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

As pointed out, it's against the makers interest to cheat on the test. Look at how much it is costing Hyundai. It's a standardized test protocol that they have to use, and the EPA audits 10% to 15% of the tests every year.

The C-max is a new model and the Fusion a redesign, both with a new hybrid system. I'd be surprised if the EPA didn't plan to test either one before the reviews came out. The fact is they are understaffed. If you feel that they should be testing more cars, write your Congress critter to give them more funds(but not to take them from the USDA ARS). Actually, ask them for more funds for food inspectors. We're understaffed there too.

How often has this happened? Is there models that regularly out perform the EPA for a majority of owners? With the makers doing the testing, I can see a car's numbers getting hyped to qualify for a program. I don't see another downplaying the numbers to such a degree that they would disqualify the car from a program. There is still the risks of fudging the numbers involved for the hyper.

Besides, and I learned this the hard way, you should never buy a car you never really want.

 

It is possible Toyota 'sandbagged' the Prius C numbers not to outperform the Prius Liftback.

Toyota Prius C MPG Reports | Fuelly
Toyota Prius MPG Reports | Fuelly

Prius C owners seem to get 2 MPG more than Liftback owners even with the same EPA combined average.

 

Forgot about that discussion when the c numbers were released.
On the other hand, it's a 4% difference that could be explained the city v highway ratios the models see. One of the big c performers that reported this was over 60% city.

 

EPA will review Ford C-Max, Fusion 47 mpg claims | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

Which may help explain how CR can like hyundai's milage claims even thought they have been caught falsifying results, but can get 7 mpg less on a prius c and 8 mpg less on a fusion hybrid. The question is whether the driver takes advantage of those engine off times, as the epa test does, or does not as CR does. Definitely EPA does not have a test that takes the start up penalty or steady state 65 mph as CR tests do,

Consumer Reports Questions Ford's Fuel Economy Ratings - NYTimes.com

Consumer Reports Zings Ford Over Hybrid Mileage Ratings - Forbes

 

CR gets 44 on the liftback, 43 on the prius c. It is likely driver behavior. prius c does better on short and slow, liftback at higher speeds/longer trips.

 

Well, it was only released in March. They haven't done winter yet.

Besides, we know that the EPA tests kill small-engine mileage (excessive acceleration tests) and make boxes look good on the highway (low average test speed).

 

Thanks for the article... One thing that still irks me (and has irked me in a lot of this coverage) is

Of course not. The CR test is nothing like the EPA test. CR actually drives them on roads and not dynos. The highway portion is at a higher constant speed (vs. varying lower average speed). CR actually measures fuel use, unlike the EPA. CR's city test (presumably from a cold engine) is much shorter than the EPA's cold start cycles, including city.

It's not supposed to replicate it. Most cars get slapped w/a lower overall CR mpg rating than EPA combined. Same goes for city. For highway though, CR's highway test usually is higher than EPA highway, but that wasn't the case w/these Fords.

 

Too soon to tell, but properly setup, the Fusion Hybrid should have no problem meeting the EPA. Heck my 2010 gets really good highway miles if I put some effort into it, easily surpassing city MPG. I bought it used with 1100 miles on it, and it was sitting in a garage for quite some time before I got it, and after the first couple weeks, it got a CEL and had to have a MAP replaced, they reset the computer and flashed updates, so for the first few thousand miles the MPG was not very good, but eventually, I would say around 4500 miles or so the MPG drastically improved, went from 32-34 to 40, and has been right there between 37 and 43, depending on who drives it, traffic, weather, etc. Thats why it only shows 37 for lifetime on Fuelly. For the past few months it has been around 39.

I just wish my 2013 had the correct tires to say it does get 47.

It is REAL easy to not get good MPG, just drive it. Want good EPA, you have to hypermile, P&G, etc.

 

Well I am thinking this gets into the CAFE calcs and all that. Remember 2-yrs ago President Obama was talking about 50 MPG cars coming out of Detroit, believe that was for Cruze at the time.

 

OK I can confirm, the new Fusion does not get anywhere NEAR EPA ratings. When I got my Prius, I learned a little trick that netted me 75 MPG Highway, by tailing a flatbed semi by 1 1/2 seconds. With the adaptive Cruise, set at 2 bars, puts me right at that distance. Best I got was 38. With doing it manually to make up for the uphill push of the CC, I got it up just above 40. Bu no matter what else I tried, I could not get it to go beyond 37 MPG. End result after 1200 +miles, in 70* temps, 35 and change was the net return. Beginning to think I should have driven my other Fusion, at least I know it would be in the 40's, and I could got at least 600 miles before needing to stop for gas, and not the 350 or so in the new one.

