Like most things in the real world, when it comes to automotive electrification, there is a continuum of approaches rather than a binary electric or not. At the minimal end, you’ll find automatic stop-start systems while the maximal solution relies on electric motors alone for propulsion. Lying somewhere in between is the Ford C-MAX Energi, the Dearborn automaker’s first production plug-in hybrid. After three years on the market, is the C-MAX Energi a good solution for those interested in going electric without range anxiety?
Ford has been dabbling with plug-in hybrids for more than a decade, but some of the early prototypes combined hydrogen fuel cells with a plug-in battery in the Edge HySeries. By 2008, Ford built a test fleet of plug-in hybrid Escapes that were distributed to various utilities for testing purposes. However, when Ford redesigned the Escape in 2012, it was no longer available with an electrified powertrain. Instead, the hybrid powertrain was moved over to the new-to-America C-MAX, a tall-wagon that like the Escape is based on the Focus platform.
The U.S.-market C-Max is in fact the first Ford offered only with hybrid powertrains although it wasn’t always planned that way. In Europe, there are two C-Max variants, the five-seat version we get here and a longer seven-passenger Grand C-Max. The U.S. was supposed to get the shorter version with a choice of 1.6-liter EcoBoost or non-plug hybrid versions. The longer model was to get the plug-in hybrid system. Somewhere along the way, Ford dropped its plan to offer the Grand C-Max here and the PHEV system went into smaller body while the EcoBoost was reserved for the Escape and Fusion.
Unfortunately the big battery pack eats in the available rear cargo space
The only real problem with this is that unlike the Nissan Leaf, the C-Max body wasn’t designed to accommodate a 7.6-kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack. As a result, the battery pack extends up into the cargo area behind the seats, leaving a substantial platform to put cargo on top of. While Ford lists the C-Max Energi cargo area as 19.2 cubic-feet, that includes the volume all the way to roof which would block rear vision if used. If you want to keep your stuff hidden below the cargo cover, the volume is sufficient to carry several bags of groceries.
Other than limited cargo space, there isn’t really much else to complain about in the C-Max. With its tall stance, the C-Max has plenty of room for four adults to sit up comfortably and three in the back seat as long as they aren’t too broad-shouldered.
The current-generation of Ford’s hybrid powertrain has been very well executed and works particularly well in the PHEV applications. A primary reason for buying a PHEV is the ability to keep the engine off and drive completely on electricity for at least some number of miles. The previous generation Toyota Prius PHV struggled run effectively on electricity and anything more than lightest touch on the accelerator would light up the engine. Ford has paired a 2.0-liter Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine with an 88-kW traction motor. That translates to 118-horsepower, nearly as much as the total combined 134-hp of the Prius PHV.
That means that when the battery has sufficient charge, you can drive the C-Max just like a real EV for up to about 20 miles. A button at the bottom of the center stack allows you select between automatic, EV and EV later modes. In automatic, the system will autonomously choose between engine, blended hybrid and EV propulsion with the goal of maximizing efficiency based on the conditions. EV mode keeps the engine off unless you exceed 85 mph or turn on the heat. EV later maintains the current state of charge in the battery and just runs in blended hybrid mode so that you can save your zero-emissions driving for later if you are taking a highway trip somewhere and want to cruise around town silently.
I drove the C-Max around my usual 17 mile urban/suburban drive route entirely with the engine off and still about seven percent left at the end. The motor has more than enough grunt to keep up with traffic without being a rolling road block and can even accelerate up to merge at highway speeds. If you have a commute of less than 20 miles, the C-Max Energi can easily be your daily EV while still having the ability to go anywhere, anytime when needed.
Like all of Ford’s plug-in models, the C-Max has support for the MyFord Mobile app that lets you monitor and manage charging from an Android or iPhone. You can plug the car in when you get home and set it to automatically start charging when off-peak electric rates kick in overnight. You can also set a go-time and pre-program the heating to a set temperature while the car remains plugged in so you can still maximize range.
When Ford started selling the C-Max in mid-2012, it got off to a reasonably good start thanks in part to significantly better driving dynamics and performance than the Prius family that was current at the time. It also had a very impressive 47 mpg city, 47 mpg highway, 47 mpg combined EPA fuel economy rating for the hybrid and 43 mpg combined for the PHEV. Unfortunately, customers and reviewers quickly started complaining that real-world fuel economy was falling well short of those numbers. It turns out that there were errors in the way the fuel economy was measured and EPA forced Ford to reduce the ratings to 40 mpg combined for the hybrid and 38 mpg for the plug-in.
During my six days of driving the C-Max with a split of city and highway driving I accumulated 180.5 miles with 81.4 miles in EV mode. The total combined fuel economy from all of the miles amounted to 62 mpg and about 34 mpg from the non-EV miles. In keeping with the temperature volatility we’ve had all of this winter, the temperatures during my time with the C-Max fluctuated between the mid-50s and low-20s so that 34 mpg actually looks pretty good for those cold days.
C-Max sales dropped by half after the adjustment to the fuel economy ratings and never really recovered. At this point, it’s unclear Ford will offer a next-generation C-Max in America when the next Focus arrives around 2018 but it seems unlikely. Instead, with crossovers selling like hotcakes, the hybrid will probably go back into the Escape and/or one of the other four SUVs that Ford is adding to the lineup in the next four years.
The 2016 C-Max Hybrid starts at $24,170 with the bigger battery and plug of the Energi boosting that figure to $31,770. However, thanks to that plug, the C-Max Energi is eligible for a $4,000 federal tax credit and more from certain states like California which will give back another $1,500. That puts the Energi at just $2,000 more than the base version. The options on my test car boosted the sticker before incentives to $36,195. While the C-Max Energi has less than half of the electric range of the Chevrolet Volt, it does have more usable passenger room which may make it a better fit depending on your needs. For those looking for a plug-in hybrid that can operate as a real EV, C-Max Energi still has a valid place on the EV spectrum for the right drivers even with the lower EPA ratings.
Click here for full specifications of the 2016 Ford C-Max Energi
