Ford C Max, Prius killer?

Keys are:
1. EV range
2. MPG in hybrid mode
3. Price

Likely Prius has advantages in these.

All the other stuff you mention is available on Prius Plug In or is inconsequential.

It's a shame Ford did not go for Fiesta or Focus hybrid getting high 50 mpg to compete with Prius. Plug ins will remain a small market compared to hybrids. Kind of like Chevy doing low volume Volt vs. high volume hybrid Cruze.

 

Ford may compare it to a Prius V but market will compare it to a Prius III and say why pay more for less mileage. Ford beat Toyota with the Escape Hybrid vs. Highlander, lower price, more mileage. They discontinued that and come out with Energi that costs more and gets less mileage than a Prius. The Energi will likely follow the Insight into quick oblivion.

 

I was really thinking about buying a Prius this week, and I'm leaning toward holding off until I get to try the C Max hybrid this fall. I'm a current Matrix owner, and that car has been completely reliable, but it's only netting about 26mpg, and I bought it just before gas prices jumped in 2008.

I've been having a hard time deciding which Prius is right for me. I test drove the Prius C for the first time, and while I was impressed with it, I found it a bit small for me. I'm a tall guy, and I hit my head on the ceiling if I sat up straight unless I leaned the seat back one notch, and that's with the seat all the way down. I think the C is the most attractive Prius on the outside, but on the inside it's considerably cheaper looking than the others (understandable). In the end, it's just a bit too small for me.

The Prius liftback is probably the most sensible choice for me in the Prius family. I do haul gear around, and I appreciate the true fold flat seats. It's the only Prius that really does fold truly flat. I rented a Prius a month ago for a couple of days to try it out. I didn't get used to the horizontal rear bar across the back window, which I found incredibly distracting. Prius liftback owners, do you ever get used to that? I wonder why Toyota hasn't found an engineering option to do away with that bar. Both of their two newer models have single-pane back windshields. Also, I found the steering to be unpleasantly numb and hard to control, although that's not a dealbreaker. I also found the front driver's seat to be uncomfortable. In general, I find the interior quite attractive, and of course the mileage/size ratio can't be beat. Incidentally, although the Prius C and liftback have the same listed headroom, the front seat must pump down a bit further in the lifback, because I had no problem fitting in that car.

The Prius V is appreciably bigger, but I distinctly dislike the exterior design. Whereas I would occasionally appreciate the larger cargo space, I don't know if it's worth it for the sacrifice of 8mpg to me.

So really, the idea of a car right in between the sizes of the liftback and the V would appeal to me. As much as I am not tremendously interested in owning a Ford, the C Max looks like the best design to me. It's a big bigger and taller than the liftback. It's got a single-pane rear window. It appears to have fold flat seats (from the limited number of pictures I've seen). It appears to be a sacrifice of only 4 mpg over the liftback. From pictures, I think it looks reasonably good looking, and much better so than the V. Honestly, it's shaped a lot like a Matrix, which is fine with me.

So please, Prius fans, I love Toyotas and intended to be a repeat Toyota buyer. But I'm wondering if the C Max Hybrid will indeed (and perhaps should) be a Prius killer. I'd love for you to convince me otherwise.

 

There won't be as drastic of a performance difference, so Ford has that in their favor.

Price is likely to be the killer. When you've got Prius plug-in owners like me maintaining monthly summer averages above 100, it's going to be somewhat of a challenge convincing buyers to pay a lot more for capacity that will be difficult to estimate the benefits of. Being affordable is a very big deal.

 

Thanks, UTBuckeye. Did you happen to see if the seats truly fold down flat?

 

First-time poster, I have been reading the forum and enjoying everyone's very informative posts. I was going to post on this very topic so I registered today to join in.

About 2 months ago we traded in a Honda Pilot for a Hybrid Camry LXE. Loved the Pilot but not the 18 MPG. My wife and I really like the Camry though, fantastic car.

We are in the market for another car because we have a teenager who is starting to drive. I have test drove both the Prius and the Prius V and we were leaning toward the V, but I had not made up my mind on it. I like that the Camry Hybrid drives so well and has plenty of power when needed. I have even considered getting another Camry Hybrid but we probably need something with more useable cargo space.

Then I read the announcements about the C-Max hybrid today and I have to say we will seriously consider this car. I believe the mileage rating of 47/44 is a firm rating now. 188 horsepower is more than my current CRV. Ford has pricing options up on the website and a C-Max hybrid (regular hybrid, not plug-in) configured similarly to a Prius V 3 (cloth seats, navigation, bluetooth, apps) is $27,990. v. 28,075 for the V 3 (both prices include destination charges).

In the V's favor are reliability (but it seems that Ford has improved in this area) and what appears to be more space.

Still though, I will definitely look at the C-Max before I make a choice. 188 horses and better mileage at the same price is very tempting . . .

I am very interested in your thoughts, I will update as I work through the decision process.

 

Insight was 43 mpg vs. Prius 50. Energi looks to be 45 mpg vs. 50. People are buying the car mainly to use less gasoline so why buy a Energi when you could by a higher mileage car. That was the marketing lesson of the Insight.

 

Let's not forget that Prius offered more power, especially for being so much bigger. Then of course, the aspect of performance came from the difference between ASSIST and FULL hybrids. Energi will be a closer match in both regards.

 

The Energi probably is competitive with the Prius V and if you need cargo space and Energi has more that is a plus. The Prius V is an odd vehicle. A clear roof (to cook you like a July 4 hot dog) but no sun roof...weird. No power seats and Prius seats are an issue for many.

I try to buy American. Bought an Escape Hybrid over a Highlander but time to jump mileage, Ford had gotten out of the market as I got into it so Prius III the only choice.

So Energi vs. Prius V (which is what Ford targets) is probably a winner for Energi.

 

Iwas just looking at the regular C-Max hybrid, not the Energi. The Energi is coming out later and Ford does not appear to have those specs online yet. The regular hybrid is 47/44, I don't know what the CMAX plug in will be.

2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid: 47 MPG City, Better Than Prius V? - The Washington Post

 

By the way, the list price for the C-Max hybrid base is actually 25,200. It's 25,995 price includes a $795 destination fee.

 

What does "better" actually refer to? Describe the differences please.

 

BTW, an interesting aside is the fact that Ford's advertising of C-Max will be helping to promote Prius V.

Think about how many people that haven't ever noticed there's a wagon model of Prius available.

People may discover the C model as a result too.

 

you ever wonder why ford sold so many model T's ? think about it ! i always wondered why FORD never went the way of the rambler or studebaker