Ford Hybrids' Fuel Economy Failing To Live Up To EPA Ratings?

[1487]

im glad this is being pointed out, Fords hybrids NEVER come close to their lofty EPA ratings. This has been evident for a while but no one has said much about the obvious. Several tests have recorded 32mpg for the Cmax and Fusion hybrid.

[rozz]

F is for Fail

[jsmd]

Oh, I can play this game as well..... Malibu e-assist only get 23.5 MPG combined as per fueleconomy.gov.....
Wait for the cars to break-in..... get a large enough sample size and not from journalists who, usually, drive for more fun factor, than economy factor.....and 8 people who registered at the website to make an inference.....

[ausrutherford]

Oh, I can play this game as well..... Malibu e-assist only get 23.5 MPG combined as per fueleconomy.gov.....
Wait for the cars to break-in..... get a large enough sample size and not from journalists who, usually, drive for more fun factor, than economy factor.....and 8 people who registered at the website to make an inference.....

Bingo.

Journalists not getting the fuel economy is not surprising.

[Mcmflow]

I recently read C & D and they had tests of both the Fusion Hybrid and C-Max.... they didn't get the EPA #'s but admitted they drove them pretty hard. Both cars managed 32MPG. So at first glance it's like 'wow, what's wrong here' but the qualified it with their resulst from a Sonata Hybrid 27MPG, and a Camry Hybrid 30 MPG, which were way below their EPA, but the Fusion beat them @ 32. On the other hand they got 32 in the cmax, compared to the Prius-V that got 35

[Mcmflow]

im glad this is being pointed out, Fords hybrids NEVER come close to their lofty EPA ratings. This has been evident for a while but no one has said much about the obvious. Several tests have recorded 32mpg for the Cmax and Fusion hybrid.

Did you read the article at all? It mentioned the previous models getting better than their EPA combined. A couple of people I know have both Toyota and Ford hybrids and like them both equally as well as getting good MPG in both.

[G8Montana]

The 1980's called, and said you still need to trim yer fat a$$es still to get mileage of those days. Escorts, Mazda's, 4 cyl cars easy acheived 35-40Mpg back then because they where 2500-3000lbs.

[Johnny P]

The 1980's called, and said you still need to trim yer fat a$$es still to get mileage of those days. Escorts, Mazda's, 4 cyl cars easy acheived 35-40Mpg back then because they where 2500-3000lbs.

Of course they did.

They also crumbled up like a potato chip in any sort of wreck. Cars weigh more now because how much steel they have.

[germeezy1]

Is there perhaps a reason that GM decided to not battle on the hybrid technology front?

[skepticman]

I got a C-Max a month ago and my average is currently at 45 mpg. It was up to 49 briefly at first before falling to 48 and stayed at 47 for quite a while before slowly dropping to 46 and now 45. My only long distance interstate drive at 65-70 mph was on a windy day and averaged 39 going out and 41 back. Short trips (2.3 miles to work for me when I don't bike in) when the weather is cold hurts the average because the engine stays on until it's warmed up. I've had multiple trips with averages over 50 mpg, some over 60 and one over 70. It's pretty easy to exceed the EPA number in city driving. The car stays in EV mode about half the time at speeds between 30-45.

[WishIhadatruck]

I would guess it does pretty well in the city and not so well in real world highway driving. They put a bigger electric motor in their hybrids so they can keep it in full electric mode for more of the highway cycle test. I think this gives a difficult to attain number in the real world. Unless you are getting a lot of regen you will eventually not be driving in elec. mode at all once the battery drains down. Strictly highway driving will almost surely result in a lower number. If you hypermile it in a mix of driving you will be better off I'd guess.

I know they made some significant adjustments to the EPA cycles to make the hybrid numbers become more realistic, maybe Ford has just found a way to optimize the vehicle to excel at the test and not real life? Works on the EPA cycle but doesn't often work in real life? Is the battery's state of charge at the beginning versus the end of the test taken into consideration in the test? Or are they just using an adjustment factor to bring the numbers down? The Prius was highly over rated when first launched as well, eventually they adjusted the numbers down but I'm not sure they ever actually fixed the test, I'm not sure. A fudge factor is not nearly as accurate as a good test.

[Extreme4x4]

The way that new vehicles are tuned for economy, it takes very little for them to not hit their mileage. Windy day, cold, mountains, not driving to the strengths of the particular drivetrain, E10/15, etc. These all play into fuel economy.

Anyone using the mileage that journalists who are testing vehicles, as reflective of real life, needs to rethink things.

[Mcmflow]

I got a C-Max a month ago and my average is currently at 45 mpg. It was up to 49 briefly at first before falling to 48 and stayed at 47 for quite a while before slowly dropping to 46 and now 45. My only long distance interstate drive at 65-70 mph was on a windy day and averaged 39 going out and 41 back. Short trips (2.3 miles to work for me when I don't bike in) when the weather is cold hurts the average because the engine stays on until it's warmed up. I've had multiple trips with averages over 50 mpg, some over 60 and one over 70. It's pretty easy to exceed the EPA number in city driving. The car stays in EV mode about half the time at speeds between 30-45.

I have not been inside one yet, but the C-Max seems pretty interesting to me, thanks for sharing the experince.

[XCR440SP]

One other new issue with the Ford hybrids is the new EV+ features that learns where you drive and uses the info to stay in ev mode more. This will boost fuel economy on your everyday commute, but will offer no help on a longer trip that isn't in its learning. I suspect the rating is for the daily trip. fuel economy.

[germeezy1]

The way that new vehicles are tuned for economy, it takes very little for them to not hit their mileage. Windy day, cold, mountains, not driving to the strengths of the particular drivetrain, E10/15, etc. These all play into fuel economy.

Anyone using the mileage that journalists who are testing vehicles, as reflective of real life, needs to rethink things.

For some of us including Zete, and I these real world accounts accurately reflect how we drive. Of course anyone can change their driving habits, and use hypermiling techniques to achieve notable fuel economy but is that really indicative of real world fuel economy?