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Hi All:

___I finally received a confirmation on receiving Ford’s finest hybrid to date and although it is only for two days, I think we can get quite a bit of driving accomplished within the 48-hour window. Let us hope its not raining.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi All:

___I finally received a confirmation on receiving Ford’s finest hybrid to date and although it is only for two days, I think we can get quite a bit of driving accomplished within the 48-hour window. Let us hope its not raining.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Make sure you use Carl's blip to restart the ICE before it starts on its own because of a low SoC (39-40%). In my '09 FEH I do the blip even from a start and use the ICE to get up to speed. If your battery SoC is 42% or above you will need to accelerate above 1,500rpm or the ICE will shutdown into EV. This causes a loss in Battery SoC as the ICE starts and restart to many times.

I'll bet she's good for 90mpg, any takers?

GaryG

90 miles is a long way...

90 miles is a long way...

Yes, but this is Wayne. So that means no A/C, no radio, defrost, no anything accessory wise. I'll cheer him on!:Banane27:


P.S. - I wonder how much drain a "power adjustable seat" puts on the battery?

How much does a seat need to be adjusted once you have it set?

Wayne, don't forget the HV battery draws air from the cabin to cool and heat the battery cells. That means if it's cold you may want to turn the heater On in that baby.

GaryG

Hi All:

___Whooa did Ford knock one out of the park so far… I drove to my parents home so they could have a look and the Milan allowed 65.0 over 15.2 miles and this is in 38 degree temps! 47 mph glides are Kick @$$ :D :D :D

___Warm-up hit from 105 degree F coolant was 40 mpg on the first 5-minute bar too!

___There is an EV moving Threshold bar based on SoC and torque within the EV gauge that works magnificently, Empower EcoGuages are spectacularly clean and concise and glides are as easy as letting your foot off the gas. The average Joe is going to love this one.

___Std. Ford cushy ride even with the Michelin Energy’s at 60 psi.

___Front windows fog up pretty quickly unfortunately so you will be cracking the windows …

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi! This is Wayne's mom. Per Wayne's instructions, I have to give you all a little "novice" review of our adventure with the new Milan.

He stopped by earlier to show us the new Milan and to give us a chance to drive it, which I did. We drove it out of town about five miles and back and then downtown, another five miles out, to buy some wiper blades for my Bug from AutoZone.

When we first got in the car, I tried to start the engine and nothing happened -- except it did. There was no sound but the car was running. We backed out of the driveway and couldn't even tell the car was running. Weird! However, when we were driving on the highway at about 55 mph, it was more noisy (road noise and car noise) than the Prius that I had driven before. Another thing I commented on when we got back was I thought there was a police siren in the distance and thought about pulling over, but it did sound like it was at a distance. That happened a couple times during the drive. I mentioned it to Wayne, and he picked it up only after I mentioned it -- it was quite subtle. We came to the conclusion that it was a sound from the car when it switched from gas to electric. I got 45.5 mph during the drive.

I asked Wayne's dad about his impression, and he commented about the road noise too -- "lot more." He said it was a lot like the Saturn Aura we drove awhile back.

Then we drove through downtown-- to the other end of a small town -- and I got 49.5. It drove fine as far as I could tell. When we left AutoZone and got back in the car, I started it, put it in gear, and nothing happened. That was a little scary at first -- did I break it? Wayne said it was because I have to keep my foot on the brake for a few seconds when you start the car. We turned off the engine to reset, and I did it correctly the second time around. It takes some getting used to -- the absolute silence upon starting.

The one thing I did like about the Milan was a guage in the dash that showed when you were in EV versus the gas engine. I think I could really use the way it worked to really get a handle on good driving habits.

Another thing was the light in the sideview mirrors that indicated a car in the blind spot. That was neat.

When we got back home, I looked at the car from the outside, etc. It is an attractive looking car. The trunk looked smaller than the Prius and somehow looked like cheaper materials to me. Impressions! I sat in the back seat and had plenty of leg room (I'm only 5'6"). However, when I first got in the car I had adjusted the seat forward and up for my size compared to Wayne. He said it was a tighter back seat for him when he had the seat adjusted for his size.

