2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid Energi

On Sale Date: Now

Price: $29,995 ($32,950 MSRP plus $795 destination fee, minus federal incentive rebate of $3750)

Competitors: Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, Chevrolet Volt

Powertrain: 2.0-liter I-4 with electric hybrid, 141 hp 129 lb. ft.; total system power of 195 hp; CVT; FWD

EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 108 mpge/92 mpge

What's New: This summer we drove the first C-Max, a traditional hybrid by Ford that competes with the Toyota Prius V. Now comes the plug-in hybrid version called the Energi, which sports some impressive efficiency numbers.

With the lithium-ion battery pack pumped up to a big 7.6 kWH the C-Max Energi can travel up to 21 miles, or attain speeds as high as 85 mph, in pure electric mode. Its combined fuel-efficienty rating hits the magic number of 100 mpge (miles per gallon equivalent) on the federal EPA test cycle, a plateau that the 98 mpge Chevy Volt and the 95 mpge Toyota Prius Plug-In could not reach.

The bigger battery ups the power rating from 188 to 195 hp total, but the Energi doesn't feel faster?a 0-60 mph run should take just under nine seconds. The extra juice may be just enough to offset the added weight of the battery and its ancillaries (more cooling capacity, mostly), which add about 165 lbs to the already-hefty C-Max Hybrid. The Energi weighs in at 3859 lbs.

Batteries are still the costliest part of electrified cars, so the Energi costs $4750 more than a C-Max Hybrid SLE with no plug and a 1.4 kWH battery pack. The Energi comes only in the top SLE trim level.

Tech Tidbit: Ford lets drivers choose when and where to use electric power via a dashboard button that offers three modes. In EV Auto, the car chooses between all-electric or hybrid operation. If you choose EV Now, it uses up the battery before it lets the engine fire. If you choose EV Later, it operates as a hybrid and reserves its all-electric capacity until you give it the say-so.

Driving Character: Much like its stablemate, the C-Max Hybrid Energi has tauter steering response, stronger acceleration, and more balanced handling than most hybrids. For behind-the-wheel entertainment, its only rival might be the upcoming VW Jetta Hybrid, but the German car doesn't offer a plug-in variant. The battery's placement shifts the car's center of gravity up and to the rear. It shares basic chassis components with one of the better-driving compacts, the Focus. (The hybrid, plug-in, and battery-electric Focus are all built on the same Michigan assembly line, mixed in among gas-engine Focus models.)

The ordinary hybrid C-Max wouldn't be a driving enthusiast's first choice for a fun run on California Highway 101 and neither would the Energi. We took the plug-in on a test route north out of San Francisco to Point Reyes and back. It was entertaining enough to keep us sane, with adequate uphill acceleration and nice handling balance to carry momentum through the turns. While we still envied those other drivers we saw challenging the switchbacks in their vintage MGs and BMW Z4s, we didn't feel as though all our driving fun had been sacrificed on the altar of fuel economy.

In 40-odd miles going north, we used one-half gallon of gasoline, according to the dashboard display, boasting over 80 mpg average for the leg. This discounts, of course, the cost of battery recharging, which can vary dramatically depending on where you are and the time of day. Using a national average of $0.10 per kWH, Ford claims a full charge of the Energi costs less than $1. On a more challenging return route in denser rush-hour traffic, starting with a battery short of a full-charge, we got only 60 mpg. Overall, call it 70 mpg round-trip, plus a couple bucks for charging. During our stop-off in Point Reyes we recharged the Energi for about half an hour using a 240 V charger, the kind of unit you can have installed in your garage for a faster charge. Using just a 120V line and the on-board 3.3kW charger, Ford says, it takes seven hours to charge a fully depleted battery. The optional 240V unit can do it in 2.5 hours.

Favorite Detail: If the battery is in back, why is the charge port on the driver-side front fender? Because that's where it's most readily accessible for most home and public charging stations, since most people don't back into their garages. It means a longer run of heavy cable to package into the car, but it's a thoughtful detail.

Driver's Grievance: The dashboard "brake coach" display helps maximize the Energi's regenerative braking, which is nice. But we could wish for better friction braking for emergency stops; the Energi's brakes don't feel as if they're big enough to stop this heavy car on a dime. Capturing the energy for re-use is great, it's a secondary concern when you need to stop right now.

The Bottom Line: A standard C-Max Hybrid costs a lot less money, but the Energi delivers a stronger dose of the immediate and quiet responsiveness of electric driving, plus the option to recharge from a plug, and various federal and state incentives offset some of the cost difference

The Engeri may not pencil out for everyone. If it suits your lifestyle, though, and you have chargers on both ends of a sub-20 mile commute, the plug-in C-Max has Volt-like potential to operate in electric mode most of the time. With thicker side and windshield glass plus standard noise-canceling technology, the cabin is quieter than Toyota's plug-in Prius, and the car has the feel of a substantial piece of equipment. That big battery intrudes into the cargo hold, subtracting more than five cubic feet of volume behind the rear seat (19.2 vs. 24.5 in the ordinary C-Max), but that's the biggest non-financial compromise this car makes.

Hybrid sales continue to cycle up and down with the price of gasoline, and Ford figures to sell only one Energi for every three standard C-Maxs. Ford's choice to put electrified drivetrains in versions of its standard cars, even building them on the same line side-by-side, gives it flexibility to respond to shifting market demand. This path may not make as bold a statement as a Volt or Prius, but it does promise to make money.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/hybrid-electric/2013-ford-c-max-hybrid-energi-14757368?src=rss

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