2013 Ford C-Max Energi Reviews

The C-MAX Energi: Ford's High-Tech Prius Killer - Forbes

 

This was a worthless review. The guy obviously does not understand mpge when he says its great compared to 47 mpg. Its 2 different things!

I want more details about the car with someone who knows what they are talking about. What features are standard? How does it handle in EV mode vs HV mode? Myford touch details? does it have same phone integration as focus ev?

 

2013 Ford C-Max Energi - Wagon - CNET Reviews

In other words EV Now limits you to battery power (85mph, 68kw(90hp)). EV Later is like a hold button and puts you in a charge sustaining hybrid mode. Auto EV is the standard mode, but there is also EV+ in this mode, described by forbes above. If it recognizes your route in gps it will attempt to minimize gas usage for the trip.

It does seem to have all the focus ev functionality for apps

 

I really dont see why would anyone get Energi... it is ridicilously not usable as real car.

 

Probably for the 21 miles CD range, good handling, high quality materials, etc as mentioned in the reviews.

Looks like plenty of room for stuff back there. About the same as my prius with the subwoofer in it. Much more with the back seat folded down.

Remember the camry is the best selling car in north america, and the c-max energi looks like it can swallow more cargo. How is that not a real car? Not everyone needs a huge SUV

The thing that I can see hurting sales is the tail euro styling. We need to wait for figures to come in. The initial reviews are positive, but there hasn't been a full c&d or motor trend instrumented test.

 

Is leather standard? Can the battery drive the heater?

 

Yes leather trimmed seats and lots of other things are standard on the energi.
2013 Ford C-MAX C-MAX Energi | The 2013 Ford C-MAX C-MAX Energi | Ford.com

I don't know if there is electronic heating. I'm sure one of the more full reviews will tell us soon.

 

price is a bit high, but to be honest, if you compare it to the PIP. Its clear why TFS is offering 4k off. Ignoring incentives, the Energi seems like a better deal.
2x Range, Leather, more hp, built in USA. Myfordtouch>entune

 

... but obviously will need more PVC insulation tubes for grille blocking in winter

 

I keep seeing these low 30mpg numbers in reviews. That scares me.

 

It has active grill shutters, which means it grill blocks on its own, but lets in air when it needs it to cool the engine.

 

I went to see the C-max hybrid this week. First impressions were fine. My interest was in the cargo area size. Indeed the area folds nicely flat, but I was surprised to find the length from end of car up to the beginning of gap behind the front seats was only 60 inches. That pretty much matches my CTh, so although it looks like a bigger car (and certainly is higher,) it is a small car in the dimension I care about.

If the traction battery in the plug-in is just sitting in that area, it is going to wreck the cargo area for utility.

 

It's not so much the raw cubic footage so much as how it is arranged. Loading heavy gear onto the ledge is going to suck. Good luck sleeping in it too.

 

There is a small cargo net, then raised platform. If you are short you won't like it. Lots of room on top of the platform if you roll up the tonau cover, which is how its normally pictured. Fold the back seats down and its a big flat surface, much bigger than the prius or prius phv. Stack high and you lose rear visibility, but that is not great anyway in the prius phv or volt. Definitely its no SUV, but much bigger cargo area than a car with a trunk.

The Focus EV is a retrofit, c-max is not

2013 Ford C-Max Energi First Drive – Review – Car and Driver

 

A prius V sized plugin with a battery pack somewhere between the volt and the PIP at the price close to the PIP. This car makes a lot of sense but I really doubt it will be that energy efficient. From what i read before, the cmax energy weight around 800 pounds more than the pip and the focus ev range is half what ford is claiming. My guess is that real world ev range wont be much better than the pip and mpg numbers will be much lower in hybrid mode.

 

From the three reports we read, reviewers got 23 miles, 22 miles, and 11 miles ev range. The 11 was going on san francisco hills, then having the car floored in EV range. The 22 said it was much easier to get than 11 in the phv. I would expect that the range estimate should be better than the prius, that is unless you drive it in ev mode much faster than the prius.

It is epa, but the 44/41/43 seems as accurate as the prius phvs 51/49/50 YMMV. I would expect with EV+ and a proper driver selecting modes most miles would be highway in CS mode in the c-max which is 41 mpg epa, but that would stretch out CD miles further

I've got to agree that if you drop a 600lb weight on that battery, or try to sleep by the hatch, you won't be happy. On loading its all about what you are carrying. Someone needs to fold down a back seat and see how easily two bicycles and gear fits. I would guess the fold flat seats would be better for many large items. For the seats up, it likely isn't as good for length but you get height. As always carry bungies to secure those 100 or 200 lb items.

I assume if you are sleeping in the car, then reclining the front seats may make the most sense.