EPA stance on real-world MPG

[AgentCMAX]

I recently purchased the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid and I've been reading online about all these reviews and magazine tests on the C-Max's fuel economy and how it's not living up to the 47mpg claim. Even the online forums are filled with complaints from owers who say they can't achieve the 47mpg mark.

What's the EPA stance? They say it's the drivers!

http://www.autoguide...el-economy.html

The C-Max online forums also show that there are those who are able to achieve (and exceed) the 47mpg claims.

So if you look at how the EPA tests are conducted, you will see it is nothing like how you drive your car in the real world!

http://www.fuelecono...ow_tested.shtml

Dig deeper and you will see that their test case for highway driving is most likely different that what you would expect.

So bottom line is...we need to learn how to drive more efficiently if we want to achieve the best fuel economy our cars can deliver.

And here's are tips to drive w/ efficiency in mind

http://www.autoguide...rive-green.html

http://owner.ford.co...d=1238506413737

[pb]

Your URLs are all garbled here. Can you add complete URLs so we can take a look at the links? Did you copy/paste this from another forum?

[BDC]

Oh, great, so when you buy a normal car, you can expect to get the mileage that it says on the window sticker, but when you buy a Ford, you get... 12mpg below sticker and a recommendation that you need to drive more conservatively.

Thanks for the tip! I hope other potential Ford buyers will take that into account.

[AgentCMAX]

Here are the correct links...sorry about that.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...l-economy.html

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...ive-green.html

Ford Driving Tips

[MMUK]

>...so when you buy a normal car, you can expect

>to get the mileage that it says on the window

>sticker, ...

I would say that is not likely. If your typical journey / driving style / etc exactly matches the EPA test cycle, then yes, you should get the same figure. But in the real world, people have journeys which do not match the EPA cycle (too long, too short, too warm, too cold, too hilly, too fast, ... etc etc etc ad nauseam), and hence they are unlikely to get the same MPG figures.

[osiebosie]

I'm not averaging 47 mpgs. My dealer told me I was GUARANTEED I'd avg 47. Of course, he didn't know anything about this car. I bought the first one the dealership sold. I've told him more about the c-max than he himself knew.

Anyway, you'll only get 47 if you drive on a perfectly level road at a speed below 60 with no air conditioning on, heated seats on, heat on, anything that'll pull on that battery, and if you drive mostly in town. That is my conclusion. However, I'm pretty happy with the 43-45 mpgs I'm getting (even though my stats don't show that because of some trips we've taken).

That said, I had a Ford Fiesta, and got BETTER mileage than the sticker said. I avg'd 30+ in town and 40+ on the i'state.

I drive the same in my C-Max as I did in the Fiesta.

So, in conclusion, I exceeded the EPA estimates on mileage in one Ford (Fiesta) and got below the estimates in another Ford (C-Max).

Go figure.

[MMUK]

>... My dealer told me I was GUARANTEED I'd avg 47 ...

Then your dealer was lying. The sticker MPG is never guaranteed. Even the EPA who designed the cycle only says that it is indicative.

[pb]

Thanks for adding the links, AgentCMAX.

[RedRockCandy]

I bought a C-Max in early October and have yet to approach 47 -- at this point I would be happy to break 40! But as to the forums "proving" that some people are getting close to the promised 47, I have seen on Fuelly that some of the higher reports are actually on C-Max "Energi", the plug-in version. I would like to know how many people on the forum reporting over 45 are actually driving plug-ins.

That said, I am still glad I have a C-Max and not a Prius -- the trade-off in MPG is worth the improved handling, pick-up, interior, etc. etc.

[Ciderbarrel]

Don't forget, the EPA tests with E0. Most people are running with E10 (or worse!) because of state laws. That can slightly kill your MPG.