The one thing Wayne noticed was my driving had changed from the last time we took a spin -- much more aggressive. I have not been using the ScanGuage in the VW Bug so have reverted back to old habits -- bad habits. I tried some other guage, a little green box, that just frustrated me (useless) -- so I took it out and didn't get the ScanGuage back in until today. Now it is back and I'm sure my driving habits will again change for the better. Wayne said if my driving improved back to what it was when I was using the ScanGuage, I would probably get 65 mph.

I didn't know that Wayne was going to ask me for a written review so my observations would have been more acute had I known. However, first impressions are always the most significant no matter what.

Wayne's Mom -- LadySpirit

Hi Wayne's mom! Thanks for your impressions! 45 mpg for a maiden voyage is very good. From what I know of it, I think you have hit the nail on the head.
The only thing you left out of your comments was: The little green useless box was "pretty."

Hi All:

___Preliminary results and discussion...

2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Passenger_Side.jpg

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Passenger_Rear_Corner.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Driver_Side_in_front_of_home_2.jpg

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Driver_Side_in_front_of_home.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Driver_Front_Corner_in_front_of_home.jpg

Love the Ford LCD displays. They are far better in person than either the Honda’s or Toyota’s latest in terms of aesthetics and clarity. The Ford graphic people really broke the mold with this display!

Windows fog up to easily for some reason?

47 mph (actually 46 mph) glides can be played with on the highway ;) Transition from 47 WS to 46 mph glide is harsh. Everywhere else however is so buttery smooth you need instruments to verify what just happened actually happened. Very nice job Ford!

Front seat Head rests do not feel like they are active. Mounted forward just in case and could be a comfort issue. Will find out more later.

Ride/handling... Soft ride yet has little body roll in a fast sweeper. A little to soft on most pavement but when you hit pavement expansion joints, she’s harsh. I-43 from the IL border to almost Lake Geneva was a rough SOB late last night.

Engine shuts down immediately and you can use the EV wrap line as a guide for Shift to N if you want to rest. A very soft touch on the pedal yields a nice glide as well. Easier than in the Prius.

Warp Neutral does not work :(

Electric motors whine under EV and more cabin noise than a Prius-II/III/Insight-II at speed.

Seats are more comfortable than the TCH that I remember. More useable trunk room too.

Dash material is still a little basketball hide like.

NAVI is SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE Visteon POS that used to be in Ford’s. Nice, clear, clean and concise. Synch is really easy to use too.

Preliminary FE results...

Unfortunately it has been terrible weather for maximizing FE today but here are some preliminary results so far.

First drive

From cold in 37 degree F temps with a 28 – 29 mph average speed. 65.0 mpg over 15.3 miles. This included the 5-minute warm-up hit at 40 mpg so she is worth almost 70 without really having a feel for what the Milan Hybrid can and cannot do yet.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/65_0_mpg_over_15_3_miles.jpg
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/65_0_mpg_over_15_3_miles_NAVI_HEV_Screen.jpg
65.0 mpg over 15.3 miles in high 30 degree temps.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Moms_result_-_49_5_mpg_over_8_miles.jpg
Mom’s drive at 49.5 mpg! :)

Fill up and attempted top off

Big problem here and something I have E-Mails in with Ford this morning. First click was fine but a slow fill toward top off revealed fuel pouring out from under the car? Every time I tried to add an ounce or two, fuel poured out from the bottom of the car? I have never experienced this before and I am sure I am not/will not be the only one to experience this! Continuing... The fuel gauge showed its first pixel below full at ~ 122 miles out while still in the 52.5 mpg range. At 236.1 miles out, I am only a pixel or two above ¾. I hope there is 17 + gallons in the tank but it looks doubtful given the attempt at a top off and seeing the gauge drop from Full so soon.

Daylight drive - all-highway

Temps from 35 to 43 degree temps yielded 53.0 mpg over 107 miles per the MFD. Not sure if the display is correct yet as I need another 500 or so miles to provide an offset cal when I attempt another top off for an actual fuel economy calc tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/53_0_mpg_over_107_8_miles_of_highway.jpg
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/53_0_mpg_over_107_8_miles_of_Highway_NAVI_HEV_Screen.jpg
53.0 mpg over 107.8 miles of 100% highway in high 30 degree temps.

