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

My question is, did they cheat of are the differences because of the differences between their driving and the EPA test protocol.

 

I just got into the MPG game of hybrids this week. I purchased a Prius V, so I should be happy about my purchase, and I am. But boy am I let down by how unregulated the MPG numbers are. This article says the auto makers certify the EPA MPG’s themselves!!! Talk about a conflict of interest. So who’s numbers do I trust? If I trust this article, I chose the best vehicle in the market in terms of inside space/MPG ratio. But that was pure luck; one shouldn’t rely on luck to make a $27,000 purchase. I’ve been reading that the Toyota hybrids always over estimate both the MPG and the speed by about 5%. This bothers me a lot. I see people who supposedly calculate the MPG themselves but those numbers are no good to me because:

1. I don’t know the odometer is also has an error, (easily verifiable) and
2. There is no way to know the EXACT amount of gas consumed . (You would need to have an empty tank and THEN start pouring the gasoline, then run the car until you completely run out of gas).

Since I live in the tropics and my commute is 100% city driving, I’ve been averaging about 49-55 MPG, (but I did change my driving style substantially). The problem is, I don’t know how happy I should be about those numbers because for all I know, in truth I may be only at 40 – 45 MPG, and that is a big difference in fuel cost.

 

I use fuelly.com to track my MPG, it relies on the pump accuracy and odometer, not the Prius trip computer.

It gives you a running value, and quite a few details.
Go Go Gadget Car! (Toyota Prius v) | Fuelly

The EPA audits about 15% of the Mileage results, they recently forced Hyundai/Kia to relabel their cars for not following correct procedure.

Hyundai/Kia false mpg may bring industry-wide EPA probe

 

If you want to learn more about the EPA tests, see Car and Driver: The Truth About EPA City / Highway MPG Estimates | PriusChat.

The EPA test doesn't measure actual fuel use at all. It's derived from tailpipe emissions. And, they don't drive on a real road either, but rather a dyno w/a specific schedule.

Besides this, the last page of http://www.consumersunion.org/Oct_CR_Fuel_Economy.pdf also discusses their tests vs. the old EPA method.

For those who don't follow CR FE results, most of their overall FE results are below EPA combined. Yes, their highway result is usually higher than EPA highway and city is almost always WAY below EPA city. As for their claims about overall being within 2 mpg usually, well... sure it is is on low mpg cars but isn't on higher mpg cars.

See The most fuel-efficient cars | Consumer Reports and Best & worst fuel economy | Consumer Reports. Compare to some cars at Compare Cars Side-by-Side.

The problem w/going by mpg is discussed at Car and Driver: Mileage? No, it's Your Gallonage that Really Counts | PriusChat. A 2 mpg drop/shortfall at high mpg values (say 40 or 50 mpg) is insignificant compared to a baseline value of 20 mpg.

I do really wonder if Ford is simply optimizing better for the test or if there's cheating going on or an unintentional error in how they're going thru the test procedure (e.g. Hyundai and Kia's issue). The previous gen FFH got much better EPA ratings than the previous gen HyCam (Compare Side-by-Side) yet at Most fuel-efficient cars, they got identical overall mileage.

 

It seems like a really strange test.

AFAIK

c-max 37
camry hybrid 38
prius c 39
fusion 39

I would say CR really does't like c-max and prius c. Maybe anything with a c. I don't think the prius v would really beat the prius c by 2 mpg with most commutes, but YMMV

Here is motor trend checking out highway testing of 40 mpg hwy cars with lots of gory details

40 MPG Compact Sedan Comparison - Chevy Cruze Eco vs. Ford Focus SFE vs. Honda Civic HF vs. Hyundai Elantra GLS vs. Mazda3 vs. VW Jetta TDI - Motor Trend
. With the cdA of the c-max its hard to see how it would get the same hwy mpg in the real world, but epa tests aren't about that.

 

I don't where you're getting your numbers from for the Prius c. The right ones are at The most fuel-efficient cars | Consumer Reports. It got 43 mpg overall, which is the 2nd highest of ALL non-plugin vehicles.

