Ford gives the competition a jolt
HYBRID VEHICLES: Despite its underdog status, C-Max does its best to take on Toyota Prius
One of Ford’s goals when it launched the C-Max “hybrid-only” model line five years ago was to make C-Max synonymous with hybrids, ala Toyota’s wildly successful Prius family.
Yet despite a big marketing campaign positioning the C-Max as “America’s most affordable hybrid utility vehicle,” the five-door vehicle has found little traction with consumers. At least the kind Ford execs were hoping for. Since their debuts in 2012 through December 2016, around 5,000 C-Max Hybrids and Energi models have been sold in Canada. In that same period, Prius sales are in the 40,000 range.
After driving a 2017 Ford C-Max Energi SE around Vancouver — including a weekend trip up the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler — I would encourage prospective Prius buyers to take the Ford for a test drive before signing on Toyota’s dotted line.
It’s roomy, peppy yet quiet, easy to drive, stuffed with technology and very fuel efficient. Its downfall for many consumers is that it shares the fatal flaw that so many so-called “green” cars suffer — low on the sexiness scale. The proverbial “loaf of bread” on four wheels.
Granted, the C-Max’s styling certainly puts the utility in utility vehicle. But it really isn’t that unattractive. Particularly once you’re in the airy cabin.
For 2017, the two C-Max stablemates — the Hybrid and the Energi — have received some exterior tweaks, including redesigned grille openings, headlamps and taillamps.
The Hybrid and the Energi use the exact same electrified powertrain system; the difference is you can plug the Energi in to charge up the battery pack (hence it is a PHEV). In the Hybrid, charging is only done through regenerative braking. That powertrain is comprised of a 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder engine working with an electric motor, which in turn draws power from a 7.6 kWh lithium-ion battery. The battery is covered by an eight years or 160,000 km component warranty.
The EV range on a fully charged battery is just over 30 kilometres and as the top electric-only speed is 135 km/h (some 20 km/h better than the Prius), you can zip around town — and even some highway driving — for the full 30-kilometre range before using any fuel. In fact, if you’re good with the regenerative braking, you can stretch that EV range up to about 25 per cent. The C-Max Energi uses a regenerative braking system capable of capturing and reusing more than 95 per cent of the braking energy normally lost during the braking process.
Also aiding the EV-only cause is a centre-stack button that lets you select three drive modes: EV Now is electric-only driving without the gasoline engine power setting; EV Auto blends electric and gasoline engine power as appropriate; or EV Later, a battery-saving mode that reserves the battery power for later use.
The plug-in hybrid also features ECO Cruise that saves energy by relaxing acceleration compared to standard cruise control.
Using this button and working the regen braking during my weekend road trip from Vancouver to Whistler and back, I posted a fuel economy number of 4.5 L/100 km on the trip computer. That’s outstanding considering I had a passenger, a 50-pound dog, a metal dog cage and luggage for two adults on board.
Unlike previous PHEVs, like the first-gen Volt, that means for all intents and purposes the C-Max Energi behaves like a full electric vehicle for the first 30 kilometres of travel. Apart from being very fuel efficient (obviously!), the ride is whisper quiet.
The charging time for the C-Max Energi is seven hours with a 120volt charger and 2.5 hours with a 240-volt charger.
It wasn’t just the miserly gasoline use that made the road trip so enjoyable: The creature comforts on board really added to the trip.
In addition to the extensive standard features list, my tester had an $1,800 package that added a power liftgate, reverse sensing system, SYNC3, AppLink and eight-inch colour touchscreen and two smartcharging USB ports.
SYNC3 features high-speed performance, an easy-to-use smartphone-like touch screen and clean graphical interface. It offers multiple ways for you to manage and control your smartphone, navigation and entertainment functions through voice commands, steering wheel controls, touch screens, buttons or knobs. For C-MAX Energi, the system offers battery charge and charge-point distance information as well.
I mentioned earlier how a majority of “green” vehicles aren’t the cutest cars on the block and that has no doubt hurt sales. What’s also kept electrified vehicles from flying out of showrooms is simple math: Despite saving at the pump, it will take years, decades in some cases, to pay off the difference in sticker price from a regular gas vehicle to a comparable hybrid.
That’s true, though that difference is becoming smaller and smaller thanks to rising gas prices, government rebates and just a general drop in pricing of electrified vehicles as battery prices and the cost of associated technologies come down.
In B.C., the C-Max Energi qualifies for a government rebate of $2,500.
Base price is $29,828 and my tester all in (including destination and delivery costs) came to $33,903 before that CEVforBC rebate. So roughly $31,500.
In my estimation, if you’re looking for a great commuter car that can also handle a road trip, put the C-Max Energi on your shopping list. That is if the only heads you care about turning are the ones at gas stations as you zip quietly by.