Evening/Night drive with continuous light to heavy rain

I turned around as soon as it began to rain hard in Madison, WI. With temps ranging from 34 to 41 degrees F, light to heavy rain for 100 percent of the drive back and from dusk into the late night (lights on), I was down to 50.6 mpg before leaving the Interstate around 165 miles out. I pulled her back to 52.0 mpg with some baseline Rates and Ranges but there are time concerns with the techniques used in the most adverse conditions. Not as bad as heavy snow and below 0 degree temps :)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/52_0_mpg_over_236_1_miles.jpg
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/52_0_mpg_over_236_1_miles_-_NAVI_HEV_Screen.jpg
52.0 mpg over 236.1 miles cumulative. Light to hard rain and mid to high 30 degree temps.

The following is what is available with a minimal amount of training and continual oversight prior to any drive.

In temps ranging from 34 to 43 degrees F, the Milan/Fusion will allow a 52 to 53 mpg average on the highway with an average speed between 45 and 51 mph while DWL and DWB. In temps between 45 and 69 degrees F, I suspect the Fusion/Milan would allow 55 to 58 mpg. Above 70 degrees F and the Fusion/Milan should easily pop over 60 mpg on the highway.

Suburban driving... In temps ranging from 34 to 42 degrees F at an average speed of 30 mph with minimal impediments, the Milan/Fusion should allow 60 to 65 mpg. In temps between 45 and 69 degrees F, I suspect the Fusion/Milan would allow 70 to 75 mpg. Above 70 degrees F and the Fusion/Milan will easily pop over 85 mpg with minimal impediments. Drop ~ 5 mpg for another 5 mph or 35 mpg average speed.

Suburban driving with Rain... In temps ranging from 34 to 42 degrees F, raining heavily as I experienced tonight and at an average speed of 25 mph with minimal impediments, the Milan/Fusion will allow a 57 to 60 mpg average. In temps between 45 and 69 degrees F and raining, I suspect the Fusion/Milan would be worth 60 to 65 mpg. Above 70 degrees F and raining, the Fusion/Milan should exceed 68 mpg with minimal impediments.

These are preliminary results and achieved in very cold spring temps, poor conditions, worst fuel available and in a car with less than 2,750 miles on the clock.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Mike:

___You remember what that little green box was, right? Its initials were Kiwi :rolleyes:

___Good Luck

___Wayne

When I got the email it didn't sound so good but with the pics it tells a different story and I'm excited again, the fuel spilling is creepy though.

After I viewed the Kiwi in action this year in Detroit, your mom's adjective "useless" was dead on!

Hi Mike:

___You remember what that little green box was, right? Its initials were Kiwi :rolleyes:

___Good Luck

___Wayne

HI All:

___Can the weather be any worse :ccry:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/US_Weather_Map.jpg

___I guess we could be driving in a blizzard with temps in the tens :(

___Fortunately, the rain appears to have finally stopped and winds are finally 0.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

You should be in the Keys! I drove 20 miles to Key West yesterday and kept mom's RX330 around 40 mpg with part of it above 55 mpg. Temps down here are in the low 80's with a gentle breeze! Traffic moves at 55mph or less. GREAT!!

Hi All:

___A few more additions from last night and our quick review of the Milan Hybrid is over :(

___It was really too bad the Spring time Chicago weather was not cooperating but the Milan/Fusion Hybrid is really a joy to drive.

___The good news is the actual fuel economy calculations are in

Milan Hybrid MPG display(s)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/52_0_mpg_over_236_1_miles.jpg
I reset the single FCD at 247.4 miles @ 51.9 mpg. <-- This included a 11.3 mile Warm-up hit based Round trip to go back and retrieve my camera yesterday morning :rolleyes:

Competitive P&G results

Unfortunately, about 25% of this segment was driven in the rain with a small temperate range of 40 to 41 degrees F. The roads I was on were Suburban, Country and Frontage roads which were wet and puddle filled :( The good news is the winds were absolutely calm.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/70_mpg_-_Comp_P_G_-_23_1_miles.jpg_________________http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/70_mpg_-_Comp_P_G.jpg
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/70_mpg_-_41_degrees_F_-_Comp_P_G.jpg
23.6 miles @ 70.0 mpg displayed in 1 hour - 23.1 mph average speed.