Really not looking very good for Ford right now.

 

Well... they probably were getting more than "50 mpg" (on the unadjusted EPA highway numbers), because of the stupid CAFE mileage being way higher than Monroney sticker numbers.

 

A couple of questions:

1. Tire pressure and alignment?
2. Any possibility of mapping mph vs MPH?

The reason I ask is the NHW11 has a non-linear performance curve with a distinct knee at 65-70 mph. A Georgia Tech paper(*) analysis of the Toyota HSD compared to the two-mode suggested there are nodal values where the transmission becomes exceptionally inefficient. This may be something Toyota has not shared with Ford.

Bob Wilson

* - Sad to say, the Georgia Tech author failed to measure actual efficiency of the vehicles he was writing about (it isn't true that you can get a diploma by just driving through the Georgia Tech campus . . . you have to stop.)

 

Yep. FWIW, I'm not sure if he's aware that the HIGHEST average speed on anyway of the EPA test cycles is only only 48.4 mph. It wouldn't surprise me if the '13 FFH could turn out great "highway" numbers if driven that slowly.

As an FYI, acdii posted 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, and poor FE reason | PriusChat.

 

I know some have already seen this but the NHW11 "knee" is distinct:

In the NHW11, the performance knee is associated with a drag driven, power requirement that puts the 1.5L engine in a 'bad place.' Something similar may be going on in the Ford but it takes metrics to find out:

• find a relatively flat road that you can run 10 miles, both directions, on cruise control
  • between 1:00 AM to 4:00 AM will minimize wind effects and minimum traffic BUT at dawn on Saturdays and Sundays is also good
• warm-up car, at least 15-20 minutes to get transmission and tires closer to operating temperatures
• use trip meter to record MPG on each pass and average together
• plot or share the data including temperature and any wind

Bob Wilson

 

Advantage gave me a Cmax to rent a couple of weeks ago. I went to LA and got 38mpg on Hwy 5 spd of 80mph. Nice car. Not as refined as a Prius. Wonderful leather and finish.

 

35 at the pump? Not good... Since you are Prius driver, you know what you are doing plus 70's temps are pretty much perfect for this.

I suggest you be happy with it and dont think to much about false advertised mpg... you will probably get 37-38 average after a while and thats not bad for sedan like fusion.

Main issue from my personal view as a consumer is that advertised 47... if they said 40 like Camry, it would still be great mpg and almost nobody would complain... when you get 10 mpg less on average, it is simply hard not to think about it.

 

Some questions to add to Bob's:
1. What was your speed for the trip?
2. Did you try the Eco Cruise control?

If your alignment checks out, and you can't find someone to swap for the 17" wheels, do a search at Discount Tires. They might might not allow you filter out LRR choices, but they will give you plus zero sizes that Tire Rack doesn't. hese will fit your rim, but are a little wider or narrower while being close to the diameter of the OEM tire size. It should widen the LRR selection.

 

I used many different speeds, from 55 to 70, using Eco cruise, P&G, drafting, tires set at 45 PSI, temps in the 70s', etc. One thing I did find out, there is a 2 MPG difference between wet and dry driving, since I drove through rain and dry weather. Best I could squeeze out was 41 behind a flatbed semi, but that was tiring, so could only maintain it for 30 minutes, then I just turned the cruise back on.

I could have taken my older FFH, and easily got in the 40's on this trip, and it is only rated at 36 MPG highway.

Some guys however are getting better than 47 MPG in their Fusions, the only difference between theirs and mine, the wheels and tires, hard to believe that different tires can have such a large gap, but only one way to know, and I am beating up Ford to get a second set to test with.

 

I wonder if Ford is cycling the engine like Chevy sometimes does in the Volt?

When the Volt is driven under 65 mph or so on flat highway it can run the engine at a higher load than necessary and divert the excess energy into the battery. For example, at 55 mph it will do this for several miles and then shut off the engine and drive on battery for 2-3 miles. This behavior can make instantaneous gas mileage look artificially low and may have confused Car & Driver into publishing a bogus mpg vs speed efficiency chart in one if their early articles on the Volt.

I'm routinely getting 45+ mpg in the Volt at 55-60 mph. The last two days I got 49 mpg indicated during 50+ mile gas-only drives at 55 mph in the slow lane over rolling hills (US 280 on the peninsula in the SF Bay Area).


I think I read that the Kia/Hyundai hybrids do this as well in some circumstances.

 

We can speculate until the cows come home but it won't mean a thing if the Ford owners won't take the first step and benchmark their car's performance with an MPG vs mph chart.

Bob Wilson