I have Sync-with-MyFord instead, meaning I have physical buttons and a smaller screen (albeit in an arguably safer line-of-sight location nearer the windshield). Reviewers speculate that this is easier to use than MyFord Touch due to the real buttons. I doubt it, since there aren't necessarily the specific buttons to do what you want (e.g. selecting Bluetooth streaming audio or accessing Sync services). I enjoy learning and using the voice commands, but I shouldn't have to. And while Android fans will dig AppLink, Apple iPhone users like me get a hobbled implementation: apps only work if we first load them on the phone, lock the screen, and connect the USB cable---which also means only one AppLink app at a time. However, I just learned that Siri works over the car's Bluetooth -- you just push the iPhone's home button like usual to voice-command your phone to open apps, give you directions, etc. -- so I'm buying a dash mount for my iPhone. Using Siri won't push the display's information to the MyFord screen like AppLink does, but it won't require me to use Sync-specific robot language patterns to command the functions either.  (BTW, if you have a smartphone, there's no need to buy Sync Services; I just did it out of curiousity, particuarly re the Directions service...which has text and voice only, no maps.)

 

Quality...seems good, we shall see. One thing didn't work upon delivery -- it appears they forgot to install the release cable for one of the folding seats (the part is on back order). No other weirdness so far, and the car seems very well engineered and built. 

[darrelld]

Congrats on your new C-Max and welcome to the club.

[erwhitham]

Congrats and good luck. I agree with your styling and "real car" points.

[C-MAX Hybrid Guide]

Thanks for your review and welcome to the C-MAX Hybrid community :)

 

Bill

[HotPotato]

Congrats on your new C-Max and welcome to the club.

Thank you! Nice color you have...Ingot Silver seems to look great on all Ford cars.

[Jus-A-CMax]

Ha...nice review HotPotato. I don't think my Max would appreciate being called a potato....now go and post some pictures. Enjoy the forum and congratulations.

[dusty]

Thanks for your review and welcome to the C-MAX Hybrid community :)

 

Bill

i would be great to hear from more of the FORD hybrid team on complaints and other questions here on the forum. seems like since ive been lurking around on this forum, that no one from FORD is involved in any of these sub forums.... just sayin..... with a 1st year new model and drivetrain, the feedback on both sides would be very helpful.... 

[Jus-A-CMax]

Good idea. However, I doubt if Ford will unless this forums get super big, they may stealthy watch the postings and threads to see the trendings but we will never ever know and nor will the adminstrators. Case in point, GolfWRX has been around for many, many years and its only the last couple or year that staff from the big manufacturers began postings. However, they never or rarely addresses individual issues though and most of the time it was to post new product information. When this forum gets big, may be Ford may take formal notice ie FordCustomerSuport user...who knows...my 2c.

Edited January 8, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[Maximus]

Just got my C-Max before Christmas -- tuxedo black SE, no options. I've got about 1500 miles on it so far, all in southern and central California. Here are my impressions.

 

It's Euro-style: Here in the US, passenger microvans like the C-Max are rare -- we've got the Mazda5 and that's it. In Europe, everyone and their brother drives a microvan -- there, they are called monospaces. After all, a monospace is reasonably fun to drive, holds plenty of people and stuff, parks easily, and doesn't use too much fuel. I drove a monospace in France and Spain, and it was lovely (it was a turbodiesel VW model...don't expect those to be imported; they'd cost over $40,000 US). The C-Max has been on sale in Europe for several years (with conventional powertrains). When the C-Max was introduced in the US, I jumped at the chance to own one. To American eyes, the C-Max's monospace profile looks like a potato (hence my username), but I don't mind the look.

 

It's a real car, not a hybrid toy: The road manners and refinement of the C-Max are comparable to those of a German near-luxury sedan -- I should know, that's what I traded in for it. The front seats are very comfortable even on long road trips. And the car swallows cargo like a small SUV...I love those one-pull fold-flat seats (I have a big dog).

 

Real-world MPG is excellent...by the standards of real cars (not of hybrid toys). The C-Max does a fair impersonation of a near-luxury car or compact SUV in two other areas as well: power and weight. And since the laws of physics have not been repealed, this means you will probably not see the fabled 47 mpg. My use case is unfavorable for a hybrid and I don't drive like Grandma...so I'm getting 35.4 mpg, vs. 20 tops in my old car. On 55-mph trips over two-lanes, MPG is better (just saw 42 on such a trip). My MPG went up measurably when I switched to the Empower display in the instrument cluster; it shows you how to keep the car in the electric zone. Note: These are trip computer readings, not manual calculations.

 

It's fun to drive...kind of. Depending on which reviewer tested the car (and whether or not they turned off the traction control), magazine and online reviewers have gotten 0-60 times from 7 seconds flat (faster than a VW GTI) to 8.8 seconds (faster than molasses and/or a Prius). I find grunt more than sufficient around town and impressive on the highway. Steering is precise, with good centering and little play. Tires are of a sporty size, but not a sporty compound. One reviewer called the C-Max "the first hybrid hot hatch," but the creampuff character of the car just doesn't encourage hooning. I do find creeping along silently in EV mode to be entertaining in a different way though...feels like piloting a spaceship.

 

Sync with MyFord is...okay. Since I have the base SE without MyFord Touch, I have Sync-with-MyFord instead, meaning I have physical buttons and a smaller screen (albeit in an arguably safer line-of-sight location nearer the windshield). Reviewers speculate that this is easier to use than MyFord Touch due to the real buttons. I doubt it, since there aren't necessarily the specific buttons to do what you want (e.g. selecting Bluetooth streaming audio or accessing Sync services). I enjoy learning and using the voice commands, but I shouldn't have to. And while Android fans will dig AppLink, Apple iPhone users like me get a hobbled implementation: apps only work if we first load them on the phone, lock the screen, and connect the USB cable---which also means only one AppLink app at a time. However, I just learned that Siri works over the car's Bluetooth -- you just push the iPhone's home button like usual to voice-command your phone to open apps, give you directions, etc. -- so I'm buying a dash mount for my iPhone. Using Siri won't push the display's information to the MyFord screen like AppLink does, but it won't require me to use Sync-specific robot language patterns to command the functions either.  (BTW, if you have a smartphone, there's no need to buy Sync Services; I just did it out of curiousity, particuarly re the Directions service...which has text and voice only, no maps.)

 

Quality...seems good, we shall see. One thing didn't work upon delivery -- it appears they forgot to install the release cable for one of the folding seats (the part is on back order). No other weirdness so far, and the car seems very well engineered and built. 

 

Very thorough review, thank you

[Catmobile]

It's fun to drive...kind of. Depending on which reviewer tested the car (and whether or not they turned off the traction control), magazine and online reviewers have gotten 0-60 times from 7 seconds flat (faster than a VW GTI) to 8.8 seconds (faster than molasses and/or a Prius).

:)  Funny.

 

I went from a BMW to a Honda Civic Hybrid to my C-Max, and one of the reasons I got rid of the HCH was the doggyness.  The C-Max just responds with no hesitation.  Ahhhhh....

 

I'm really happy with the mileage I'm getting.  I have a very light touch on the gas and brakes, and all I can say is use the forward momentum of the car (i.e., coasting) as much as possible, even up exit ramps.  It does take really paying attention to get the best mpg out of it.  Unless I'm trying to get a good reading, though, I just drive the thing, and I'm still getting better than 40 mpg a lot of the time. 

 

Congrats on the car and welcome to the board!