 

That makes my point, Consumer Reports fuel economy tests aren't the same as the EPA's tests. Because of those differences I would expect some correlation between the two types of tests, but not exact and the magnitude of the differences in percentage wouldn't be consistent from vehicle to vehicle.

Contrary to the old saw, smoke doesn't prove the existence of a fire. It's just an indication that there may be a fire.

 

It was on a previous CR test that they publicized. This is yet another CR test. I guess that CR test doesn't get the same milage as this one, so I don't know why they would think it would get the same as the epa.

But lets go with these numbers

prius c - EPA 50, CR 43
fusion hybrid - EPA 47, CR 39

YMMV, but CR just said the prius c got worse mileage than the prius, it accused Ford of cheating. They should at least try to replicate the test if they are going to make the accusation. That is quite different than saying both cars get worse mileage than the 44mpg (in CR testing) prius liftback. YMMV

 

CR's city test is very short... so the cold startup and running kills their city result. See last page of http://www.consumersunion.org/Oct_CR_Fuel_Economy.pdf.

Per Detailed Test Information, the shortest EPA cycle from a cold engine is 31.2 minutes long.

 

My city cycle is shorter than that 31 minutes, which means CR is more representative of my driving than that EPA test .... BUT ... you should not compare CR to epa, and I do drive more efficiently at lights in my prius than I think CR tries to do. YMMV

 

problem is that to date, nobody ever got good results in Ford's .

We have bunch of Prius c and Prius v owners, a lot of them first time hybrid buyers and they got good mpg to start with unlike Ford hybrid buyers.

I dont think MPG is bad at all - it is actually "expected". Fusion at the level of Camry, maybe little bit better but with slower engine and C-Max less than Prius v, with larger engine and simply bad weight that cant be hidden in real life.

Problem is that they are rated at 47, not 40. Nothing else. And I sure hope Toyota doesnt follow the suit with next gen Prius, but I dont see how they wont.

I dont see anything horrible happening to Hyundai... most of their cars got some of the worst ratings in mag tests and now they lowered them by 1 mpg on average, still not reflective of their real life vs competition.

And thats what EPA tests should be all about - ability to compare between different cars you are buying.

 

My first thought is that CR is death on any car's mpg.

 

Tony has on his earlier fusion. CR says they normally are within 2 mpg, but look at the 6 on the prius and 7 on the prius c

One guy is getting 55 mpg in his c-max. Sorry you don't understand YMMV.

All the reviews say the c-max handles and accelerates better than the prius v, so much for weigh With all its weight it can't handle as well as a focus when pushed.

The mileage is what it is. When people think the EPA test is different than it is then there is confusion. If the camry hybrid and fusion hybrid get 38 mpg and 39 mpg respectively in the real world that is fine. If you look at CRs results the fusion and c-max beat the prius liftback on the city loop. YMMV, and likely is different from epa.

According to CR they already did on this liftback and prius c. No one is building cars for CRs test. If you look at the results the malibu gets it EPA of 29 mpg on CRs loop. I don't think you will do as well hyper miling a malibu as you will in a prius or c-max though.

 

This is not good news. I had hoped these Fords would do well.

 

The CR city result for the two Ford hybrids is pretty good. It beats out all non-plugin vehicles at The most fuel-efficient cars | Consumer Reports on city except the Prius c.

The CR highway values, as CR points out, are a head scratcher since they were far below EPA highway rating. Usually CR's highway rating is higher than EPA highway.

 

Of the three tests, only one explains their abysmal MPG numbers:

Source: Car Testing | Auto Test Center - Consumer Reports

The "stop-and-go" test is the likely culprit and we can recreate their results by the following protocol:

• cold-start
• 5-7 mile total distance
• cycling
  • maximum acceleration to any speed
  • maximum braking to zero
  • limited cruse at any 'street' speed
  • stop for half of red-light duration

This is in effect a derated version of the "Top Gear" Prius test where a Prius with a Formula 1 driver was 'followed' by Clarkson in a German luxury sedan. In that test, the 1.5L Prius got 17 MPG and the German sedan 19 MPG. Maximum braking that suppresses regenerative energy capture is key to poor Prius performance.

Bob Wilson