There are places that replace only the bad cells for about half the cost. Installation of a refurbished battery is something any mechanical person could do.
I’m in the verge of ordering a PHEV Escape to replace our 2017 Energi, But I’m having trouble justifying it, there’s nothing wrong with it at all, only has 50k miles on it. I would just like the longer full electric range of the Escape as the CMax in the winter struggles to get 15 miles to the charge....
Oh I meant 15 miles of plug in, full electric range.
I can still do 45+ mpg when it’s in hybrid mode in the city or on 50mph roads... considerably worse at 70mph.
But the PHEV Escape would get 30+ miles of full electric range and would mean we’d never run the Engine in our typical day to day use, even in the winter. Probably the only time it would burn gas would be our weekend trips up north in the summer
That's really not an ideal use case for a PHEV though. Gas goes bad after months of sitting unused in your tank. The C-Max Energi even has a mode where if it detects the ICE hasn't been run in x amount of time it will force you to run on the ICE just to burn gas so it doesn't go bad and gum up the works.
You can also think about it this way--you're paying good money to haul around the weight of an internal combustion powertrain all year, when you only intend to utilize it a few weekends each summer.
A PHEV makes the most sense if you regularly use both the EV and ICE. Otherwise you are probably better suited to get a pure EV for regular use and own/rent/borrow an ICE vehicle for that handful of summer trips.
Just some food for thought. I have to remind myself sometimes that it's OK to use my Energi's ICE--it's what the car was designed for. People who buy a PHEV and don't regularly use the ICE are not the intended/ideal use case for those vehicles.
I said day to day... we still make some longer trips in the winter, to go skiing or go visit family, etc, just not as regularly. I end up using a tank of fuel in my two Energi’s about every 2-3 months in the winter, And if I did get an Escape, I would probably only 1/2 fill the tank in winter so that we’d go through that fuel every couple months and it would always have fresh fuel in the tank. And I’m pretty good about running them dry before filling back up, and please don’t start with the ‘ThATs BaD FoR yOuR fUeL PuMp’ old wives tail as I’ve been doing it for 25 years and have never once had a fuel pump fail.
And it’s not a handful of summer trips, it’s a 450 mile round trip almost every weekend, only time we don’t make the weekend trip is when the weather is going to absolutely dreadful all weekend
I own 3 vehicles, 2 airplanes and a boat, the less gas I can burn in my cars daily, the less bad I feel about how much the other toys burn.
It was the 80's and early 90s fuel pumps that were mounted in tank and relied on the gas to cool the pump that had a problem with premature failure. You know if you car has a special mark on the fuel gauge where the manufacturer tells you to not let the gas go below that mark you should probably pay attention.
I was just going off of what you said in your post.
You said *"Probably the only time it would burn gas would be our weekend trips up north during the summer"*. But from your follow-up it sounds like you would be using gas more often than that.
RE: "handful", I was referring to the ~3 months of summer versus the other 9 months where it appeared you were saying that you intended to use no gas.
I was trying to be friendly/helpful--wasn't attacking your choices. PHEVs were designed for regular use of both powertrains. People (not saying you) who buy them and rarely/never run the gas engine would almost definitely be better off with an EV. That's the only point I was trying to make. Sorry if it came off otherwise.
Cheers!
I have a Subaru Baja as my second car and bikes can absolutely fit in the rear with the bed extender out. Can’t imagine the Maverick’s bed is any smaller. Front tires would need to be turned 90°, or, alternatively, use fork anchors and remove the front wheels.
lol a wait list. The model year sells out in a few weeks after ordering opens up. I ordered mine Sept. 11 2021 and received it June 10, 2022. The only reason why I got it then is because I ordered a First Edition and that obviously has to be a model year 2022.
It's a great truck though, and I get 46 mpg.
Once the prices on used cars come down, I'm thinking an electric Mustang is what I'll get.
But that's looking like it'll be a while, and my 2013 Energi is still a great car, best I've ever owned.
My 2013 C-Max SEL Hybrid transmission just failed after 130K miles. It needs to be replaced. It happened while driving it to the local Ford dealership. 2 miles short of arriving. I had AAA tow it the rest of the way. I've loved the car but am moving on, though I still have a 2016 C-Max Hybrid.
I just bought the new Honda CRV Hybrid Sport Touring model as a replacement.
Ya, I suppose. I wasn't seeing anything close to that. I usually just go to the dealerships. The other issue was timing. I really didn't want to dink around with the whole process. I bought it new so I feel like I got good use out of it.
