Ford C-Max Hybrid Under The Microscope After Lawsuits Over EPA Ratings

Ford Motor Co. is getting hit by a handful of lawsuits going back to April over the EPA ratings for its C-Max Hybrid model.  Two California law firms along with federal courthouse filings out of Massachusettes and Pennsylvania are making claims against Ford stating that the EPA mpg ratings of 47 mpg are over inflated and that more realistic outcomes are somewhere between 30 and 40 mpg.  I'd like to share my theory on where I think the problem lies here:  buyers either can't read, have selective hearing, or suffers from a combination of both.

 

My wife and I purchased our 2013 Ford C-Max back on December of 2012.  So far the lifetime mpg rating on the car since date of purchase is right at 39 mpg.  The dealer salesperson who sold us the car not only emphasized that the EPA rating was based on driving habits being utilized to take advantage of the hybrid system design, it was critical that one followed the outlined driving skills needed to obtain the advertised mpg ratings.  I might add the manual is fairly clear about this as well.  If you are an agressive driver with somewhat of a lead foot you are going to get around 30 to 40 mpg between fill-ups.  My wife tends to be somewhat of an agressive driver, hence the 39 mpg lifetime rating since date of purchase.  As she is the main driver of the car being a Realtor always on the go I only drive the car as a secondary vehicle on occasion.  On the other hand, I have developed the driving habits and skills for driving the C-Max thereby taking advantage of the hybrid design features and I've obtained mpg outings exceeding the 47 mpg rating by the EPA.  It's that simple.  If you have a lead foot, forget it.  It's like that with any car.  As someone who has utilized hypermiling techniques pulling great mileage on our 2006 Freestar Mini-Van I know how critical it is to pay attention to your driving habits.

 

So my advice to these people filing these lawsuits may I suggest a refresher from you local Ford Dealer or just simply read your car user manual.  You may learn a few things or two about your vehicle the dealershp left out.

 

Our 2013 Ford C-Max with state of the art technology that makes it a delight to drive.