Suburban driving towards Chicago and back

It started raining again so I stopped at my parents for a few hours. After it had dried a bit, the temperatures were coming up as well so this was a nice bonus!

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/60_0_mpg_over_86_6_miles_Large.jpg
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/60_0_mpg_over_86_6_miles_in_50_degrees.jpg
86.6 miles @ 60.0 mpg displayed

Some good news during this segment drive. As I began driving towards Chicago, the initial temperature was 48 degrees F. I was driving a lower speed Suburban road and by the time I turned around, it was 61 degrees. There is a stretch of Interstate in Waukegan, IL that is practically abandoned but still in excellent shape with smooth pavement. In the same 60 to 61 degree temps, I traversed this highway of about 8-miles (round trip) for two round trips with an average speed of approximately 40 mph other than the crawls at the turnaround points on each end. See the 60.0 mpg over 86.6 miles pic above. Those 4 pegged 60.0 mpg 6-minute bars that are about to scroll off the graph occurred on that highway. Unfortunately, the winds in the area began blowing at upwards of 35 mph from the West (the highway is a North – South road) and it was time to head back home (West). This was into the teeth with the resultant poor showing over the last 36 minutes.

Time for the 2010 Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan tank results...

I discovered that there is no Trip A MPG AND Trip B MPG in the Milan. Only a single MPG readout and once reset, you have no Trip B to rely on for the tank. I have some E-Mail into Ford to see if they can possibly add a second mpg display and tie both to Trip A and Trip B. There are two timers but not two mpg readouts... sort of. There is a lifetime like MPG rating that appears when you stop the car although I did not have time to find out how that worked? If I could have reset that, we would have a tank FE number...

In any case, if the OEM mpg were not reset, the OEM display would have shown 357.6 miles @ 54.6 mpg displayed.

247.4 miles @ 51.9 mpg = 4.7668 gallons
23.6 miles @ 70.0 mpg = .3371 gallons
86.6 miles @ 60.0 mpg = 1.4438 gallons

357.6 miles on 6.5477 gallons = 54.6 mpg

Odometer initial: 2,364.3 and Odometer final: 2,721.9 = 357.6 miles
Trip B showed 357.6 miles. Gallons = 6.037 as it began to run onto the ground from underneath the car indicating Full (I think???). I do not enjoy the fuel on the pavement at each fill issue :angry:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/6_037_gallons.jpg
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Gas_on_the_ground_indicating_full.jpg
6.037 gallons and running on the ground after adding a few ounces after first click was achieved.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/2865.png (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=2865)
357.6 miles on 6.037 gallons = 59.234 mpg calculated.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Uncalibrated_SG-II_-_56_5_mpg.jpg
Uncalibrated SG-II shows 56.5 mpg over 357 miles.

There is nothing wrong with a small discrepancy but 4.6 mpg displayed under that actual as measured from the pump and Odometer/Trip B is a rather large discrepancy?

The 357.6 miles included approximately 50% Interstate and 50% Suburban/Country/Interstate Frontage roads between Madison, WI and Chicago, IL.

And Range? I saw the first row of pixels under the Full mark disappear at 122 miles out. This is shorter than expected from a top off in just about anything. Fortunately, Ford got back to me with the following:
This is a L tank design were the tank does move of empty on the high side of the spec.
With 357.6 miles out and 11/16 still showing on the fuel gauge, I would say she was close to a 1,000 miler but only time will tell ;)

Capless Fuel System and overflows ...

I saw a few drops of fuel running from underneath the car at first click while doing the final fill at my local Shell last night. A little more from the pump and fuel came pouring out just as it happened with the Milan’s initial fill?

Ford responded with the following from the engineer in charge.
With capless you should never try to over fill the tank. The capless has a drain hole to get rid of water above the sealing surface. If the customer tries to trickle fill, the fuel goes down the drain tube and on the ground. Most stations indicate one click off.
Seating comfort

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Sitting_in_the_front_seat.jpg

No complaints regarding front seat comfort and ergonomics. Spending upwards of 16 hours behind the wheel over 2-days did not cause me any discomfort and with the electric seat controls including seat height adjustment and manual lumbar support taken care of by the means of a manual spinning dial, this one should fit all comers quite well. Headroom was excellent even with the included sunroof the Milan Hybrid was equipped with.

