Ford Falls Under Scrutiny After C-Max Hybrid Fails To Live Up To Mileage Claims

Ford Motor Co.'s new C-Max Hybrid has some of the best attributes in its vehicle class: It gets a government-estimated 47 MPG in the city and on the highway, can travel as fast as 62 miles per hour in electric-only mode and is the most affordable hybrid in its class.

But some drivers, particularly those who don't live in crowded coastal areas or in bustling cities, find the Environmental Protection Agency estimates to be unattainable.

Fans on Ford's C-Max Facebook page have panned the car for not achieving anywhere close to 47 miles per gallon.

And Consumer Reports on Thursday said the car's fuel efficiency fell 10 miles per gallon short in testing — getting 37 miles per gallon overall, with 35 mpg for city driving and 38 mpg highway.

chewy - 12/7/2012 2:18:50 PM

+1 Boost

Not completely Ford's fault. Newest hybrids feature electric modes that are functional on the EPA test but not really in the real world so they do well on the test but not so much in the real world.

cidflekken - 12/7/2012 2:57:40 PM

+2 Boost

chewy, what you said makes zero sense. If Ford publishes mpg, then the buying public should expect the same performance. Certainly I would hope that Ford tests their cars in the "real world" to make sure that its estimates are correct.

chewy - 12/7/2012 3:54:06 PM

+1 Boost

No, Ford follows the EPA testing protocol which results in these awesome looking EPA estimates. The reason that I have heard for this is that the newest hybrids have enough power to do more and more of the EPA test in its electric mode. But in reality one would have to accelerate really, really slow in the real world to achieve.

What HYK got caught was somehow not following the EPA's test completely and getting errors that were all in their favor. The new 328i had something similar happen earlier in the year. This Ford thing is a different issue most likely.

nguyenvuminh - 12/7/2012 4:19:04 PM

+1 Boost

I was hoping Ford would provide a competitive product to the Prius but I think this going to hurt them. This type of thing tends to linger in a buyer's mind. And this is just pure guessing on my part but I think it's true that real world driving will not deliver what Ford promises.

cidflekken - 12/8/2012 3:03:10 AM

+1 Boost

Chewy, then why aren't other hybrids EPA skewed the same way? still makes no sense.

chewy - 12/9/2012 7:13:34 PM

+1 Boost

New Jetta hybrid and Accord hybrid might struggle to meet their lofty ratigns also but they aren't really out yet. Ford can't update the rating sif they followed the test procedures properly.

FreeRangeRadical - 12/8/2012 10:07:56 PM

+1 Boost

Agent009, you should attribute your quotations if you seek to opprobriate.

HughJass - 12/9/2012 1:22:35 PM

+2 Boost

Seems only the Koreans have issues with lying about their vehicle's performance.
The C-max is new and if it doesn't live up, Ford should update the mpg claims.

However, no other company, nor other Ford vehicles have issues with false mpg claims.