Consumer Reports MPG Result For 2013 Fusion & C-Max Hybrids!

Could very well be that is why mine does so poorly, but without Ford telling them to replace the thermostat, they really cant touch it unless I pay for it. The only time I can get it over 200 is when its above freezing and the heater is off. I would need a warm day where I can wash the grill and apply tape over it to test blocking the airflow.

 

Maybe that is why one of the members claims an incredible 5mpg gain with grille blocking. It's worth a shot. Make sure to monitor your temps before and after.

Could also explain the foul plugs. Cold engines run rich.

 

The Fusion is tough to block since I have adaptive cruise and Collision alert, anything in front of that causes it to go goofy. I want to try packing tape, but it wont stick in the cold weather. I was thinking of cardboard, but one day in this weather and it would fall apart, and since I dont know where that radar unit is yet.

 

You could spray the cardboard with rubberized undercoating or PlastiDip.

 

Think I found a possible issue.

Buy 2013 Ford Fusion Parts | FordParts.com

If the spark plug part numbers can be jumbled up there, it might be elsewhere.

 

I parked it. No sense driving it when I get better MPG in my 2010. This morning, the 2010 got 35, and I wasn't trying, I never had to, just get in and drive. In the same temps, 7*, the 13 got 33, and I WAS trying. I am so pissed at the car that I pulled the 2010 into the garage, and parked the 13 in the shed.

 

Thanks, I was sure wayne would put it through its paces and give us the real mpg scoop. It doesn't seem nearly as dire as CR made it out to be, but does greatly under achieve at fast highway speeds. Ford needs to market this differently and then they have a hit on their hands.

 

The dealer should be given the keys to solve the problem. Or get back your money.

 

Thats been on my mind, but leaves us short a car, and where we live, having 2 is a must. My wife doesn't know how to ride a horse.

 

I haven't seen this. I have only seen my C-MAX over 200 once and not for very long. It is usually around 180-190 or less depending on how much EV I use.

 

I'll try to find the thread where this was mentioned. It may not be true but I didn't bother to dig further.

 

Well, I have a C-MAX that just went over the 1K mark. I had a Prius previously. The cold temps here really seem to affect the C-MAX more than the Prius. I haven't really tried for top mileage yet, but on a few trips I did and got 48 MPG. From my experience with both, you need to give the Ford a little more time when letting off the gas once you reach the desired speed to allow the EV to kick in. Once I figured that our, it was much easier to get higher MPG.

 

My usual protocol with our 2010 Prius:

• warm-up - minimum 5 minutes, ideal 20 minutes
• reach cruise speed and set cruise control
• reset trip meter
• run ~10 miles on cruise control
• read out trip meter

So with the Ford you have to insert some time after setting the cruise control before resetting the trip meter?

How much time . . . 10s of seconds . . . minutes . . .?

Thanks,
Bob Wilson

 

Gen3 Prius recycles exhaust heat to speed up the warmup process. Gen2 uses thermo bottle to capture hot coolant and release upon cold startup.

I don't think Ford hybrid has anything like that.

 

It just takes maybe a second or so to get it to go to EV mode, not long at all when driving around town. I really haven't had it on the road to see how the cruise works relative to going to EV.

Not sure about the heat-up cycle on the C-MAX - whether it has any process built in or not.

 

I'm not sure, but I doubt that the thermos bottle really did very much. Ford appears to be running the ice at higher power levels to heat it up, and puts the extra energy in the battery for later use. That sucess of that strategy is up to how good the software is, and the ford software may need some more work.

Cooled EGR can definitely reduce pumping losses at low power levels, and allow leaner mixtures at higher power levels (acceleration and hills, not steady state highway driving). That increases the efficiency sweet spot for the ice. Looking at bsfc between gen II and gen III you can see some of the impacts of the cooled egr. Ford has been looking at cooled egr but haven't dropped it into these hybrids yet. I would assume that the major differences between c-max and prius though are drag and rolling resistance, not ice efficiency.

Once you add cooled EGR, EHR is practically free. Adding both would likely increase real world efficiency in the ford hybrids. Adding automated vents for the radiator, that are in the fords and even the malibu eco, would likely add efficiency to the toyota hybrids, or at least remove the need to grill block.

Here is a good article about cooled egr.
http://www.swri.org/3pubs/ttoday/Summer10/PDFs/Clean-and-Cool.pdf

 

I noticed a difference in the mornings between the rest of the week and Mondays, when the thermos lost its heat over the weekend.​