The Wiper and high beam light stalk... It sticks up and away from the steering wheel’s left side. To turn on the wipers, you have to take your hand off the wheel and reach forward to turn the stalk’s rotating edge. To turn on the headlights, you have top reach well down to the bottom of the dash on your left. Neither felt like they were in the right place in terms of ergonomics but a carryover from a far earlier era. Similar to my Mercury Sable from two decades ago in fact.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/523/Sitting_in_the_rear_seat.jpg

The Rear seat was a bit tighter of course. Leaving the front seat alone as it fit me, I moved to the rear. Although my knees were touching the seatback, Ford has left maybe an inch of cushioned space in which your knees can compress. It has the feeling of a pillow so you will not be uncomfortable even for a somewhat lengthy drive more than likely.

Headroom on the other hand was tight as my head brushed the headliner ever so slightly.

Other

A bit disconcerting but when you turn the key to IG-III and wait for the bootup, than IG-IV to place the car into “ready” state, there is no sound. This is per the manuals instructions. A Prius has a few whizzing noises and than you are in a ready state but in the Fusion/Milan, there is only a ready light down on the lower right of the dash. My mom had the gear selector to R and we were backing out of a sloped spot with the inability to move the car in D because it was not in a “Ready State”. I did the same in N only to find she rolled back and was not in ready. Taking the key to IG-IV and the Fusion/Milan hybrid will go to “Ready” quickly. The EPS is gone and the Milan is a bear to turn at 0 to 2 mph. A Prius will not let you shift out of P unless you are in ready so it is something that needs to be considered for a new non-hybrid driver before taking the wheel.

When you let off the gas below 45 mph, the engine shuts down each and every time without fail. I was watching this with the SG-II and RPM’s as a display and over maybe 500 to 750 engine off/on/off/on cycles; I never saw a single failure. Boy did Ford get this so right!

The dash FCD stops at 99.9 mpg while the NAVI FCD stops at 102.1 mpg for some reason??? Both match up exactly and at the same time for everything other than the one section I was above 99.9 for two initial P&G cycles.

With the poor conditions and limited time frame, I did not have time to do the handling tests but I did take a few non-wet corners a little hot. Body roll was evident but reasonable with neither an under or oversteer condition reached. Normal road undulations were handled with ease but pavement expansion joints on the beat up frontage roads I was on will give you a good jolt each and every time.

The fuel tank fuel fill door access is not done by opening the fill access door from a pull tab within the vehicle but an older design flip open fill access door from the exterior. This felt like a cost cutting move as expensive vehicles almost always have an interior opening tab and lock.

Dash material... Although improved from previous Ford interior materials, it is still a basketball like plastic grain and again, a downgrade from a vehicle that costs over $30,000 as equipped.

For the money Ford spent to include the capless fueling system (I do not like it at all and wish it had a far less sophisticated screw on type click cap), they could have easily taken care of the lockable interior fuel door switch and improved the interior dash materials.

NAVI was a very high quality screen and beautiful to look at. It worked very well for the one time I used it. I am a NAVI novice even though the Accord has been equipped with one for years. Program an address and let it get you there. That being said, Ford’s MS SYNC and the NAVI system Ford is now using is 2 orders of magnitude better than what they used to have in the FEH. Even little things like voice commands are a lot more logical than what I have experienced in the Alpine equipped Honda’s and Acura’s and the Denso’s equipped Toyota’s. This includes the latest Denso system in the 2010 Toyota Prius-III as well! A nit is that while moving above 2 mph, you cannot program anything but Previous Destinations just like Toyota’s latest. Consider the NAVI impressions from a novice’s point of view however. That screen sure was pretty however.

SmartGuage. I have no idea what Ford did but it is by far the prettiest FCD screens I have seen in any vehicle anywhere. It is not quite as intuitive as the Honda Insight-II’s background color changing screen to improve your Hypermiling capability but everywhere else this thing rocks!!! They spent the $’s and it is really special. My digital pics do not do it justice by any means.

