2014 Ford C-Max Hybrid consumer reviews

We've had this cat for 2 years and it has been a wonderful experience. The car is fun to drive (yes, fun to drive), handles great, has enough umph, and gets great mileage. We are averaging 37 mpg (using the heater brings that down). On long trips we usually get in the high 40's. I'm not crazy about the exterior look but my wife loves it. The inside is very nice and comfortable.

Twice within 17,000 miles, the car has just died where I park it (the first time, in my garage, three weeks after I brought it home). The high-priced hybrid battery has been replaced both times. No fun to have to wonder if the thing will actually start. FoMoCo has been less than helpful.

I did a lot of checking b/4 I purchased Max. I was coming from a 2012 Focus that was filled with transmission problems so it was not a big deal to let it go. My business is 20 miles from my home, we are still using the 110v charging system and we charge at home and at my business. We are getting 300 mpg +/-. This has more room than the Focus and being 6'3" I had removed the back seat behind the driver. In this car it is not an issue. You sit higher in this car but I like it. My wife is 5'0" and there is lots of adjustment for her size. This drives smooth, the comfort is better than the Focus and the car has plenty of power /speed. As an engineer I tell it like it is and this is not what I had expected...it is more than I expected.

I purchased my 2014 C-Max used about 2 weeks ago. I have owned and driven everything from a 5.0 Mustang convertible (OK, I do miss that car!) to a 2008 BMW M3 (don't miss that so much -- too disconnected from the driver) to a 1999 M3 (fun as heck but a nightmare to maintain) to an old school, lowered Honda Civic hatchback back in the day. I have driven several modern Ford Focus models (the C-Max is based on a Focus platform) and like them quite a bit, and recently my wife bought a 2012 Ford Focus Electric (FFE), which is a blast to drive, believe it or not, so that I've taken to calling it the "poor man's Tesla." Given this experience I am continually surprised at the C-Max's fun-to-drive quotient, including use of 225/50-series tires and European car-style suspension. This car and the FFE drive more "like a BMW" than gone-too-soft current BMWs do! Yes, the C-Max's tall profile means some lean in hard cornering (not so the FFE, which corners flat), so you will not take the C-Max to race sports cars on mountain roads, but the suspension is tight and highly controllable in real-world driving. Combine that with the anytime-surge of power you can command from the power train with a nudge to the gas pedal, and you get a car that squirts commendably through traffic in the multilane urban jungle. The best test of this concept was our recent road trip to LA, where not only does the C-Max hold its own in the typical LA-style cut-and-thrust driving, but the fuel economy was great. It seems that the worse the traffic, the better this car does. Now I understand why in the past few years it seems like EVERYONE in LA has gotten a hybrid (or a Tesla if they have dough). So I was getting 45+ MPG in LA traffic, similar to what I attain where I live in Arizona. On city streets, once the gas engine is warmed up you can use it relatively little and attain good mileage. I modulate the accelerator so that I use the gas engine (or gas engine + electric motor) on acceleration from a light or slowdown in traffic, and once I hit the pace of the street, I ease off on the gas pedal until the electric motor kicks in, then glide along on electrons. You can use the display screens left of the speedometer to help maximize the use of the motor. Doing this does result in 45+ MPG city driving. At the end of each drive, that left display screen will tell you how far you went, how many of those miles were on the electric motor, and your fuel economy for the trip. I've taken to trying to beat earlier mileage "scores" on my commute. The mileage does drop on the freeway, especially if you go fast. Arizonans drive rapidly on the open road, so that the 80-85 mph average speed crossing the Arizona desert on the way home from LA returned about 34-35 MPG. But at those speeds even a Prius would do little if any better. I'm confident that lower freeway speeds in the C-Max would net closer to the 38 MPG highway rating on this car. Again, I have noticed in slower local urban freeway driving that you can get the electric motor to carry you for short distances. I use that trick on slight downhills and can go quite a way before the gas engine fires up again. The interior of the C-Max is a reminder that this is a product of Ford's operation in Europe, where people are not afraid to pay for luxury interiors in small cars. This car's tall roofline and ample glass give the interior a roomy feel. It has VERY comfortable leather front seats, quality interior materials. The SEL model with the 302A option package includes a very good Sony stereo, nav, reasonably easy-to-use bluetooth interface, dual zone auto climate control, auto up/down on all windows, one-touch/three-blink lane change feature (like on BMWs), keyless entry (just touch the door handle to unlock if you have the key on you), 5-way adjustable(!) heated front seats, rear view backup camera, and a hands-free power lift gate. Those relegated to the back seat will confront some hard plastics, but they also will enjoy rear A/C vents and even a 110v electrical outlet for their inevitable phone or tablet device. These cars represent a very good value -- well packaged and quite a deal new-used. Highly recommended.

