Ford C-Max & Ford Fusion Hybrid

[JL7456]

We are looking at a new Ford C-Max Hybrid SEL or Ford Fusion Hybrid to tow 4 down behind our MH. We currently lease a 2012 Ford Escape but have decided not to take the risk of future transmission problems and the extra expense of adding the Remco pump. My lease will be ending soon and taking the advice of others on this forum we will probably go in a new direction. I would like to hear from owners of the new Ford C-Max or Fusion Hybrid as to how they like the car in general towing or not towing. Are you happy with your decision?

We are somewhat concerned on the cargo space in the C-Max versus the Escape. We think we would miss the SUV cargo room if we went with the Fusion. Consumer Reports rates the C-Max as not reliable. Comments welcome. Thanks!

[Happily_Retired]

We bought a 2013! Better rebates and financing and identical to the 2014 as far as we could see! The Energi's only came out in 2013, so we weren't surprised there were still some on dealers' lots. However, from what I have been observing, there are fewer available now than when we purchased!!
With regards to charging: We had our electrician install a dedicated 110 outlet. Works fine! We are up to full charge in about 7 hours. Takes 7.5 kw, which costs us way less than a dollar for 20+ miles. Since we mostly charge overnight, haven't seen the necessity to pay for the 240v yet!

[JL7456]

We drove a 2013 Ford C-Max today. It was a fully loaded SEL model with just about every option Ford offers still on the dealers lot. The car was made in August of 2013 and it makes you wonder why the car has not sold. I did find out that not every Ford dealer can sell the Engeri model because of the significant investment the dealer must make in his service department. Also the buyer has to invest in a charging station in his garage especially if you charge the car using 240V.

[Happily_Retired]

The tax credit forgives that amount of your taxes! Great deal! Definitely helps pay for the upgrade from hybrid to Energi!
We drove several hybrids and Energis before we bought. They both drive great. Biggest difference is being able to plug in the Energi! We are getting from 20 to 24 miles of all electric range and after that is used up it drives like the regular hybrid! We do realize that we won't get as many miles per charge in colder weather. We charge at least once each day, and are enjoying saving lots of gas dollars!! Looking forward to plugging in at campgrounds too, as Golden HVAC suggested! 🙂

[JL7456]

Thank You to everyone who replied. You all provided great information. We have not heard about the $4007 tax credit. How does that work? We had not considered the Energi model but maybe we should re-think it. We have driven the Ford C-Max but not the Energi version. We are still in the hunt and will check out both cars again and gather as much information as possible. Thanks again to ALL.

[DouglasC]

Great post by Will above! I 2nd it heartily! Can't say enough nice things about my Fusion Hybrid.

BTW: All Ford hybrids have been towable since the introduction of the Escape hybrid in 2006 - - and to my knowledge there have NEVER been any transmission problems towing these Ford hybrids.

[willald]

We own/tow a Ford Fusion Hybrid, and LOVE it. The mileage is amazing, and it is one of the most simple automatic tranny vehicles to tow 4 down. Just put it in neutral and go, basically. No special procedures to go through when hitching up, no need to disconnect battery or fuses, no need to stop and run the engine every few hours like so many other vehicles require.

It is really, really nice to have when camping, as you can ride around the campground almost totally silent (in EV mode) without bothering folks or polluting the air. Its like having a big, very comfortable golf cart, haha. 🙂

I drive the Fusion to work and back every day, a 26 mile commute, about 80% interstate. I average 48-50 mpg on that commute. On longer highway trips, mileage goes down to about 43-45. Driving technique has a lot to do with it, though - Haha, when my wife drives it, mileage average drops to about 42. Still, even the worst mileage we've ever seen, is still way better than what any non-hybrid vehicle of this size could ever achieve.

When we bought ours, the Energi (plug-in) version was very, very difficult to find, almost no dealers had them. Only way to get one was to order from the factory, in which case you lose a lot of 'negotiating power' on the deal. Sooo, we went with the regular hybrid.

I've read the reports about unreliability with the C-max hybrids. From what I could tell, most of that was because of issues people were having with the Ford 'my-touch' touch screen system and with the latch on the back of the Cmax (that Fusions don't have). I was not crazy about that touch system from the first time I saw it, and purposely looked for a Fusion model WITHOUT that option (ours doesnt have it). Very glad I did. We've had ours over a year now and have over 20k miles on it, and it has been absolutely flawless so far. Only been back to the dealer for routine maintenance and a couple very minor recalls.

Only bad thing about it: Like already said, those batteries take some trunk space away, so you don't have as much trunk space as other models. Definitely something to consider when buying one of these vehicles, but has not really been an issue for us. We are camping at the beach right now with it, and this trip, I fit both an EZ-up (collapsible canopy/shelter) and a portable wagon in the trunk. Sooo, there still is fairly decent trunk space in it.

Bottom line: 'Tis one of the best cars I've ever owned. A blast to drive, very comfortable ride, amazing fuel mileage, and very simple and easy to tow 4 down. Really tough to beat, IMO.

Anyway, hope this helps.

[Golden_HVAC]

The hybrid Energy would be great at the campground. Just plug in at each site, and go sightseeing for free. I think it has a 21 mile all electric range, then switches to gas - getting around 47 miles per gallon on gas.

And the huge rebate for going with the plug in hybrid is going to make it sell well.

I was looking at leasing a all electric Focus - if I take a 3 years lease with $3,000 down and $11,000 down in rebates, then the lease payment is only about $320 with a buyout at the end of 36 months of only $15,890. IT all adds up to a lot less than buying the car outright. With all electric, I can charge at my work for free (a non-profit workplace) so I can avoid my current $325 a month fuel bill.

Fred.

[Happily_Retired]

We purchased a C-Max Energi 2 weeks ago. Getting it set up to tow next week. Went with the Ready Brake. Obviously can't speak to towing yet, but we absolutely love the car. We are getting fantastic gas mileage, and it is an extremely comfortable car. It was the only one we looked at that had ample headroom, so we didn't bash our heads every time we got in it!! 🙂 We still have 3/4 of the tank of gas the dealer gave us after driving nearly 300 miles! For most of our daily errands we just use the EV mode, and then come home and charge again!! EV mode works out to about 4 cents a mile!!!!
We originally looked at the C-Max SEL Hybrid, but found we could go to the Energi for just a little more. When you factor in the $4007 tax credit on the Energi, it became a no brainer for us!! However, you do lose more storage in the back to the bigger batteries. Both rear seats also fold flat. Since we have a mini van and truck for large loads that wasn't an issue for us, but it might be a consideration for you.

[bocanut50]

I went through the Ford transmission issues twice. I looked at both Honda CRV and the Toyota RAV4, and ended up with a Ford Edge after extensive research and Ford made us a deal no one else could match. You can get your own reviews of the edge on this list.

[j-d]

Must it be a Hybrid and Must it be a Ford? I'm just asking because in the class of vehicle you're considering, I think I'd get a CRV and be done with it.

This is NOT a Ford Bash! We've owned more Fords than anything else, it's just that there have been so many towability issues with Ford lately. And I don't know why anybody but Toyota makes a hybrid what with Prius selling about 80% of the market.