Consumer Reports says Ford's hybrid fuel economy is coming up short

[BlackGTP]

Consumer Reports says Ford’s highly touted new hybrid cars are delivering lower than expected fuel efficiency.

In real world testing conducted by the magazine, the 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid, which has an EPA rating of 47 mpg, got 39 mpg while the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid, also rated at 47 mpg, delivered just 37 mpg.

The publication says that these are the worst discrepancies it’s ever seen in its tests.

Several other outlets, including Green Car Reports and FoxNews.com, have also noted that the cars seem to come up short of their advertised mpg.

Article continues at link

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/...#ixzz2EJUOtZkm

[Neanderthal]

Rutt roe!

Looks like the exaggerated-MPG beam of light is about to get bent by the gravitational forces at CR!

[BlackGTP]

Rutt roe!

Looks like the exaggerated-MPG beam of light is about to get bent by the gravitational forces at CR!

Hopefully the MPG beam of light doesn't hit GM - it's ok for Ford and Hyundai, just a minor blip for them. But if GM does this it will be a major scandle.

[Tre-Tre]

I guess Ford and Hyundai share the same Math wizzard for calculating fuel economy. How embarrassing it must be, GM better remember that for them fudging their fuel economy numbers is not okay.

[MechEng]

I guess Ford and Hyundai share the same Math wizzard for calculating fuel economy. How embarrassing it must be, GM better remember that for them fudging their fuel economy numbers is not okay.

For Ford's sake I hope not. Remember in Hyundai/Kia's case their recent problems have nothing to do with their real world fuel economy. Hyundai/Kia sent bad test data to the EPA and the EPA caught them in random testing. I would hope that Ford's labs doing EPA testing at least know how to run the EPA test.

From what I have heard it has been implied by many in the industry that Ford is just really good at calibrating their vehicles for the EPA test.

[goatgary]

Hopefully the MPG beam of light doesn't hit GM - it's ok for Ford and Hyundai, just a minor blip for them. If GM does this it will be a major scandle.

Correct.This would be a screaming OMG from the media if it was GM....but Ford? It will be noted and then quietly go away as a story.

[ausrutherford]

They had been testing the cars with these engines at that mpg figure for at least 1 1/2 years before release...

[Gigantor]

There is a difference here....

Did Ford knowingly provide false data on the road to their EPA FE numbers?

or

Did Ford correctly perform the mandated EPA testings on their hybrids to reach their numbers?

-If it's the former then Ford deserves what is coming their way.

If it's the latter then we should be pissed at the EPA and their testing parameters. I laugh when posts I see posts (not necessarily on this board) that read "Ha ha looks like Ford got caught lying about their fuel economy numbers!" If they did the EPA tests and came to the posted numbers then don't be mad at Ford.

Anyways, did CR disclose the data, test conditions, type of tires, total weight of the vehicle incl. passengers/test equipment, weather etc? If not...well, they should because those things are very very important when calculating FE.

[jry]

Consider the source.

[BlueMontreal]

Did Ford correctly perform the mandated EPA testings on their hybrids to reach their numbers?

-If it's the former then Ford deserves what is coming their way.

If it's the latter then we should be pissed at the EPA and their testing parameters. I laugh when posts I see posts (not necessarily on this board) that read "Ha ha looks like Ford got caught lying about their fuel economy numbers!" If they did the EPA tests and came to the posted numbers then don't be mad at Ford.

Anyways, did CR disclose the data, test conditions, type of tires, total weight of the vehicle incl. passengers/test equipment, weather etc? If not...well, they should because those things are very very important when calculating FE.

I hope Ford did not lie so they can sue CR.

[chevypowa670]

10 MPG difference in the real world? Ouch... I know I would be pissed.

[Neanderthal]

For Ford's sake I hope not. Remember in Hyundai/Kia's case their recent problems have nothing to do with their real world fuel economy. Hyundai/Kia sent bad test data to the EPA and the EPA caught them in random testing. I would hope that Ford's labs doing EPA testing at least know how to run the EPA test.

From what I have heard it has been implied by many in the industry that Ford is just really good at calibrating their vehicles for the EPA test.

ONE recent problem Hyundai had was class action lawsuits regarding the Elantra MPG, claimed vs. reality.

I saw this bubbling up at Hyundai boards many moons ago. The following links are dated July 2012.

They had problems before the feds got involved.

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul...suits-20120711

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/07/10...or-misleading/

[eastcoasthd]

Tests show Ford Fusion, C-Max hybrids don't live up to 47-mpg claims
Dec 6, 2012 2:00 PM
CONSUMER REPORTS

Ford has been making some eye-opening claims about the fuel economy of the redesigned 2013 Fusion Hybrid sedan and new C-Max Hybrid wagon: "47 city/47 highway/47 combined mpg." After running both vehicles through our real-world tests, we have gotten very good results. But they are far below Ford's ambitious triple-47 figures.

In our tests, the Fusion Hybrid delivered 39 mpg overall and 35 and 41 in city and highway conditions, respectively. For the C-Max Hybrid, we got 37 mpg overall, with 35 and 38 for city and highway. These two vehicles have the largest discrepancy between our overall-mpg results and the estimates published by the EPA that we've seen among any current models.

How did we measure the real-world fuel economy? Like every car we test, we first put 2,000 break-in miles on the Fusion and C-Max hybrids after buying them from local dealerships. Then, we installed a precision fuel meter in the fuel line. To measure the city mpg, we ran the cars through the standard course on our test track, which consists of regimented speeds, multiple stops, and predetermined idle time. For the highway mpg, we twice drove the cars each way on a specific section of a local highway at 65 mph. Tests are run by multiple drivers on each vehicle, conducted only under certain weather conditions, and corrected for ambient temperature. (Learn more about how we test cars.)



From the comments section.......

wdhulet
December 6, 2012 3:05 PM

OH Great!! I just bought a Ford C-max and now I find Ford has "exaggerated" about the EPA mileage!!??? So what are we C-max owners to do? We were duped by Ford's promise of 47 mpg. I have 1500 miles on my C-max and have so far been at only 38 mpg. And I don't accept Ford's claim "it's how you drive" answer to the C-max's mpg shortfall. I owned a Toyota Prius and consistently got 48 to 50 mpg. The main reason I bought a C-max was for the promised gas mileage. Will Ford offer us compensation?

Ouch!!

[nruggiero]

Is Consumer Reports owned by the same people who own Fox News?

[1999 White C5 Coupe]

Is Consumer Reports owned by the same people who own Fox News?

No.

Why do you ask?