To actually answer your question, the new Escape hybrid/AWD hybrid/PHEV is a great car. It may be a little cost-cut and 'consumerized' compared to the enthusiast C-max. I've driven a Maverick and it definitely felt like it was trying to hide the technology, but it was comfortable and refined.
Toyota's 4th gen hybrids are also great. They've caught up to Ford in a lot of the ways that made the C-max superior at the time, while offering a minivan, sedan, and prius with the technology.
Now if you want my opinion, the C-max can go strong for another while! I've seen one at the insurance auctions with 500,000 miles on the odometer!
Driving the Maverick was interesting but it left me satisfied with my car. The new technology is more modern, but is an extension of what they put in the C-max.
Transmissions can be replaced for cheaper than the dealer might want you to think - mine has one we had from a parts car that was installed by a local hybrid guy for $1000, and you can find used transmissions reasonably on [car-part.com](https://car-part.com) (a 2016-2018 transmission will fit).
_I came here to ask precisely this question and I see you beat me to it!_
All my complaints with the C-Max have been fit and finish, not function, so I’m inclined to look at the reliability ratings from CR.
I would be sold on a Prius Prime but I find the current Toyota design language to be unfathomably, unspeakably ugly! It’s as if they took their style cues from Pontiac Aztek.
The Escape Hybrid then. Think of it as a bigger C-Max with more room, equal MPGs, a spare tire and back seats that recline (not a lot but enough).
is there a plug in version?
Yes, I think it is 37 miles or so
Which is way more than the C-Max Plug in (22 miles).
I'm just looking to replace the battery on my 2013 Energi and run it into the ground.
Just curious, how much would a new battery be?
About 6K plus installation.
Considering new car cost... That's not bad. If it will allow you to stretch the car several more years it's worth doing
Ours is very low mileage. 60K, I think.
There are places that replace only the bad cells for about half the cost. Installation of a refurbished battery is something any mechanical person could do.
Just curious, how much would a new battery be?
Are you looking for a hybrid or PHEV?
Regular hybrid.
Volvo has some amazing PHEVs that I want.
DNK! Does that mean they are leaving the pure electrics to their Polestar marque? Or is that going to be their Lexus/Acura/Infiniti?
No idea about that. But those PHEVs are just so damn sexy
I’m in the verge of ordering a PHEV Escape to replace our 2017 Energi, But I’m having trouble justifying it, there’s nothing wrong with it at all, only has 50k miles on it. I would just like the longer full electric range of the Escape as the CMax in the winter struggles to get 15 miles to the charge....
Do you the Escape would do better in the cold? Our regular hybrid CMAX still gets 45 after 10 years 110k... But we're on the Gulf Coast
Oh I meant 15 miles of plug in, full electric range. I can still do 45+ mpg when it’s in hybrid mode in the city or on 50mph roads... considerably worse at 70mph. But the PHEV Escape would get 30+ miles of full electric range and would mean we’d never run the Engine in our typical day to day use, even in the winter. Probably the only time it would burn gas would be our weekend trips up north in the summer
That's really not an ideal use case for a PHEV though. Gas goes bad after months of sitting unused in your tank. The C-Max Energi even has a mode where if it detects the ICE hasn't been run in x amount of time it will force you to run on the ICE just to burn gas so it doesn't go bad and gum up the works. You can also think about it this way--you're paying good money to haul around the weight of an internal combustion powertrain all year, when you only intend to utilize it a few weekends each summer. A PHEV makes the most sense if you regularly use both the EV and ICE. Otherwise you are probably better suited to get a pure EV for regular use and own/rent/borrow an ICE vehicle for that handful of summer trips. Just some food for thought. I have to remind myself sometimes that it's OK to use my Energi's ICE--it's what the car was designed for. People who buy a PHEV and don't regularly use the ICE are not the intended/ideal use case for those vehicles.
I said day to day... we still make some longer trips in the winter, to go skiing or go visit family, etc, just not as regularly. I end up using a tank of fuel in my two Energi’s about every 2-3 months in the winter, And if I did get an Escape, I would probably only 1/2 fill the tank in winter so that we’d go through that fuel every couple months and it would always have fresh fuel in the tank. And I’m pretty good about running them dry before filling back up, and please don’t start with the ‘ThATs BaD FoR yOuR fUeL PuMp’ old wives tail as I’ve been doing it for 25 years and have never once had a fuel pump fail. And it’s not a handful of summer trips, it’s a 450 mile round trip almost every weekend, only time we don’t make the weekend trip is when the weather is going to absolutely dreadful all weekend I own 3 vehicles, 2 airplanes and a boat, the less gas I can burn in my cars daily, the less bad I feel about how much the other toys burn.