___I will try and get the review out over the next few days but for those following the Review Blog, you have 95% of what will be in that ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Sweet! Looks like the car will do about what my Elantra will when pushed to the limits -- not bad for a larger car that weighs in at a bit over 1200lbs more! :eek:

To clarify: Autostop happens below 45mph when you let off the gas pedal. Is there any forced / disabled warmup time or does it happen immediately?

love your reviews Wayne, keep it up!

Nice review, definitely sounds like a car that would get on my nerves quickly.

The '04 Prius did let you shift out of park when not in a ready state. My dad has a habit of buying houses where the driveway is a big hill. This time its a downward slope and I'd always turn the Prius to ig-on and then roll down, then come to a complete stop, press park and then boot it up to ready state, there was no power steering until you passed a certain distance or speed just like the HCHII. This mode was much more useful at my own house where there is a good couple hundred yards before having to climb a hill. I'd stop at the stop sign and boot there. On the HCHII there is enough momentum left that I don't need to key it on until right at the uphill section a few tens of yards after the stop sign..

Some clarification, little things about a car get to me quickly, like the way the HCHII behaves during and after a FAS, or the Prius' Navi system, bluetooth and many more just like the HCHII has and all my cars before it. The capless fuel system already had me concerned and now I know those weren't unfounded concerns. I hate dash mounted headlight switches and cheap dash materials, there's more but that's a good start. Microsoft Sync is something I'd like to have in a car, but with the quality of the Honda Satellite Linked Navigation System.

Hi Andrew:

___Day 1’s warm up began with a coolant temp of 105 degrees and the first 6-minute bar had 40 mpg showing. The car handlers had dropped it off just an hour or so before I took off after pressing up the tires and taking static pics. A pegged 60 mpg after that. Yesterday’s coolant temp started from 41 degrees F and its first 6-minute bar was just 25 mpg. Pegged at 60 mpg again after that as well. The transition for hybrid functions began at 148 degrees F coolant. Not sure if everything came back at that temp but AS and Glides with guaranteed ICE shutdown occurred once 147 was breached. You could see it happen per the EV/EV Threshold Wrap bar and PWR demand in the mimic. It was just dead during the warm-up and at 148 degrees F, it snapped up and worked like I have seen it for hundreds of miles.

___Something else about yesterdays warm up hit. Temp when I left was 41 degrees F with coolant at the same. The 2.5L was force charging the pack after about 1-minute. I never forced charge this pack given the FE hit that has to be paid back but during that real warm up from ambient, the SoC climbed to ~ 75% per the mimic. I had never seen it over 57 to 59% (a guesstimate) or so during my miles. My X-Gauge ScanGauges have not yet arrived to see SoC % directly so I had to rely on the very high resolution SmartGauge(s). This is different than Toyota’s HSD as the engine spins away for a lot longer while you are driving off “On the Pack” with little in the way of forced charging until later. HSD-II in the Prius-III/HS 250h may be different but in Napa Valley, the vehicles were always warm other than the one I took out for the all-highway testing in the middle of the night.

___The reason I say this aggressive forced charging during the warm up hit was a good thing because you will be driving some of your second 6-minutes on EV to make up for the wicked warm up hit. A 75% SoC per the mimic may have been about 65% actual with a high of maybe 80% actual possible (guesstimate???). That is a lot of power stored to play with below 47 mph during the second 6-minutes and thus the warm up hit savings. The Ford guys really did a nice job on this without reverting to the Heat Recovery System that the all-new Prius-III and HS 250h is equipped with.

___Sean, unfortunately, there are about 10-people in the world that will do what you, Andrew and I would do for hundreds of miles to pull the Elite Hypermiling numbers we do. The Milan made it even easier than in a Prius. The designers knew what Glides were because even a novice could let off and hold at a TPS above static idle and it would glide. Let off completely and it will regen. The real thing that the Ford guys learned and god bless them for it is if that engine is not providing power, why is it on below 47 mph. They nailed it!!! :D :D :D Even with SoC in the lower range, the threshold bar would drop to no EV yet that ICE was shutting down. Just a tremendous improvement over the original FEH’s eCVT drivetrain and all the non-sense we needed to perform to get that darn thing to shut down when it was running for no apparent reason. The Ford engineers involved with this excellent hybrid implementation deserve Kudo’s the nth degree for what they have accomplished!

