Bought a C-Max

In the nicer SEL trim. Pretty much loaded with the 302A package which includes Leather, Sony 9 speaker sound, navigation, HD radio (big plus for me), power lift gate, rear view camera, and hands free lift gate (foot kick sensor is another big plus).

I traded in my beloved Volt for one reason: rear seat space for the kids (teen and tween). In only 6 months of ownership, our son grew 2.5 inches and our daughter will be soon be hitting her spurt. It was our hope that my wife would take a job closer to home and resume more of the kid duties which she cherishes and I would happily keep and drive the Volt. But she is staying with her out of town job and I will continue being Mr. Mom thus a more family oriented vehicle was needed for the immediate future.

Enter the C-Max. I did seriously cross shop the V and even (gulp) a Venza. I would love to see the HyCam drivetrain installed in a Venza, lose the silly 20 in. wheels, and deliver a solid 38/37 city/hwy mpg. Anyway, two area Toyota dealers wouldn't deal on leftover 12 V's while my local Ford dealer (two previous purchases) gave me a C-Max SE for 48hrs.

Over those couple of days I was really able to get a good feel for the mpgs and how it fit our lifestyle. I took it back and drove out with this Ruby Red SEL.




The liftgate feature is a treat for me as I frequently carry equipment for work and the kids have band instruments. The opening height is also settable so it doesn't crash into my opened garage door at home (smart).



The stone leather interior is very nice, the 5 way power driver's seat is comfy with great views and a crossover/suv ride height feel. The car was built in March and has the latest firmware so I've had zero issues with the Sync system that first adopters have had.

The wife and I both liked nearly everything about our 2010 Prius Level III except the engine power/drone. During test drives, stepping out of the Volt directly into the even weaker V was eye opening. The more powerful Cmax is a good goldilocks compromise between the two. EPA classified as a large car, I get more power and room than the lift back but better FE and more features than the V. There are trade offs of course but the ride and drive characteristics of the 'max are also better than either Pri. I'm only halfway through my second tank of gas but I'm averaging 45.5 mpg on my daily route. I avg 46-48 in the Prius on the same route. On the cmax epa issue, I'd say the city rating should remain at 47 but the hwy figure should be refined to 44-45ish.

I hope none of this comes across as flame baiting; just my 2 cents. Toyota knows the competition is heating up and that will simply mean an even more awesome gen4 Pri. I'm anxious to see what it and Volt 2.0 will be. The future of the hybrid marketplace is very bright!

If anyone else is researching/shopping, this video review is pretty much spot on (IMO). The driving impressions start around the 10:00 min mark:

 

Thanks everyone. Sorry, no fuelie for me. I'm just not that meticulous about those kinds of things. FWIW, second tank was 44.1 while third was 37mpg (mainly hwy with some 70-85mph sections).

For those keeping score, Amoredsaint is another current c-max/former prius driver.

Yes, giving up the volt after 6 months was a big sacrifice. Having owned over 20+ cars through the years, it was the only one I actually went back to the dealership lot to remorsefully look at again. <sniff, sniff> It's been tough going back to a mild-hybrid but the 'Max will fulfill its role just fine. I really like the SUV/crossover seating position/view and the ingress/egress the most; very comfortable car. This is my first car with auto-wipers (SEL only) and the last two days of rain have shown me what a marvelous little feature this is; speed sensitive too! Unfortunately we are in what's classified as an exceptional drought so they won't get a lot of use.

 

Well cargo room was the big concern with the Energi and no dealer around here has them so there was no way was I going to gamble on a special order.

MPG comparison? It's really not a contest. My daily drive is 35-50 miles and with a level II charger I was able to cover 100% of that in EV in the volt. In six months and nearly 10,000 miles, I only had about 1,000 miles on the ICE. The 'Max is getting about 42mpg on the morning leg and 48mpg on the afternoon route. With a warm ICE and reasonably full battery, I can get 50-60mpg trips around town in the evenings.

 

Well it's been a while since I updated this thread. Jimbo, you'll be glad to know that I finally did sign up with fuelly mainly due to the easy use of the fuel tracker app so I now can instantly upload the data while still at the pump before I procrastinate and forget.

Maybe it's the August software upgrade, break in, the weather or a combination of all of them (this) but mileage has certainly gone up. Getting 50-60 mpg now is the norm on any city/urban trip with a warm ICE. At Texas speeds, hwy mileage is still low by hybrid standards at 40-42mpg with 68mph being the sweet spot.

I attempted a 700 mile forum challenge and netted my best tank ever:



Overall, the car has been running like a champ. We use the power lift gate more that I thought (kids) which makes school drop off/pickups much more convenient and quicker. Another feature I didn't think much of at purchase but truly love now is auto-wipers. Sounds frivolous until you use them, umm, rather they use themselves.

I know the car is an EPA classified large car but it compares well to a small SUV class too:

 

Well then you'll certain want to see my recent addition! What's plural for C-Max? | PriusChat

Currently getting 28-29miles range in our fall weather. Only used 1.6 gallons over 400 miles in my first week and the majority of that amount was from driving it home from an out of town dealer.

 

Follow the link Gramps. It's for the plug-in model called the Energi which is what I was referring too. We have the hybrid too which the wife drives.

Jimbo,

Sorry, the 400 was off the top of my head and included the dealership demo miles. DOH! Remove those and this is what I have so far:



So ICE mpg is 26.x mpg (not the 8.2 of your computations LOL) mainly because the ICE is only needed in very short segments and doesn't get to really warm up. I don't have a level II charge yet (in transit) so I've missed completing a few trips on 100% EV.

Anyhoo, looking at the big picture I'm nearing 94 MPGe and since most of the around town EV trips have been netting 160-172MPGe, I hope to reach the EPA rating of 100 MPGe next week. EV estimated range has increased from 17 on the dealership lot to a high of 29 and is currently at 25-26 due to recent cold weather.

 

Hey Jeff,

I'm pretty sure it doesn't report charging losses but at least that's better than mpg only. Baby steps....