Why not the C-Max?

The C-Max is 2 inches taller and has less ground clearance

 

Yes. But it also has the foot thingy to open the hatch in case you have no arms...
Don't forget it also has a manly shifter on the floor.
However, it can't carry as many cheese cakes as the v so you would have to eat the ones that don't fit prior to delivery.

Not to derrail the subject...

Fotomoto,

How come you got rid of the 2012 Volt?

 

no, sorry, we have gen II and gen III liftbacks.

 

Because of the low sloping rear wheel wells, actual "floor space" can be measured different ways.
The platform behind rear seats is 36" from front to back. 38" wide at the wheel wells and 50" wide wall to wall. And don't forget the 2 cubbies on the sides behind the wheel wells, which can hold an amazing amount of stuff. And then there's the "trunk" under the floor.

 

I don't think it's all that complicated.
I want legitimate competition and product options, and the playing field is expanding. But Toyota is still the mass produced hybrid gold standard. Therefore if you are " in the market for a practical larger wagon/hatch hybrid and have narrowed it down to the C-Max or the Prius v " I'd go with the gold standard. The Prius v is a newer member of The Prius "family" but it is still a Prius and produced by Toyota.

If Ford backs the C-Max, works the bugs out, and the C-Max get's a little more history behind itself, I think it can grow as a legitimate competitor. But right now, the problems out of the starting gate with the product, and with a lack of history as a entirely new product, I think that leaves the choice easily the Prius v.

That being said, I think what trumps everything, always, with a new vehicle purchase is getting what you want. If you test drive the two vehicles and find you really, really like the C-Max, for whatever personal reasons? Then you've got to go with what you want.

But just entering the market, I'd weigh heavily with the advantage being in buying a Toyota Hybrid product.

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Actually this isn't derailing since the discussion is about room and that's why I traded it in. It was my personal commuter car but my family responsibilities changed into needing a family hauler. I preferred staying with a plug-in but at time the Energi wasn't available here and the PIP well..... it still isn't. Also, they were both smaller than the CMax hybrid so I dropped them from the list with only the v remaining. Other deciding factors were the Toyota dealership being an a$$ and it would be nearly 100 mile round trip for any service vs 5 miles locally.

I truly miss the Volt and hope 2.0 or a variant is more like a CUV. Once you have the full EV experience, you don't want to drive anything else. Toyota should "PIP out" the v.

 

My measurement is the actual deck. If you take the fitted carpet mat you'll get 35" front to back and 39" between the wheel wells.

 

When the Prius V first came out, I had the use of one for 7 consecutive days. When the CMax came out, I again had use of one for 7 consecutive days. Both cars were used by me in a similar manner in winter (in Toronto area). So I had a real world one week test for both. The Ford's gasoline consumption was 40% worse than the Toyota.

This year I decided to buy a Prius V and have not regretted it. Any Toyota I have owned has been an extremley reliable car. Not so for the Fords I have owned--it fact, the opposite. I especially would not trust Ford with a new car model and new technology. Toyota has paid their dues in the hybrid market--not Ford.
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There were a few other issues for me. I did not like the Ford's dashboard...found it hard to read their displays (I wear reading glasses and always felt I needed them just to read the dashboard, not so with the Prius V). The Ford felt a heavier car--I suppose it had more pep, but that's not really that important to me. Gasoline in Canada is more expensive than in the USA, and that 40% worse mileage of the Ford concerned me. Add to this the fact my local Toyota dealer seems reasonable in their mainteance costs..the Ford dealer is much more shark like in his approach.

 

Before the first time they got caught lying about the gas mileage*, it was the one Prius the C-Max could 'win' against.

*We are currently still on the first time. Ford has yet to admit they cooked the books on the 5 test numbers.

 

that's what i thought when i looked at one.

 

If, like me, you rarely raise the rear seats, a generic cargo mat (mine is from a gen 2, but any work) placed in backwards helps you have a continuous load floor to the back of the front seats.