___Phil, thanks and I wish you lived closer to IL as I would love to have you along on one of our many CleanMPG adventures.

___Kacey, the capless fuel system from our quick review is a mess unfortunately. Regarding MS SYNC and Ford’s NAVI unit, I would take the Ford system over my Alpine unit in the 05 Accord any day of the week. Ford’s NAVI/Radio Head unit is a Sony unit I believe?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I guess I'll need to find a Ford dealer still in business and try it out. I do try to avoid Sony when their competitors are equal, but I'll take your word for it for now, but they need to get rid of the stupid lockouts, at least if there is a passenger in the other seat, or if you are using voice commands.

Hi Kacey:

___You are right about the NAVI lockouts. Sony or whoever it was that designed the head Unit/Navi followed Toyota's Denso lead. Previous destinations can be called upon but nothing for new ones.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Im liking it!!!!

I just picked up a FFH a few weeks ago and really love the car. This is my first hybrid and I'm new to hypermilling, so i'm just learning the ropes.

The best MPG Ive have achieved so far is 48.2 mpg on around an 80 mile mostly highway drive.

I'm trying to understand the best way to drive this car for great MPG's. So far I found that accelerating at even a normal speed from a stop takes the car out of EV mode and will not go into EV mode until you "back off" accelerating. What I do is accelerate to the speed I think ill be able to sustain for at least a few minutes (under 47mph) then I lay off the accelerator and the car will usually go into EV mode (as long as the battery is not very cold) at the point I slowly accelerate to maintain my speed, but make sure I don't get kicked out of EV mode.

This can be hard if you are right at 47mph. At that speed it was a little jarring since the car was switching back and forth between EV and gas mode. I recommend keeping it at 46 or under, if you need to go faster dump EV mode.

Even driving in Gas mode, you can get great MPGs by laying off the accelerator after you get to your desired speed. Even thought I was going 60 mph on level or down hill slopes by slightly laying off the petal my real time MPGs hovered between 40-60 MPG's.

There is definitely something to Smart Gauge. Letting you see the right info allows you to drive more efficiently if you want to.

I test drove one on Friday, and have to say, it felt AMAZING. On lunch break I took out an Insight-II, and after I got out of work I took out an FFH. Everything you hear about the LCD's is true AND MORE; they are a beauty to look at. On the mildly hilly course I was put on to drive it, I pulled 42.1 MPG. The salesman had the A/C on full bore. It took me a little to get the gauges set, I realized I wasn't seeing what I wanted about 1/3 into the drive. I took a long stop sign to switch them over to Empower from Enlighten, and even then I didn't feel overloaded with info.

It was a beauty to drive and feel; it gave me memories of my old Lincoln Town Car. The back can be a little tight with the driver's seat all the way back, but Wayne's description is spot on. I'm not as tall as he is I don't think (6'0"); but I did brush the liner. HOWEVER, there was LOTS of "slouch room" to wiggle and squish around in the seat until you weren't against it. I checked my '99 Grand Prix when I got home; its seats are deep buckets to prevent that. If I sat in a similar uprightness to the FFH, I touched in it as well.


Comparing the fact that I drove an HI-II and the FFH on the same day, I'd have to say they are worlds apart.

As far as the FFH is concerned.........I want one.


Peteostro, what info set were you using? I'm betting it was "Empower" because of how you knew about EV mode.

Welcome to CleanMPG and it sure looks like you have found the sweet spot of the FFH. I haven't driven on YET, but hope to soon. Ford has another winner with that one.

Peteostro, what info set were you using? I'm betting it was "Empower" because of how you knew about EV mode.

Yes it is in empower mode, with the leaves. The pwr gauge on the left shows if you are in EV mode, and the real time MPG's on the right helps in gas mode.

I also drove the insight 2 and these cars are not even in the same league. The insight is great for a first time car buyer who doesn't need all the comforts.
Ive driven all Honda's all my life and I can so far safely say FFH is as good as any of them, and is much nicer ride than our old accord.
I know I wont get the same insane MPG's as prius but that's ok, the ride is worth the trade off for me.

Thanks for the welcome!

I don't understand why US doesn't have the Fiesta and why Europe doesn't have these hybrids... (France has only prius II, Lexus, HCH II and Insight II)

Denis.