C-Max hybrid to get 47mpg both city/hwy

i doubt it... it is the same when someone reports low Prius mileage.
C-max is pretty heavy too, cant help. If we check mag reports, they mostly said mid 30's for mileage.

I am sure it will get at least a bit better after 5000 miles though and once you get used to it. You like the car a lot so thats good - look at it this way, if it was Mazda5, it would be slower and get 20's mpg.

What Prius did you have, G2?

 

One of the reasons for doing a 'benchmark' is to detect problems not otherwise known.

Bob Wilson

 

Those Ford guys I saw today probably had many thousands of miles on their CMAX driving all over the country - ie. car was well broken in. Hoping, Husker, that mileage will improve for you.

 

You're doing a great job reporting on your new car. I hope the MPG disappointment doesn't last long. Clearly, you are not going to get Prius-type fuel economy with your driving pattern, but it would be helpful to know whether the other differences have value to you (vs. the Prius, that is).

 

I dont understand what could be the problem with new car getting low mpg? If the ecu is bad, or fuel mix was too rich, there would be a cel.

And he wouldnt get 40's mpg at lower speeds.

Worst thing for new owner is that they start thinking something is wrong with their car.

 

Agreed. YMMV. There are Prius drivers in alaska that in the winter, hardly get 30mpg. Lots of variables to make the average become the average.

 

If he had a Prius reporting 'low mileage,' there are a few stock answers, the low hanging fruit, folks would volunteer:

• engine oil level - must be under "F" (some claim 3/4 full), common dealer fault
• tire pressure - should be fully inflated, common dealer fault
• wheel alignment - can easily be off from shipping
• defroster - leads to high overhead

Turn the clock back a decade to the earliest Prius days. The Prius pioneers began a series of tests and experiments to find out what works. They studied the NHW11 Prius much like any good engineer will take a new part to the lab and quantify its performance.

The early C-MAX adopters are the pioneers for their ride. They have the choice of just complaining or pickup the tools and study their ride . . . to find out what works.

BTW, if we look at hybrid car generations, the version numbers are clear:

• V0 - NHW10 - Japan only, 3 years
• V1 - NHW11, Insight, Civic - Japan, USA, 3 years
• V2 - NHW20, Civic, Ford Escape - world-wide, 6 years
• V3 - ZVW30, Civic, C-MAX, Volt, e.t.c. - 2 years and counting

So looking at history, the C-MAX is Ford's second, hybrid version. If I had one, I would start with a shop manual, decent OBD scanner, and a through search of SAE papers from Ford. Then start with:

1. rolling drag - metrics
2. aero drag - metrics
3. engine thermodynamics - metrics
4. transmission efficiency - metrics
5. control laws

Bob Wilson

 

Before I sold it, I was getting 58 to 62mpg in the gen2 on my commute. Back when I got 2 years before, I was only in the 40's. Ford's hybrid system is only similar to Toyota's. How you drove the Prius may not translate directly to the C-max.

Also keep in mind the EPA test does not use road gasoline. There is no alcohol in it and may be higher octane. Winter blend E10, which you likely are getting, is going to be lower in fuel economy.

Are you calculating the mpg from fill ups, or just the car's reporting? The HHR reports high, the Scangauge low, and my calculation from fills is between the two.

 

I had the G3 2010 Pkg V.

I guess I had my expectations a bit too high when I see the official/Federal 47 mpg on the C-max being only 1 mpg less than the Prius's stated fuel economy regarding highway driving. I have had 3 Priuses.

I guess the faster you go above actual realistic highway speeds versus Interstate speeds the higher coefficient of drag on the C Max probably causes more problems. Overall my Interstate trips seems to produce about 8mpg less in the C max versus my gen 3 Prius. Another problem could be the increased weight of my loaded C Max over the standard.

 

I didn't anticipate quite at Prius numbers but given how I could beat the standards in the Prius I figured I'd at least get close to stated mpg in town. The interstate I understand is not comparable to highway estimates but still did not expect it to be so low.

I absolutely love everything else about the car over the Prius so I should stay grateful

 

If you set your cruise control on the highway, weight shouldn't matter that much. Drag is proportional to velocity squared and takes about 2/3 over 60mph. I don't know cdA on the c-max versus prius. Something may be wrong with the car. If you set the cruise control at 65 what do you get?

 

At 65 I generally get 37mpg or so. In my Prius it would be around 47-48 all depending.

 

One thing I do think makes a difference is that the engine does not shut off on the C-Max even downhill over 62mph. In my Prius I could come out of the mountains and have infinity mpg despite going 70mph ... I don't think that's the case in the C Max.

 

Maybe go do another test drive at the dealer... just to compare the MPG with your car under the same condition.

 

Well, the gauge on the dash max out at ~70 MPG so you may not be able to tell.

 

In the prius the engine is spinning, but might not have gas going to it. I doubt that makes much of a difference.

 

Spinning with no gas vs burning fuel should make a difference. How much depends on conditions, of course, but I would expect it to account for something.

 

I'll have a couple of tanks each winter where I'm in the 30s, while the rest of the colder months I'm in the 40s for MPGs. Still, at this time of year, I'm in the upper 50s with my 2010 Prius V (model 5).

The OP has the same car I do and has been getting better FE than me, so I can understand how he is disappointed not to be meeting the EPA numbers after besting them, regularly, in his Prius.

Edit: GO Husker! (And that doesn't mean I'm rooting for Univ of Neb.)

 

I know the C-max's cdA is 0.01 worse than the Prius v. So the liftback is going to have a bigger edge. Then there is also the frontal area. The C-max is taller. Unless cdA takes frontal area into account, in which case I'm talking cd earlier. If i was right the first time, ignore the previous line.

I'd have the dealer check the alignment. Problems with it may not be noticable.

 

I also have a C-MAX and I am seeing similar results to you. I don't think there is anything wrong with your car. Freeway is around 40 mpg, maybe a little over. I have seen instances where it will be showing mid-40's doing 70 mph. That is when the battery is mostly charged so the regen is much lower. Nearer 60 it will go into EV mode for a bit but when it is drained and the ICE comes on the mpg drops into the 20's while it is charging the battery. When it is charged enough it goes back into EV mode, rinse and repeat. At 70 the battery will occasional assist the ICE and the same with some starts from a full stop but most of the time it seems like it is one motor or the other. If Ford could find a better balance I think it would help.