Ford C-Max hybrid not getting 47 mpg

i'm also wondering about the 21mi EV range on C-max energi? the quoted 11mi on the PiP is pretty close the median real world number

 

I test drove the C-Max Hybrid and could not get any higher than 37 mpg, despite my best efforts to "hypermile". I could easily achieve 45-50 mpg with my Prius under the same conditions.

 

apparently ford claims the hybrid system is not "broken in" until 10k miles... hmmm. that's a long time

 

We had the same stories running with the last get Ford vs Toyota hybrids. The Fusion was supposed to get better FE than Camry, but in the real world they were pretty much even. With Ford being a US based car maker, I doubt they will get the Hyundai/Kia treatment.

It would be nice to see an independent EPA-simulating test of those hybrids.

 

It is possible to game the EPA numbers without actually faking the tests like Kia did.

I see a lot of hate for consumer reports and fuelly here, but they do offer alternate opinions from the EPA.

 

Alfon – When the news came out that, the Official EPA was 47 City/47 Combined/47 Highway numbers for the 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid & C-MAX Hybrid all equaled each other, I was a bit skeptical and thought there was something phony-fishy about the 47/47/47 MPG EPA Fuel Economy Numbers.

The main reason I was disbelieving was because I could not understand how the Highway MPG Number where the 2.0-Liter iVCT Atkinson-Cycle I-4 Engine with an inherent MPG-FE of Low-Mid-Hi 30s, which was running and consuming fuel essentially full-time, could rack up the exact same Miles-Per-Gallon consumption fuel economy number for City MPG. For “City” driving I would expect that the Fusion-H & C-Max-H would be running on the Traction Battery (i.e. “Infinite” 99.9+ MPG) much more, and using the 2.0-Liter iVCT Atkinson-Cycle I-4 gasoline engine (i.e. 31-33 MPG) much less.

We will have to wait to see if Ford gets “Taken Out To The Wood Shed” for this 47/47/47, “Three Card MPG Monty.”

 

When the EPA procedure was revised some years ago (remember that the gen 2 Prius was rated 60MPG!) they made it harder to game the system. I suppose some car makers might even program their ECUs to recognize the EPA procedure and will thus be able to really game the system.

 

Surprise, Confusion, Panic, & Mayhem, it's a still a FORD!

 

The C-Max Hybrid is even more overweight than the Prius liftback/versatile so the C-Max's fuel efficiency is going to be even more sensitive to going uphill and when the driver pushes the accelerator harder. It sounds like a driver might need a ScangaugeII /Android Torque app to to provide feedback to optimize the fuel efficiency of the C-Max acceleration phase. Right now in the Northern Hemisphere, Wintertime's cold driving temperatures and short distance trips are going to effect the C-Max Hybrid rides (even more than that the Prius v/liftback). Initially, my cousin who bought a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid had a difficult time getting the EPA rating but now on longer trips he and his wife can get over the EPA rating (albeit they are not persistently hypermiling it and they can't achieve a FE of +55 mpg like I do on the Prius ) . The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is more expensive, luxurious and has nicer ride than the Prius. The FFH market segment competing with the Toyota Camry Hybrid not the Prius.

 

PiP with bigger battery and a plug is lighter than C-Max hybrid. With the current 2012 inventory clear out deals, PiP may cost less.

PiP is also capable of 62 mph in EV but with more powerful battery (41kW vs 35 kW).