The only problem with Max is I cannot get the bluetooth to stay on I set my cell phone up with the phone in the car. Park my car in the evening in the garage, turn everything off, close the garage door. Go back into the garage next day and phone doesn't work I am getting REAL tired of resetting my phone every time I get in my Max. I sure do need some help.

Love my 2015 C Max hybrid. My MPG has averaged 45.5 over last 4 months even with approx. 600 highway miles. Higher seating gives a better view of road and is more comfortable. Great pick up when merging into fast moving traffic. I find the touch screen easy to use. The automatic back hatch door is great when your hands are full. The rear cargo space is able to fit a large dog crate, something that was a must for me and my pooch.

I bought my My C-Max new just over four months ago, and since I relied on public forums to find real opinions and mileage results of real users, and in the process allay my fears about the dead 12V battery issue that plagued the vehicle in the early release phase (i.e. 2013), I want to contribute my two cents and say that after these four months, I think this is pretty darn close to the perfect vehicle for me. Gas mileage and family set my search constraints. My criteria in the search for my next vehicle was that it had to be a four door, and average at least 40MPG. The spec's for the C-Max compare very well on all parameters of importance to me. -MPG: it's listed in the 40-42 range. -Horsepower to weight ratio: right up there with my wife's '96 Accord. -Torque to weight ratio: again, right up there with the Accord. -Headroom: check-plus. C-Max has 2" more headroom than any other vehicle I was considering. (I'm 6'3".) -Cargo room behind the seats and with seats folded down (flat even): better than my hatchbacks! The C-Max comes out very well when compared to all the other vehicles I was considering. Things I like about this vehicle: +MPG (goes without saying) - I expected that I would have to get a much smaller, less comfortable, less versatile vehicle to achieve the 46 MPG that this gets, but not so! This vehicle is consistently giving me 46 MPG. I do not understand how it gets rated at 42/37. This MPG rating number has been a big (and costly) issue for Ford. So I get it that they can't and don't want to over-rate it, but those low numbers were one of the main reasons I did not spot the C-Max in my initial searches for suitable vehicles. (It shows up in position 72 out of 78 at one website when searching for cars over 40 mpg.) +Power when you need it - there is no compromise on power for the very good MPG performance. When you need to move quickly on the highway, this will move. (?and I have only pushed the pedal about 2/3 to 3/4 of way down!) Also the torque at startup from a dead stop is very very nice. That's the benefit from the electric motor, and is common to the hybrid and electric designs. +Smooth and quiet ride - It has a nice smooth and very quiet ride. It's not a sloshy suspension that makes me seasick like some big American cars, and it's not a "water on a hot skillet" tight ride like my Civic hatchback. It's just very stable and smooth. I drove it on some winding mountain roads on one trip, and I could swear it handled better and rolled less than my little Civic hatchback. +Spacious comfortable Interior - I never felt bad in my hatchback, but after being in the C-Max for a while, I feel like I'm in a submarine when I get into my hatchback again. C-Max has great headroom. For me that's a welcome relief after years bending my neck sideways. +Cargo room, seats up and seats down - roomy enough because it has more volume than my hatchback, but I have a comment on this later as well. +Fold down flat rear seats - 60/40 split provides even more cargo room even while daughter is in the back. I can fold one seat down next to her. +Safety systems - taken a bit for granted these days, but I appreciate the potential of the safety improvements of this vehicle as I'm getting older, and this vehicle seems to be well rated. +Simple Systems - I bought the SE level vehicle because I'm a "keep it simple" kind of person who appreciates the added reliability of manual this and that. As a driver, I don?t want a touch screen, so I liked the simple buttons and knobs of the radio system. Having said that, my wife loves the Blue-Tooth interface to her cell phone and the hands free sound quality in the car. It's quite good. I also appreciate the 1/8" audio input jack in the center arm rest for those old fashioned sound devices. +Comfortable Seats - I don't want motorized seat adjustments, thanks. The SE comes with manual seat adjustments, quick and simple, but lacks a lumbar adjustment. The seat was a bit too curved in the lower and mid-back regions for a tall guy like me, but I fixed this easily by having a local seamstress make a 1" thick cushion which hangs from the headrests to fill in that space, and it's very comfy now. Overall: I'm _very_ impressed with this vehicle!