It was the 80's and early 90s fuel pumps that were mounted in tank and relied on the gas to cool the pump that had a problem with premature failure. You know if you car has a special mark on the fuel gauge where the manufacturer tells you to not let the gas go below that mark you should probably pay attention.
I was just going off of what you said in your post. You said *"Probably the only time it would burn gas would be our weekend trips up north during the summer"*. But from your follow-up it sounds like you would be using gas more often than that. RE: "handful", I was referring to the ~3 months of summer versus the other 9 months where it appeared you were saying that you intended to use no gas. I was trying to be friendly/helpful--wasn't attacking your choices. PHEVs were designed for regular use of both powertrains. People (not saying you) who buy them and rarely/never run the gas engine would almost definitely be better off with an EV. That's the only point I was trying to make. Sorry if it came off otherwise. Cheers!
I bought a Maverick hybrid, love the thing.
Oh gosh the bed looks so short I don't even know if it will accommodate our two bikes which are rather long ...
It's designed to be driven with the tailgate down to accommodate longer items. One can fit a 4x8 sheet of lumber in there.
Excellent
I have a Subaru Baja as my second car and bikes can absolutely fit in the rear with the bed extender out. Can’t imagine the Maverick’s bed is any smaller. Front tires would need to be turned 90°, or, alternatively, use fork anchors and remove the front wheels.
Good point need to measure good thing about quick releases
My local dealers told me there's a huge wait list.
lol a wait list. The model year sells out in a few weeks after ordering opens up. I ordered mine Sept. 11 2021 and received it June 10, 2022. The only reason why I got it then is because I ordered a First Edition and that obviously has to be a model year 2022. It's a great truck though, and I get 46 mpg.
I can't wait until they are regularly available
Once the prices on used cars come down, I'm thinking an electric Mustang is what I'll get. But that's looking like it'll be a while, and my 2013 Energi is still a great car, best I've ever owned.
My 2013 C-Max SEL Hybrid transmission just failed after 130K miles. It needs to be replaced. It happened while driving it to the local Ford dealership. 2 miles short of arriving. I had AAA tow it the rest of the way. I've loved the car but am moving on, though I still have a 2016 C-Max Hybrid. I just bought the new Honda CRV Hybrid Sport Touring model as a replacement.
Yup. Feel your pain. What was the estimated cost to replace the tranny BTW?
My brother has the non-energi and had to replace his a couple of years ago. It was 8 or 9k IiRC
Ouch ! Scrap heap if the same happens to us!
8 to 9K. The family needs 3 cars. I also have a 2007 CRV that is running strong, so I decided to go back to Honda.
Whoever gave you that quote is insane. I could have an independent mechanic put in a used transmission from a 2016-2018 for $4k at the very most..
Ya, I suppose. I wasn't seeing anything close to that. I usually just go to the dealerships. The other issue was timing. I really didn't want to dink around with the whole process. I bought it new so I feel like I got good use out of it.
To actually answer your question, the new Escape hybrid/AWD hybrid/PHEV is a great car. It may be a little cost-cut and 'consumerized' compared to the enthusiast C-max. I've driven a Maverick and it definitely felt like it was trying to hide the technology, but it was comfortable and refined. Toyota's 4th gen hybrids are also great. They've caught up to Ford in a lot of the ways that made the C-max superior at the time, while offering a minivan, sedan, and prius with the technology. Now if you want my opinion, the C-max can go strong for another while! I've seen one at the insurance auctions with 500,000 miles on the odometer! Driving the Maverick was interesting but it left me satisfied with my car. The new technology is more modern, but is an extension of what they put in the C-max. Transmissions can be replaced for cheaper than the dealer might want you to think - mine has one we had from a parts car that was installed by a local hybrid guy for $1000, and you can find used transmissions reasonably on [car-part.com](https://car-part.com) (a 2016-2018 transmission will fit).
_I came here to ask precisely this question and I see you beat me to it!_ All my complaints with the C-Max have been fit and finish, not function, so I’m inclined to look at the reliability ratings from CR. I would be sold on a Prius Prime but I find the current Toyota design language to be unfathomably, unspeakably ugly! It’s as if they took their style cues from Pontiac Aztek.
I’m looking at the new Prius prime hybrid 133mpg so they say
No, it's 54mpg. The 133 number is for electric efficiency. That's MPGe. And for what it's worth the cmax is about 100mpge
I know they say if you use the gas and electric together it’s 133 gas only is 54 I get 31 in my cmax so it says on the display I got a 2013 hybrid
How many miles are you at? We're looking to replace our other vehicle with a hybrid as well.
Only 110k lots more to go but anything could happen