 

+1 to mr_yellow... We've owned our v-two level for 18 months and I thought the C-MAX would be a step up... WRONG. There's almost no cargo room in the C-MAX (smaller than a Prius hatch) and the rear seats are much more cramped without recline feature. Door openings are tough to get out of in the back and the rear cargo area is several inches narrower. The Ford does have a higher roof line so that's nice. And the interior electronics and plastics are a bit nicer with quieter ride than the v. But I found the total packaging was simply too small to compete and not worth the price in the upper trim level especially. I drove an Energi version and that car was laughable compared to our v-two with a pitifully small cargo area significantly smaller than the regular hybrid (which was not even 2/3rd of the v's. Too bad, since the drive train has more get up and go in the C-MAX. FWIW, I drove 2 cars and they were both February 2013 builds in an affluent area with plenty of technology companies around it that would be prime target market. That tells me Mr. Ford isn't selling these things. When I told the Sales Mgr why I wasn't going to even offer on the C-Max, he shrugged and said "yeah, I hear that a lot".

 

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Like I said.....interesting article.​

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If you consider an article written with a "I like cars that go fast" bias illuminating when they are about utilitarian vehicles.

My three previous vehicles were 2 Porsche Boxsters and a CRV. Family has had station wagons from VW, Pontiac, Chevy, etc. And a mini-van from Dodge.

There is a time in your life for sports cars, a time for wagons/vans. I prefer considering within the same category. I judged the C-max on its utility, not its track time. I actually preferred the C-max styling, liked that it was Ford and that it drove well. But if I wasn't going to drive a pick-up or a Van, I wanted room and reliability. Mileage would be a plus but I'd rather have 30-50% more utility than 3% more MPG. I'll probably keep the car for 10 years.

 

We test drove the C-Max and liked it. We also like the Prius V when we test drove it. We liked the idea of supporting an American car company. However, we ended up getting a Prius V.

I looked through the C-Max forum and found that there is an unsolved problem with some of the C-Maxs' that cause the starter battery (not the hybrid battery) on some of the cars to die. (Google search "c-max battery problems") Some people report that the battery will just die leaving them unable to start the car. Several people say they have been through multiple battery replacement. Some C-Max owners report driving with a jump start battery just in case.


This problem occurs in some small percentage of the cars. However, the people that have the problem have gone through repeated attempts to try to get it fixed. Ford has tried lots of fixes but has not come up with a definitive fix for the problem. They tried replacing the batteries assuming a bad lot of batteries. They have tried software fixes. That worked for some people but others are still reporting the problem.

This is a problem I am sure they will fix eventually. However, I did not want to take a chance that I would get one of the cars with this problem. My guess is that they have a software bug that is randomly turning something on that drains the battery.

We like our Prius V. I have more confidence it its reliability than the C-Max. Hopefully Ford will find a fix for their problem. Competition is always a good thing.

 

I just remeasured and I put the end of the tape measure against the seatback and stopped the measurement just short of the rear lip at the center. I again got a minimum of 37.5". I think your front to back measurement may have been with the seatback in a different position as I included an inch of gap behind the seatback when the seatback was in a fairly normal position and not reclined against the chassis.

The depth is going to get slightly smaller from bottom to top just because the seatbacks and hatch aren't going to be perfectly vertical. And taper some from center to edge because of the slightly rounded nature of the rear.

 

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Have A Great Navy Day... 'because Every Navy Day Is A Great Day.

 

Here's an interesting article--this Prius owner was unimpressed with the Cmax mileage.

What a 2,000-mile Ford C-Max Hybrid road trip reveals about its missing mileage | Motoramic - Yahoo Autos

 

One difference worth mentioning: for people doing a lot of short trips you can buy a C-Max plug-in.

Depending on your area and willingness to buying nationally there are some excellent deals on the plug-ins. In terms of amenities, the C-Max Energi is a C-Max SEL but with cargo space reduced by a large, intrusive battery.