I've had hybrid cars for 9 years now and this is the best I've ever owned. The car is getting close to 50mpg and I have power and performance that I never had with any other hybrid. Ford, you did a terrific job with this car.

I'm over 50 yrs and have owned/driven well over 20 vehicles. I live in the city and spend a great deal of time in freeway traffic jams when visiting clients. With the C-Max I get less frustrated with traffic jams., they've become EV coasting and cruising sessions. And at a dead stop in traffic, I smile to myself... it's not costing me a dime in wasted fuel. Comfort, Efficiency & Technology. Enough Cargo space for most routine needs and more space when needed by lowering the rear seats. I visit my cabin regularly, it's 200 miles one way. While there I'll go into town or to the river a few trips., each trip about 50 miles round trip. It amazes me that I can visit the cabin, make 4 trips to town or river and then drive back home on less than a full tank of fuel (roughly 10 gallons). Roughly $40 for the whole excursion, whereas previous and other vehicles were costing me about $200. Whats more, I travel to the cabin with two dogs a Chihuahua and a German Shepard. They own the back seat, have plenty of room and enjoy it more than other vehicles, except perhaps the RV. The Shepard is usually nervous in vehicles, but she doesn't in the C-Max. She jumps eagerly into the C-Max, where I have to chase her down and carry her into others. The Ride Quality and Roominess are no doubt the reason for it. The Sync technology is coming along and improving with each update. The Nav System is of higher quality than I've had in other make vehicles. The Premium Sound is a plus too. The Technologies Sync together rather nicely. The Voice Command feature actually works. The only complaint I have is that the Voice System Lady talks too much. Do I really need to hear a disclaimer every time I set a route? That and a few idiosyncrasies to figure out. After a few trips and I'm cool with it. MPGs - I get an average of 48 of those. I've found that if you drive the C-Max wise and conservatively, it delivers MPG dividends. Think ahead, coast more, gently ride the brakes during longer distant stopping. Try to accelerate within the EV range before it needs to use gas. I've also found that the cruise control isn't the most efficient method either. It seems to prefer using gas to maintain higher cruising speeds. In which case, I tap the down speed button a couple times to force the cruise into EV mode. In cruise mode, I've notice that the cruise at high speeds >55mph will use gas and EV in tandem when the battery is at or above half. That will allow it to cruise at say 70mph at 40mpg. The C-Max 2.0 engine has plenty of power to get two adults, two dogs (one being a Shepard), ice chest and cargo up and over 6,000-8,000ft mountains with several thousand feet of gain at each climb. By using the terrain to my advantage, the Trip average MPG to/from the cabin is 50-52mpg. In the countryside, I travel at 30-35mph when traveling up and down mountains and the C-Max can do most of it in EV at that speed. The C-Max gives me Mini-SUV capability with a great ride and hybrid efficiency. What's not to like?

I have been looking for a Hybrid SUV with good miles per gallon and a reason able price. This had even more than expected. It was very comfortable to drive and handled well. Surprisingly the C Max also had great acceleration. Ford has delivered all that I wanted in this type of car and more.