[car fanatics]

Ford
Photo credit: Ford
July 4, 2012
By: CF staff

Ford’s new C-MAX Hybrid soon will make a big statement in the largest hybrid segment with projected leading fuel economy of 47 mpg city – beating the Toyota Prius v by 3 mpg, plus a $1,300-lower base price.

The segment for small hybrids such as the C-MAX Hybrid and Prius accounts for 65 percent of all hybrid sales. Ford expects about half of C-MAX buyers to be conquest customers trading in competitive models.

Ford has simultaneously increased hybrid efficiency and performance while reducing cost. The result is an expected payback period of two years for the hybrid technology premium compared with leading small crossovers. This is about half of the four-year period Ford research shows could trigger more mainstream hybrid sales.

“The C-MAX Hybrid builds on Ford’s 20 years of hybrid innovation and fuel-efficient offerings to take on Prius v with better city fuel economy at 47 mpg and at better value – a great chance for us to shake up the hybrid market,” said Raj Nair, group vice president, Global Product Development. “C-MAX Hybrid delivers 3 mpg more than Prius v with 50 more horsepower and exclusive technologies such as our hands-free liftgate – and the $1,300-lower base price means the payback period will be the smallest in the segment.”

Ford research highlights other ways in which hybrids could become more mainstream. The gap in average income between hybrid and conventional vehicle buyers has decreased by half – from about $30,000 to $15,000 – in the past few years.

Maximum efficiency, technology and value
The C-MAX Hybrid is expected to be America’s most affordable hybrid utility vehicle with a base price of $25,995, including destination and delivery, which is $1,300 lower than Toyota Prius v. C-MAX Hybrid is part of Ford’s first dedicated line of hybrid vehicles and currently available for order at select dealerships.

The projected 47 mpg city and 44 mpg highway ratings to be delivered by C-MAX Hybrid beat the fuel economy of Toyota Prius v with its 44 mpg city and 40 mpg highway.

The vehicle also can be driven 500-plus miles with total system horsepower of 188 compared with total system horsepower of 134 from Toyota Prius v and Prius.

The power of C-MAX Hybrid stems from the combination of a gasoline engine and a battery-driven electric motor. When powered by gasoline, the C-MAX Hybrid uses the all-new 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine – powerful and fuel efficient and among the most advanced non-turbocharged four-cylinder powertrains Ford has ever offered. More details about the C-MAX powertrain can be found in this press release.

C-MAX Hybrid also offers class-exclusive technologies such as the available hands-free liftgate, optional active park assist and SmartGauge® with EcoGuide, along with the ability to deliver higher speeds in electric mode than Toyota Prius v.

The latest-generation SmartGauge with EcoGuide is designed to help drivers get the most from the C-MAX Hybrid, providing information such as instantaneous fuel economy to help them more closely monitor how their driving behavior affects the vehicle’s efficiency.

A new Brake Coach feature helps drivers optimize their use of the braking system so that driving range can be enhanced through proper braking techniques. Redesigned imagery of green leaves shows overall driving efficiency – as drivers improve their efficient driving, they are rewarded with more leaves.

Active lifestyle
The C-MAX Hybrid offers room for five people and plenty of cargo – making it perfect for the owner with an active lifestyle.

The vehicle has a high roofline (63.9 inches) offering ample interior space and flexibility. C-MAX Hybrid offers 99.7 cubic feet of passenger space compared with 97 cubic feet in Prius v. The spacious C-MAX Hybrid also provides greater headroom in both front and rear seats than Prius v (41/39.4 inches vs. 39.6/38.6 inches).

For cargo, C-MAX Hybrid has 60/40 split-fold rear seats. The seats easily fold flat with 52.6 cubic feet of space behind the first row and 24.5 cubic feet behind the second row.

Quality choices
C-MAX Hybrid benefits from 20 years of research and innovation behind the software and hardware technology it offers and has helped Ford develop a portfolio of nearly 500 patents in the area of hybrid technology.

Also, Ford’s hybrid taxi fleet logged more than 80 million miles in California during the past decade – more than quadruple the number of miles logged by Toyota’s Prius lineup. Yet, among the nearly 43 million battery cells Ford has tested or seen put to work in customer vehicles, only five issues have been documented.

C-MAX Hybrid is being produced at Ford’s Wayne, Mich.-based Michigan Assembly Plant alongside Focus, Focus Electric and Focus ST.

C-MAX Hybrid is part of Ford’s strategy to give customers the power of choice for vehicles with leading fuel efficiency across all powertrain technologies. C-MAX Hybrid is one of five electrified vehicles Ford plans to produce in North America in 2012. The other vehicles include:

• Focus Electric: Production began late 2011; America’s most fuel-efficient compact with 110 MPGe; charge time in four hours with the available 240-volt charging station, nearly half the time as Nissan Leaf
  

• C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid: Coming this fall; better electric-mode MPGe than Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid and better overall range than any plug-in hybrid
  

• All-new Fusion Hybrid: Coming this fall; 47 mpg expected to beat Toyota Camry Hybrid by 5 mpg highway
  

• Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid: Will begin production by the end of 2012; aiming to be the most fuel-efficient midsize car in the world
  

[Thed]

Murikuh

[REVolution]

:ohmy: Wow! And its cheaper! Ford is going nuts lately. I love how they are going head on against Toyota. Sync and MFT are just so much better than Entune, Ford's hybrids get better fuel economy, and their regular gas powered cars get better fuel economy, and offer a lot for the money.

[greyhairedpete]

August 6 is when our Ford rep shows up with a pre-production unit for us to check out.

[McLovin]

I spent some time in one of these, looking, kicking, etc. Did not get to drive yet. It's size really surprises you. It is much taller than you think, tons of headroom and legroom, although 2nd row gives up a bit of all that, at least relative to full size minivans. Basically, whatever the Escape is, this is a bit bigger in every way.


And kudos to offering all this for $26K. That offers something to several demographics, including the young family with small kids that lives a frugal lifestyle, all the way up to empty nesters who like a bit of utility in their lives.

This will sell like mad.

[jaybird]

Great news for the C-Max!

I really can't wait to get a chance to take this for test drive.

[zguy]

Dont see how this car is appealing, or the prius v for that matter

[bojangles beast]

I like it but don't see the point when they have the Focus and Escape. Wouldn't they save costs if they just put the drivetrain of this in the escape and made another hybrid variant of it?? I hope it does because for the price it is a great package.

[McLovin]

The idea of the C Max, is that it is hybrid only.