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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Click here for full specifications of the 2016 Ford C-Max Energi